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What is the best way to grow cannabis in a limited space?

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hydroponics led grow lights ECO Farm

For those who don’t have big properties or extra space, don’t worry: You don’t need a huge space to grow cannabis. Cannabis is an eager plant that will grow nearly anywhere given the right light and nutrients, making a grow room of any size feasible.

Growing in a tiny space has benefits too, allowing you to produce cannabis discreetly, in case you’re afraid of what the neighbors will think. A small grow also won’t create as much noise from machines or generate as much smell and will therefore attract less attention.

A small grow doesn’t necessarily mean small returns, but, you do want to be growing as efficiently as possible. Here are some tips to maximize your tiny space to get the best and biggest returns. 

What Your Space Needs

A grow space can be as small as a 2’ x 2’ x 4’ marijuana grow tent or as big as a warehouse, but they all have a number of things in common.

  • Adequate space for growth. The bigger the plant can grow, the larger your yields will be. Generally, you’ll need more height than width, to keep the lights off the plants. Space gets tight quickly.
  • Sterilization. Dirty closets won’t suffice—you must be able to keep the space clean and contained from the outside environment. You’ll also need to be able to drain the plants properly and keep them out of standing water.
  • Ventilation. Plants need fresh air. A continual exchange of air is necessary to keep them healthy and vibrant. Depending on where you live, you may need an AC unit or heater to regulate the climate.
  • Many small-space growers use grow tents, small units where you can grow one to a handful of plants—they can be as small as the size of a laundry hamper. These self-contained units will provide a controllable environment for your plants without the hassle of building out a big grow. 

Don’t Burn the Plants

One of the biggest concerns with a tiny grow is lighting. Grow lights run very hot and need to be kept at a safe distance from your plants so they don’t burn buds or leaves. Either the plants must be kept short or your lights need to be elevated—the latter can be hard to pull off in a confined space, so usually plants need to be kept small through topping and pruning.

LEDs are changing the game for small-space growing by providing quality full-spectrum light with minimal heat. This allows plants to grow closer to the light source without damage from heat, while also reducing the need for climate-control equipment to bring down the temperature in your grow. It should be noted that LEDs can still burn your plants, but there is less of a risk than with older lights.

This will give your plants more room to grow and therefore give you a bigger return when it’s time to harvest.

Train Your Plants 

1. Topping

When you cut off the tip of your cannabis plant, it encourages the plant to grow new branches to replace the ones you cut. This process is called topping, and it forces plants to grow wide instead of tall and produce more buds.

2. Screen of Green (ScrOG) AKA Scrogging

The Screen of Green (ScrOG) technique is one of the best for getting high returns from micro grow spaces or grow boxes. Also known as Scrogging, it creates a canopy that delivers light to the lower and middle branches. This process helps improve yields for small weed plants.  

3. Low-Stress Training (LST)

Much like Scrogging, Low-Stress Training can also encourage your plant to grow more side branches instead of growing taller. This technique is one of the easiest ways to maximize a tiny space.

4. High-Stress Training (HST) AKA Super Cropping

Super Cropping is a more delicate process that falls under the category of high-stress training. It is a challenging method only because it could harm your plants if not done correctly. However, with expertise, this method can produce shorter and fuller small weed plants, thereby maximizing your micro grow site. 

Lighting Considerations for a Cannabis Grow 

Every plant requires light to grow. That includes marijuana plants. But you need proper lighting to grow cannabis plants that thrive and produce high yields in a mini grow or tiny space. The first consideration is wattage. You want an average of 400 Watts for each square meter of limited grow space.

You’ll also need to decide on your light type. There are various light sources to choose from, such as HPI, HPS and CFL lamps when growing marijuana, but the best choice for a micro grow setup is LEDs. 

LED lamps are very effective and efficient when growing small weed plants. The full spectrum led grow light will cover the entire growing cycle and gives off very little heat. Their low heat also lowers your chance of needing equipment (such as AC) to keep the temperature down.  

Keep in mind, LEDs can still burn your small weed plants, especially if they’re placed too close to them. A small space allows the area to get hot very fast, and your leaves and buds could be burnt. However, the risk of burning your plants is much less with LEDs than when using alternative such as HPS, just remember to keep your plants a safe distance from the lights.  

Control the Climate

Climate control is also crucial in a tiny grow. Ideally you want to maintain a healthy temperature of 70-75 degrees with a relative humidity between 40-75%. Using LED lights will reduce the overall temperature and your need to cool down your grow, but you will still need a fan to pull fresh air into your grow space.

Fresh air circulation is crucial to getting high yields, as your plants use CO2 in the process of photosynthesis. Fresh air will give them a boost of growth and will also be effective in cycling new air into your garden while pulling out stale air, keeping the temperature and humidity in check.

Recommendation

 

ECO Farm marijuana grow kits are simple to set up and makes it easier to begin growing.

The first benefit of buying a ECO Farm complete grow tent kit is that it’s compact. Even if you have a small apartment with little closet space, you can set up a complete grow kit there.

The second benefit is that you don’t need to go shopping for extra parts. These complete grow tent kits come with everything you need to start growing. This includes all electronics such as lighting with hangers, a circulation fan with filters.

Finally, ECO Farm grow tent kits are moveable, so you can take them with you wherever you go. This is especially useful because grow tent kits are a big initial investment. Being able to pack up them up with you saves costs of setting up a new growing operation. 

In conclusion

Tiny grows can be a lot of fun and will give you insight on the growing process and these methods will improve the quality and yield of your cannabis.

Cultivating cannabis in small places might be a challenge, but with little discipline and patience, you can make the most of it.

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