Growing hemp is cheaper in the long term than buying cannabis and is also fun.
If you grow hemp with one of our grow boxes, you will find everything you need to know about growing in our grow box in the Bonsanto growing instructions. Nevertheless, it may be interesting for you to learn more about the background to cannabis cultivation. In this article you will learn everything you need to know about hemp and growing hemp.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Growing hemp - What is hemp anyway?
Hemp, cannabis or in Latin “Cannabis sativa L.” is a dicotyledonous plant and is one of the oldest useful plants. Nowadays, monoecious cannabis plants are sold, which have both male and female flowers. However, cannabis was originally a dioecious plant, as there were both male and female plants, with the male plants pollinating the female plants.
What is the legal situation in Germany?
The cultivation of cannabis was banned in Germany from 1982 to 1996 due to its reputation for intoxicating effects. The cultivation of industrial hemp has been legal since 1996, but is subject to strict conditions. Only agricultural businesses that are defined as such under the law “on old-age insurance for farmers” are allowed to grow hemp. Industrial hemp may be cultivated if the THC content of the plant is less than 0.2 percent.
What is THC?
THC stands for the psychoactive substance tetrahydrocannabinol and is one of 114 cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. THC is responsible for the intoxicating effect of hemp. It is extracted from the female, unpollinated cannabis plants. The consumption of THC can affect memory, desire, concentration and sensory perception.
What types of hemp are there?
Cannabis growers distinguish between four different cannabis strains. These include the sativa, ruderalis, indica and hybrid varieties. The distinguishing features of the cannabis varieties are growth, smell and effect. Sativa plants have wide-spreading plants and are known for their high growth and high-yielding harvest. They have a stimulating and motivating effect and increase appetite. Ruderalis, on the other hand, are significantly smaller and tend to grow in colder regions. They have a low THC content. As they automatically switch to the flowering phase, they are often crossed with other cannabis varieties. Indica cannabis plants are smaller than sativa plants and are characterized by bushy growth. This cannabis strain makes you stoned, tired, increases your appetite and is pain-relieving. Hybrid varieties are created by crossing the other three hemp plants and usually combine the positive characteristics of the different varieties.
How do you determine the sex of a hemp plant?
When growing hemp, it is important for growers to know the sex of the cannabis plant. Male and female plants should not be planted together. If a male cannabis plant pollinates the female hemp plant, a harvest is no longer possible. Shortly before the cannabis plant begins to flower, you can determine its gender by looking at the branches. Male cannabis plants are characterized by round pollen sacs, whereas female plants have small calyxes with tiny hairs.
Where can you grow hemp?
Hemp can be grown outdoors, in a greenhouse or indoors. When growing cannabis outdoors, you as a grower usually save costs, as the plant is supplied with rain and sun. There is also more space outside than in an apartment, which means you can grow your hemp plants more generously. If you want to grow hemp indoors, you have the advantage that you can grow all year round, regardless of the weather and season. You also have more control over the growth and health of your cannabis plant. Due to these advantages, many growers prefer indoor cultivation. One aid for indoor growing is a grow box or grow tent. You can find a selection of grow boxes and grow tents in our Bonsanto Shop.
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Growing hemp - Which environmental conditions are important?
Exposure
When growing cannabis, it is important that your cannabis plant is provided with at least 12 hours of light per day. Indoors, you can easily set the exposure time using a timer – you can find a timer for your indoor grow in our Bonsanto Shop. Outdoors, you need to grow in summer to ensure 12 hours of light per day.
Air supply
Secondly, when growing hemp, you should make sure that your cannabis plant is supplied with circulating and fresh air. This reduces the risk of pest infestation and the development of mold. If you are growing your plant indoors, you will therefore need an activated charcoal filter and a fan. These are included with our mini grow boxes M, L and XL, so you don’t need to buy them separately.
Grow soil
Whether you are growing cannabis indoors or outdoors, you should buy grow soil that has been specially made for growing cannabis. Conventional soil often contains pests and is low in nutrients. You should also use organic soil for growing hemp if you intend to smoke your harvest later. Bonsanto’s premium soil is ideal for growing your hemp plant as it is pre-fertilized and contains perlite and compost.
Water supply
Like any other plant, hemp plants need water to grow. Water transports important nutrients and promotes plant growth. If you grow your cannabis plant outdoors, you probably won’t need to water it, as it will be supplied with water by rain. Indoors, you need to water your plant regularly and pay attention to a few things. You can find out more about this in our blog post “Watering plants”. If you grow in one of our Bonsanto mini grow boxes, you’re in luck! Many of the points that other growers have to pay attention to are not important for you, as the grow box and the Bonsanto Premium Soil are self-regulating. Just follow our growing instructions on our website!
What growing phases are there in cannabis cultivation?
When growing hemp, you can basically distinguish between three different phases. These phases can be divided into germination, growth and flowering.
The first phase of hemp seed germination can take place in three different ways. You can choose between the kitchen paper method, the water glass method and the grow medium method. If you would like to find out more about the topic of “Germinating hemp seeds” and are interested in the different methods, take a look at our blog article “How to germinate seeds”.
The next stage of hemp cultivation is the growth phase. This phase begins as soon as the first leaves of your cannabis plant have grown. This is when your hemp plant starts to grow. How long your plant spends growing depends on the cannabis strain you have chosen. It is generally said that the growth phase lasts around 4-8 weeks. If you are using a Bonsanto Mini Growbox to grow hemp, you can find out what you should pay attention to during the growth phase of your plant in our Bonsanto growing instructions.
The flowering phase follows on from the growth phase. As mentioned in a previous section, you should determine the sex of your plant before flowering in order to weed out male plants. Indoors, you need to initiate the flowering phase of your plant by changing the exposure time. You should therefore reduce the 18 hours of light per day to 12 hours. If you are growing hemp in our grow box, read the Bonsanto growing instructions for additional information.
When is the harvest when growing hemp?
When you can stop growing cannabis and when your cannabis plant is ready for harvest depends primarily on the cannabis strain and the environmental conditions of the grow. Your cannabis plant is ready for harvest when the trichomes of the cannabis plant turn the color of amber and the THC smell of your plant becomes stronger. Other signs of the right harvest time are the dropping of leaves and reduced resin production.
After growing and harvesting cannabis, you should ideally dry the flowers and ferment them if necessary. If you are interested in fermenting cannabis, you can find an informative blog post on our website.
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What our growers say
Hallo! Die Bonsanto Growbox ist das perfekte Set-up, um eigene Pflanzen zu züchten! Ich bin total begeistert. Ich denke die Bilder sprechen für sich. Eine echte Empfehlung.
Olivia W.
Ich bin seit neustem im Homegrowing aktiv und habe mein neues Hobby gefunden. Das Growzelt von Bonsanto hat definitiv einen großen Teil dazu beigetragen, weshalb ich meine Erfahrung mit euch teilen wollte. Schaut euch meine Cannabis-Pflanzen an! Wenn das mal nicht gut aussieht.
GanjaGardener
Hallo zusammen, ich habe mir vor kurzem die Bonsanto Mini Grow Box XL zugelegt. Ich bin totaler Anfänger, daher war ich erst ein wenig skeptisch. Gerade auch was den Anbau in einem so kleinem Raum angeht. Bis jetzt läuft aber alles nach Plan. Ich benutze das Bonsanto Zubehör (Erde, Dünger, CO2 Bags etc.).
Speedygonz22 Grow forum