If you're planning to grow cannabis in a grow room, it's not a bad idea. It saves money and you know what you are consuming. After all, you grew it yourself. As we know cannabis has a therapeutic and medicinal effect on humans, also growing it. It turns out that gardening has a positive effect on human well-being. It doesn't matter if you do this outdoors or indoors.

Growing cannabis at home has many benefits. Cultivating your own weed in a grow box is actually not that difficult, and building a cannabis grow room by yourself is also not that hard. Find out what supplies and equipment you'll need and how to build your own marijuana grow room.

 

Once the grow tent is set up and running, all it takes is a little attention, time and some power. If you want to build a cannabis grow room, you have to have the space for it. A site with an area of ​​one square meter (1m2) is already sufficient. This way you can already grow with different growing methods. You also have to take the height of the cannabis grow room or tent into account.

Your equipment, lighting and possibly the extractor with carbon filter will be placed above the plant. In order to have sufficient distance between the plant and the grow light, you should preferably not build the space too low.

The heat development with an HPS lamp is higher and you will need more free space around it than with an LED lamp. So the choice of grow light also plays a role in this. The supply of fresh air in the grow room and its removal is also something you have to think about. You will have to take several things into account, but if you do it right, you will only benefit from it. From germination to harvest.

Where are you going to build the grow room? 

The location of your indoor grow could be an attic, basement, bedroom, shed, garage, wall closet, etc. Choosing the best grow room is up to you. Maintain a minimum surface area of 1 m2 and a minimum height of 1.80 meters.

It should not be too cold or too hot in the room for a successful cultivation. It is ideal if you can heat the room in which the grow room is located. This way you don't have to heat the space yourself on colder days and nights.

Dry fresh air must be sucked in. It is easier to increase the humidity in the grow room than to decrease it. The extracted moist air should preferably not come out into the room where the suction comes from, in order to keep it as dry as possible. By taking this into account, you avoid laying meters of air hoses.
Build your grow room  in a place where it is as inconspicuous as possible.
Think of:

• A humming fan or extractor soon betrays a cannabis plantation. Do not mount them on a neighbor's wall. They may run very quietly, but there is a chance that vibrations from vibrations on the other side can be heard.
• This is how most places are discovered. Use carbon filters in the cannabis grow room. If you are working in your growroom and the space is open, keep in mind that odor spreads quickly in the surrounding space(s).
• Grow lights for weed provide a lot of light. When the weed grow room is open to take care of the plants, the space around it is also illuminated with the characteristic light. Therefore, make sure that your hutch is light-tight when closed, so that no light shines outside that can be seen through a window or under a crack in the door. 

Pros and cons of different locations

Attic

In the attic, the biggest problem is the temperature. In the summer it can get tropically warm, while in the winter it can be icy cold. A solution may be to reverse the day and night rhythm. At the low temperature at night you have the heat from the lamp instead of during the day when it is already warm in the attic. If you have electricity costs with a nightly rate, you also benefit from this.

If you have solar panels, it is best not to do this. Another disadvantage is that you cannot water the plants during the day and do the maintenance of your plants. Because then you disturb their sleep. At night everything is quiet.
If you leave the grow lamp on, the fan will also run and the extraction will run at full power. These sounds are more audible at night than during the day. Keep this in mind.
Attics are often not high. The sloping roof can also be a problem. In some places the roof may be too low. You then do not have enough space to hang a lamp at a sufficient distance above the plant.

Cellar

A dry, not too cold cellar is probably the most ideal growing space. You can usually work unobtrusively and undisturbed in it.
Due to the underground insulated location, the temperature is easy to control. You do not have to deal with large temperature differences at night and during the day. both in summer and in winter you have a fairly stable temperature in a cellar.

A basement is usually light-tight and therefore you hardly have any light nuisance.
The supply and exhaust of the air in the grow room can sometimes be a problem in a cellar. The humidity under the ground is often on the high side. Therefore try to place the supply and drainage outside the basement. Then you don't grow cannabis with too high humidity.

LED lamps give less heat. If you want to grow with this in a cellar, it is advisable to heat the room a few degrees.

Suzy's tip: 

Basement floors are cold. Therefore, always make a substrate of thick tempex or other insulation boards for your grow room. If necessary, place a heat mat. This prevents the roots from getting too cold, which is a disadvantage for the cultivation.

Bedroom

If you are in the fortunate position of having an extra room at your disposal, this is a good place to set up a small cannabis grow room. The temperature can be regulated well with the central heating. On hot days it is easier to keep a small space cool. If necessary, cool the room with an air conditioner or air cooler.

The supply and disposal in these areas are also easy. In a well-conditioned climate outside the breeding loft, it can be sucked in immediately. The drain can be led to a window in the tilt position. Some windows have ventilation grilles, ideal for mounting your drain hose.

Barn and garage

Here too you can go about your business undisturbed and unobtrusively. To get water and electricity at this place is usually no problem. Because a garage door is a short way to the outside world, this is a point of attention. Especially if it is located on a public road.
Temperatures can also vary quite a bit. Provide good insulation to minimize the need for heating or cooling.

Light-tight

When you have found the ideal location for you, the building can begin. Provide good light protection in the cannabis grow room. Not only to prevent light nuisance, but also for the plant.

For optimal flowering, the plant needs 12 hours of continuous darkness and 12 hours of continuous light. When this process is disturbed, it can have a significant effect on the yield. Plants can become hermaphrodite or even an entire crop can fail. This is called light stress. So make sure there are no holes or cracks through which light shines. Then the weed loft has good light protection.

Air-tight

It is important to make the grow room not only light-tight, but also airtight. First for the smell. Not so much in the growth phase, but once the plants are in their flowering phase and producing beautiful buds, the development of their fragrance also starts.

The plants will begin to give off a strong odor. Especially at the end of the flowering phase. You don't want this scent to spread outside the room. You will get used to the strong cannabis smell of your plants yourself, but your neighbors probably won't. Second, even the smallest crack can allow pests to enter and disrupt the growth of the plants. Thirdly, it is important to have a well-insulated room, so that you can regulate the climate yourself.

Close all holes, cracks and crevices!
Seal them with sealant or sealing or non-transparent tape.
You have found the ideal spot and made your grow room light and airtight. Now you are going to try in your new booth to create the best possible climate for your cannabis plants. The better they are having a good time, the more profusely they will grow and bloom.

Air circulation cannabis grow room

In order for your cannabis plants to grow and flower properly, they need carbon dioxide (CO2). They get that CO2 from the air around them. Air exchange of a grow room with weed is important. If you don't supply fresh air, they will have used up all the CO2 at some point. The growth of the plant will then slow down and the plant will become less healthy. The fresh air is drawn in through the inlet opening. The air holes provide fresh air and CO2 when growing weed.

Growing cannabis without good ventilation is therefore impossible. Make sure that no bugs or other vermin can get in and that no light shines through it. You can prevent this by connecting a hose that you place in a bend or by making a filter. For this you use a filter from a vacuum cleaner, extractor hood or the automotive industry.

In a small grow room, the inlet is passive. This means that no extra fan is needed to get the fresh air in.
By extracting low-CO2 air from the grow cabinet, you create a negative pressure in the room, so that fresh CO2-rich air is automatically drawn in. You do this with your extraction, extraction system, extraction fan. It can be placed both inside and outside the room.

Always grow weed with a carbon filter to prevent odor nuisance. A carbon filter is a large tube filled with carbon. The carbon absorbs and neutralizes the chemicals that cause the odors. A carbon filter does not last forever, so it is recommended to replace it after 4 to 5 breeding rounds.
Normally the inlet side is at the bottom of the grow room, low to the ground. The warm air from the lighting is extracted through the outlet at the top.

A plant that can absorb a lot of carbon dioxide will give a good yield.
There are even CO2 enrichment devices available, which give cannabis a boost during the flowering period with extra CO2. The result is thick, firm buds.
Moving air initiates evaporation. This prevents you from getting damp spots in your growing medium or elsewhere in the room. Warm moist places are ideal for mold.

Climate

Cannabis thrives best in a good climate. That means growing weed with the right humidity and temperature. This is different for each phase of the plant's life cycle. Climate control, checking and adjusting the temperature and humidity is therefore recommended. But how do you manage the climate in your grow room?

Check and adjust temperature

With a simple thermometer you measure the temperature at the height of the buds. There are various devices for sale to heat the room. Some have a built-in thermostat and regulate everything yourself. With a small mobile air conditioner you can also heat. The advantage of this is that you can also cool the room with it. You can use it to set the desired maximum temperature (around 28 °C).

Checking and Adjusting Humidity

The easiest is a combined thermometer/hygrometer. You see the temperature and humidity. To get the humidity level up, you can simply put a bowl of water in the room or a wet towel. With an automatic humidifier is the easiest way to increase the humidity.

A dehumidifier does the opposite and makes the air drier. There are also combined devices that have both functions.
If you really want to control the temperature and humidity in your cannabis grow room? Then there are also controllers for sale for cultivation. Control cabinets that measure the temperature and moisture content in the room. After which they can control the heating or air conditioning, the humidifier or dehumidifier and the extraction. This way you automatically maintain the ideal climate in the grow room.

Lamps

Can you grow weed indoors without a lamp? No. Just like the sun outside, your indoor garden also needs a strong light source. With a time switch you automatically control the day and night rhythm of the plant.
There are plenty of lights for growing weed on the market. HPS lamps, CMA lamps, LED lamps, etc. The best lamps for growing cannabis depend on the size of the breeding loft and the grower itself.

The current LED lamps are on a par with an HPS lamp with their performance. They produce little heat, so there is little risk of fire and they last longer. With the same light output, an LED needs much less power (watts) and costs a lot less in consumption. The purchase price for a good LED lamp is generally a bit higher. Whatever your preference, grow cannabis with safe grow lights.

Suzy’s Tip:

Start with the cheapest and simplest set up Air or water cooled variants can always be purchased later. First try if the basic equipment is sufficient.

Reflecting screen

A reflecting screen in your growing space makes sure that the plants can profit optimally from the light. Light = weight. The amount of light a plant gets will greatly determine the final yield. Mylar film is the best you can use to make a screen. It reflects about 99% of the light on your plants.

Container

I put my plants in a container so I can easily clean up the place. I made it myself using wood and plastic. It's not that hard. I succeeded and I'm not really a handywoman. All waste, such as potting soil, dead leaves, and wastewater remains in this container. As soon as you have harvested, you can easily remove everything and clean the place, so it is ready for the next batch of plants. A container is also useful when you water your plants. By giving your plants lots of clean water, you remove the excess nutrients and fertilizers. When they are in a container, you can easily water the plants without making a mess. You can also fill the whole container with nutrients, so all plants can profit from them. They can decide how much water and how many nutrients they want to absorb.

Suzy’s Tip:

When I leave for a weekend, I fill the container with water and the plants decide for themselves how much water they need.

Safety and fire prevention of the cannabis grow room

Build your grow space safely. Especially fire safety. Be careful with electricity in a damp room. It is not only advisable to install a fan for the plant, you also prevent condensation from forming on or in the devices.

Equipment intended for cultivation is made to function in these conditions. With certified equipment you are always in the right place. Install the power supply properly and do not leave any cables lying on the floor.

Create a solid ceiling in your cannabis grow room so that you can safely hang your growing equipment on it. Place a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket near your grow room. Hope you don't have to use it, but it is the first aid for a fire. Hang a smoke detector.

Practical tips

● Build the grow space firmly. So that it is stable and that you can safely hang equipment in it.
● Most materials to build your grow room are available at the hardware store.
● Cover the walls with plastic foil. This is easy to keep clean.
● Black and white foil (panda foil) can. But it's best to use a reflective foil for the inside of the grow room. Such as mylar foil, aluminum foil, diamond foil and Orca grow foil.
● A little searching on the internet and you will find plenty of construction drawings and inspiration for making an indoor garden.
● Turn the floor into a container for the grow room. So that excess water cannot run away when watering or later when flushing the cannabis plants.
● If you are away from home for a few days, fill the container with a layer of nutrient water. The pots suck up slowly, so you prevent the plants from drying out too quickly.
● Keep your grow room clean. Place a collection container and throw in the remains of potting soil, dead leaves, etc.

Setting up the grow room

Now that you're done, you can set up your weed grow room. You wonder: how many cannabis plants can you grow per square meter? You can put weed all over the grow room, but once they start growing it can quickly become too crowded. It depends on how you want to grow your cannabis.

Decide for yourself with which nutrients you want to grow. Are you going to grow cannabis indoors with organic nutrients or are you going for a clean grow with mineral nutrition? With the latter way, it is useful to have an EC meter and PH meter in the weed grow room. The EC meter measures the salinity and the PH meter measures the acidity in the feed water.
What are the best strains to grow indoors? All feminized and regular cannabis seeds are suitable for an indoor grow. Growing autoflowers indoors is also possible. Grow the most beautiful flowers with the Suzy's Aficionado Collection. Or with quality seeds for a budget price. See what seems best to you.

Suzy seeds does not want to encourage illegal cultivation practices, but wants to provide the small-scale hobby grower with as much useful information as possible. To be able to safely make a safe product for your own consumption. Without bothering anyone else.

Ready for use

Your growing space is now ready for use! You can read more about the next steps  on our website.