Introduction to Marijuana Horticulture

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

The key to successful indoor cannabis cultivation is to understand how cannabis produces food and grows. Cannabis, whether cultivated indoors or out, has the same requirements for growth. It needs light, air, water, nutrients, a growing medium, and heat to manufacture food to grow. Without any one of these essentials, growth stops and death soon results.

Indoors, the light must of the proper spectrum and intensity; air must be warm, arid, and rich in carbon dioxide; water must be abundant but not excessive, and the growing medium must contain the proper levels of nutrients for vigorous growth. When all these needs are met consistently at optimum levels, optimum growth is the result.

Cannabis is normally grown as an annual plant, completing its life cycle within one year. A seed that is planted in the spring will grow strong and tall through the summer and flower in the fall, producing more seeds. The annual cycle starts all over when the new seeds sprout the following year. In nature, cannabis goes thru distinct growth stages.