Growing Cannabis: Costs & Safety

In part two of the growing at home series, we introduced the primary considerations for any homegrower as lifestyle, space, costs and safety. In part three, we’re going to cover the concepts of costs and safety. Due to the potential risks involved in operating an indoor grow, costs and safety are very closely related. While some will roll the dice, we recommend starting with a small space and developing your knowledge and skills before investing a large amount of money. We have to make an assumption that you are, like most folks, a homegrower with limited space looking to grow your own plants and either supplement or supply in full your own smokable Cannabis. Most homegrowers opt for either an affordable grow tent, basement conversion or rigid foam insulation room.

Grow Tents

Grow tents and rooms let you control the light, water, temperature, and humidity, so that your plants can grow faster, stronger and year round. Grow tents are cheaper and more practical than building a sealed room; however, the sealed grow room will provide more flexibility to advance your skills, possibly by introducing CO2 and a more automated watering/feeding system. Ask an associate at your local hydroponics store about a 2-in-1 60”x48”x80” Mylar Reflective Grow Tent for Indoor Hydroponic Growing System as an entry level product providing space for both propagation/vegetation and flowering growth. The divider can be removed once the vegetative stage is over to allow more room for flowering plants, as well.

Grow Lights

Ultimately, an HID fixture will produce a lot of heat, while an LED grow light will not drastically change the temperature. HIDs are much better at delivering light to more of the budding flower, but will need to be replaced more frequently and are more expensive to operate overall. Outside of high-quality seed genetics, lighting will be your most important purchase. Keep in mind the primary considerations for the commercial grower are not the same for the home grower, which means you don’t need to go bananas with automation or brand name lighting. It’s also not essential that you know all of the ins and outs of electricity and lighting, but there are some concepts to get familiar with that will be helpful to know before you make one of the larger purchases associated with your homegrow.

For the homegrower, consider the following: 

1. How many watts will my power supply allow and how many watts do I want to pay for given the price per KWh?
2. How much more am I willing to pay in HVAC due to the heat emitted by the HID bulb vs. the LEDs?
3. Do I want to focus on resin and Terpene development with an LED or larger buds or both?

Remember that plants use photons for photosynthesis, so lights for plants focus on a range of wavelengths ~350 to 750 nanometers. Dr. Bruce Bugbee covers the basic concepts of how plants receive this range of light in a Youtube Video, “PAR, PPF, PPFD, and PFD Explained.” This will also give you some insight on why LED companies are shifting their conversations to fixture efficacy for improvements in plant growth. Dimmable lighting fixtures with Full Spectrum LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are recommended as either primary or supplementary lights to HIDs. This will make it easier to make minor adjustments based on how your plants look to determine what intensity of lighting they need. A High Intensity Discharge (HID) light will break through a dense canopy with ease; however, lining a grow tent or a grow room with mylar reflectors is also an effective way to improve light intensity for plants. Either way, early vegging plants prefer T5s.

Cannabis Growing Accessories

Some accessory items like clip fans, extension cords, gloves, T5 bulbs and fixtures, etc. can be purchased at any hardware store, but we recommend contacting a hydroponics store or reaching out to one of Mosca’s partners to select the best lighting, tents, nutrients, supplemental microbes and soil for your home grow.

Safety really comes down to making sure your electrical panel is up to code and keeping the sights (e.g. 18 hours of lighting) and smells of production away from the public. Here is a basic list of materials and minimum price point to help you get started.

SHOPPING LISTS

4 x 4 Grow Tent:

Minimum Price Point: ~$500

1 × Full Spectrum LED Grow Light

1 × Grow Tent

1 × Inline Duct Fan

1 × Carbon filter

1 × Flex Air Aluminum Ducting

2 × Ducting Clips

1 × Thermometer and Hygrometer

1 × Timer

4 × 5 Gallon Grow Bags

2 × Adjustable Rope Clip Hanger

8 x 4 Sealed Room:

Minimum Price Point: ~$1200

2 × Full Spectrum LED Grow Light

1 x Exhaust Fan(s), Intake Fan(s)

1 x Carbon Filter

1 x Duct Work

1 x Dehumidifier

1 x Controls

2 × Ducting Clips

1 × Thermometer and Hygrometer

1 × Timer

8 × 5 Gallon Grow Bags

4 × Adjustable Rope Clip Hanger

ADDITIONS

Advanced Options:

1 x High Efficiency Split AC

1 x CO2 generator or Tank & Regulator

Regardless of the set-up, there is no substitution for good seed genetics. Growers go to the trouble of growing at home, because they want a superior product that is free from pesticide saturation and free from disease in addition to the added benefit of not depending on a heavily taxed product from a dispensary.

Check out Mosca Seeds at The Seed Bazaar to see our variety of high-quality genetics.