The Many Ways to Grow Medical Marijuana

An Overview to the Major Methods of Growing Marijuana.

There are many different ways to grow medical marijuana. Which method is right for you depends upon your circumstances and what you can manage to do. This guide will give you a good summary of the various methods and a short summary of their advantages and disadvantages.

Any of these methods will yield good results for a dedicated gardener. However, what you get out of it will depend upon what you put into it. A crop is subject to all kinds of threats, ranging from lack of water, to improper fertilizer, to bugs and animals that will eat it. If you really want good, high-grade marijuana you will have to put a little work into it, no matter which method you use.

The first step, of course, is to get some seeds or clones to get you started. See How To Get Marijuana Seeds and Clones.

The growing methods are:

1. Plain dirt

This is the traditional method of growing anything. Just grow the marijuana as you would any other plant. Use good soil, and make sure that you keep it watered and properly fertilized. 

Advantages:

• It is usually easier and cheaper than any other method. 

• You can use standard nursery store fertilizers.

Disadvantages:

• Unless you get commercial growing soil, the soil can be of uncertain quality. You could lose a crop or have poor results because the minerals and nutrients in the soil are out of balance.

• Yields will probably not be as great as you will get with other methods. 

2. Coco Fiber/Rock Wool

Instead of using soil as a medium to hold the roots, you can use an inert medium -- something that does not have the quality problems found with ordinary soil. 

Advantages:

• Almost as easy as growing marijuana in plain soil.

• Better yields than soil.

• Almost as cheap and simple as plain soil.

• The process is generally cleaner with fewer bugs and mess..

Disadvantages:

• Requires special fertilizers which are more expensive.

• Requires the purchase of coco fiber. This is not very expensive, but you may have to find a local store that stocks it. 

3. Hydroponics

Hydroponics consists of growing the plants in something such as gravel, with no soil or vegetable matter in the mix. The gravel will be contained in pots or troughs. Water with a light mix of special fertilizers will be either poured through the gravel, or the troughs will be flooded with the fertilizer several times throughout the day. 

If you view roots grown in hydroponics versus those grown in plain soil, you will see an immediate difference. While roots grown in soil have a big tap root, the roots grown in hydroponics will have no major tap root, but will consist of a huge bunch of small, clean white hairs. 

Advantages

• Much bigger yields than the previous methods.

• Cleaner because no soil is used.

Disadvantages

• Costs a lot more because it requires troughs, pumps, and reservoirs to hold the water/fertilizer mixture.

• Requires a lot more labor. You will need to monitor Ph and nutrient levels to make sure they stay within proper limits.

• It takes more equipment. Therefore it may take more room. 

4. Aeroponics

Aeroponics consists of growing roots in plain air. The plants are held in a mesh basket, hanging out in the air, and the water and fertilizer is continuously sprayed over the roots. This method produces roots that are even more amazing than hydroponics.

Advantages

• Fastest growth and biggest yields of all. Results can be spectacular.

Disadvantages

• Costs more than growing in soil because it requires equipment similar to that used in hydroponics. 

• Requires more labor. In order to get good results, it must be monitored on a daily basis.

• Very sensitive to mistakes. You must keep the nutrients and Ph in a specific range for optimum results. If the measures of nutrients and Ph in your water gets out of limits, you can have really bad results in a big hurry.