Whether you are interested in weed for recreational or medicinal purposes, there are several benefits you can enjoy if you grow weed. However, growing weed is not like caring for a potted plant—it will need attention and time.
Though the amount of time it will take to grow weed will vary, we will give you a breakdown of the general growth timeline you can expect. If you live in Oregon, be sure to check out the state laws for growing marijuana.
The Time It Takes To Grow Weed
Generally, growing a marijuana plant from seed to harvest takes anywhere from 14 to 32 weeks, which is about four to eight months. The following is a breakdown of the flowering stages your marijuana plant will go through.
Getting Your Seeds or Clones
Clones are cuttings retrieved from healthy mother plants and are easy to find in areas that permit marijuana cultivation. With seeds, you can order them on the internet and get them within two to four weeks.
Germinating the Seeds (12 Hours – Eight Days)
When you grow weed, you can skip this phase if you opt to go with clones instead of seeds. Germinating the seeds will take you two or three days. Ensure that you check the seeds every day for a popped taproot formation.
Seedling Phase (One Week – Four Weeks)
As your cotyledons take shape, they will sprout cannabis leaves in a single leaflet form. This process usually takes anywhere between one to four weeks. Once your seedling displays the third set of leaves, you can give it a fair amount of nutrients.
Vegetative Phase (Two Weeks – Six Months)
Though this phase can last up to six months, the amount of time your plant will take will vary significantly. However, you are the one to determine how long the phase will last. If you want, your plant can go to the next step in as little as two weeks.
You can use several cultivation training techniques, including crimping, cropping, bending, topping, screen of green, trellising, and sea of green. The method you use will alter your crop’s height, quality, growth, and direction.
The problem with quickening this process is that it will leave you with smaller plants and a small amount of weed. To avoid this, most people recommend leaving your plants in the vegetative phase for at least three weeks, exposing them to at least eighteen hours of light every day. With some strains, twenty-four hours of light would be even better.
Keep in mind that marijuana plants typically double in size. Therefore, it is sometimes better to change to twelve hours of light and twelve hours of darkness once your plants are half the size you feel your space can accommodate.
Flowering Phase (Six Weeks – Three Months)
In nature, marijuana plants usually flower during the fall months when the plants receive less light. This decrease in light signifies to the plants that it is time to start flowering. You can mimic this environment by switching the light schedule to twelve hours of light and twelve hours of uninterrupted darkness.
While your plants need high amounts of nitrogen in the vegetative phase, their nitrogen needs will decrease in the flowering phase, and their potassium and phosphorus needs will increase.
Within seven to ten days after being in the 12/12 light cycle, your plants will reveal their sex. Therefore, look out for two white hairs growing from the nodes on the plants. These hairs are called pistils and are only found on female plants. Ensure that you separate male and female plants to prevent the female plants from getting pollinated.
While most marijuana plants flower for about eight to fourteen weeks, this will vary depending on the strain. For instance, pure Indica strains finish flowering in eight weeks, while Sativa strains take twelve to fourteen weeks.
Harvesting (One – Three Days)
Your strain’s yield, quality, and height will determine the harvesting time. While quality buds can dry in four days, they can take a week if you opt for a slow and full drying process. The time it takes to cure and trim your cannabis will also vary, depending on your skill and how effective you want your buds to be.
Get the Best Products at Cannabis and Glass
Fortunately, you do not have to wait 14 to 32 weeks to grow weed on your own. Simply pop into Cannabis and Glass today, the leading dispensary in Ontario, and allow our knowledgeable budtenders to provide you with whatever product you need. We have a huge selection of flower, concentrate, edibles and much more!
