Growing marijuana in grow tents

Dani Alchimia 2023-03-01
Hi Rachel, First of all, sorry for the late reply. You can start your grow indoors and then move the plants outdoors, but take into account that you'll have to move them really early (today, if possible) during February/March, otherwise they'll stop flowering by May and start revegging. You want the bloom cycle to end correctly, and by late May the plants will probably stop flowering and start growing again. Another option is putting the plants outside by Mid-July, when they should start flowering and complete their cycle as any other outdoor plant. Of course, we're talking about the Northern hemisphere! All the best!

Tim Alchimia 2021-06-21
Hi Nick, thanks for your comment and question. A grow tent offers many advantages, and near-complete control over the conditions is one of them. With adequate ventilation and air conditioning, you can create an ideal grow space, although it's hardly the most sustainable way to grow cannabis as electrical consumption can be very high when attempting to battle high temperatures. A grow tent may be very useful for you in another way, because I presume that the outdoor photoperiod where you are is roughly 12/12 all year round, meaning that it's hard to grow plants to a good size before flowering them. You could use the grow tent as a vegetative growth area before moving the plants outdoor to flower once they're big enough. This method may not work during the wet season, but I'd imagine that cannabis would perform rather well in the dry season, as long as enough irrigation is available, and possibly some kind of shade during the hottest time of day. Yields are liely to be far greater with this method than finishng the entire flowering cycle indoors, where space is restricted. Personally, I'd be looking at equatorial sativas, either landraces from your area or those that come from a similar latitude. These are plants that have developed to thrive in tropical climate conditions and should give you the least amount of trouble. If in doubt. try and ask local growers what they choose to cultivate, if possible. I hope that heps, best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2021-04-08
Hi, thanks for your comment and question. I didn't know that Subcool had made a Blueberry, they should be very interesting indeed! His genetics are definitely suitable for outdoor growing as well as indoor, although I think he did all his breeding indoors. I'd guess that, as with most breeders, there'll be varieties that are more suited to outdoor cultivation than others, depending on mould and pest resistance, size and general structure. Search for a YouTube channel called Mendo Dope, those guys have done huge outdoor grows using Subcool genetics, with some spectacular results. I hope that helps, best wishes and happy growing! PS. I bet those Chem 91 cuts will thrive in your aeroponics set up indoors!

Tim Alchimia 2021-05-20

Hi James, thanks for your comment. Most indoor growers will pick a nutrient line and simply follow the feeding schedule for that particular brand, whether it be organic or mineral. Other growers prefer to use a well-fertilised super soil and then just use plain water and compost tea throughout the grow. Molasses are always a great addition to a grow as they act as food for beneficial microbes, boosting the life in the soil which helps the plants absorb nutrients more efficiently.  Mammoth P is a popular microbial product and will help increase harvests by providing more Phosphorous to the plant. I'm not sure what the photosynthesis product is but a good veg enhancer would be Green Hope Booster Max. 

I hope that helps, best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2021-02-10
Hi, thanks for your question. it really depends on the wattage of the HPS bulb you're comparing it to. A good quality 315w CMH lamp, such as the Lumatek Aurora, will give comparable results to a 600w HPS in most situations, but with significant energy savings. I hope that helps. Best wishes and happy growing

Tim Alchimia 2020-11-16
Hi Greg, thanks for your comment and question. To calculate the lighting needed in each tent you need to now the output of the LED lights in lumens. The plants will need an absolute minimum of 2,500 lumens per square foot, although 5,000 is much better, up to a maximum of around 10,000 lumens per square foot during flowering, which is roughly equivalent to natural sunlight. The Veg/Bloom switch will change the lighting spectrum from a more white/blue light suitable for vegetative growth to a more orange/red spectrum that is ideal for flowering. I hope that helps you out, feel free to ask further questions and we'll all we can to help. Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-08-10
Hi Wheatie, thanks for your question. Curing doesn't really affect the potency unless the weed has been curing for a really long time, in which case much of the THC will have converted to CBN, resulting in a more heavy, stony and narcotic effect, but it won't actually make it any stronger really. The main purpose of curing is to improve the flavour by allowing compounds such as chlorophyll, starches and sugars in the flowers to break down, making for a smoother smoke. The effect will also change slightly, from the up, speedy coffee high of freshly harvested weed, to a slightly more mellow and physical effect once the flowers are fully cured, depending on the variety. As a general rule, I find that Sativas and Sativa-dominant hybrids will benefit from a much longer cure of up to a year, while Indica-dominant varieties tend to only need a relatively short curing period and indeed begin to lose flavour quite quickly, sometimes after a few months. I hope that helps. Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-08-04
Hi James, thanks for your comment and question. There's no problem at all in leaving the door open while the lights are on, but you'll need to make sure that the tent is sealed up again before the lights go out if you're in the flowering period, otherwise you stand a good chance of stressing the plants and having hermaphrodite problems. I hope that helps. Best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2020-02-05
Hi Justin, thanks for your question. I take it those measurements are in inches, right? If the lumens are equivalent to those of a 600w HPS (which I think is what you mean here, correct me if I'm wrong) then it should be just fine in that space, although LED lamps don't tend to have as large a light footprint as HPS so you'll need to verify how much the light spreads to be 100% certain in this case. I hope that helps, best wishes and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2019-11-01
Hi Leisa, thanks for your question. If you want you can give your plants molasses in low doses from a very early stage, once a few sets of leaves have developed. It won't act as plant food as such, but it will help to feed the beneficial microbes which in turn will improve nutrient uptake and efficiency in your plants. You can add molasses (making sure it's the un-sulphured type) throughout growth, increasing the dosage as the plant develops, but it's during the flowering phase when it will be most beneficial. All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2019-09-30
Hi Frank, thanks for your question. Yes, your friend definitely needs more light in there! When it comes to LED lamps, we'd recommend a minimum of 50w per square foot, and up to 80w per square foot for optimum results. All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2018-09-19
Hi Matthew, thanks for your question. The best thing to do is to check out our selection of Grow Tent Kits, which include all the equipment you'll need to start growing. We have several kits including a 120cm (4x4) tent, priced depending on the size of bulb you want and how much money you want to spend. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to get in touch, happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2018-07-24
Hi Ryan, good choice, I'm sure you'll do great with those seeds! As far as nutrients go, personally I'd recommend to use organic nutrients from a company like BioBizz or BAC which will provide an easy-to-follow feeding schedule. Alternatively Bio-Technology produce an auto nutrient kit specially formulated for Autoflowering plants. All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2018-07-24
Hi again Ryan, with them being autos, I think I'd go for between six and eight plants in that space. It really depends on the final size they'll grow to, and while autos tend to be on the smaller side, there are exceptions.

Tim Alchimia 2018-05-02
Hi Clara, thanks for your question. To set up for flowering you'll need to create a lightproof space for your plants where they only receive light when you want them to. Without seeing the stable it's hard to say what to do, some people would put up a quick dry wall to enclose the space but if you're not that way inclined I'd recommend a grow tent. It sounds like your plants will be quite large after 4-5 months vegetative growth, so I'd recommend a larger tent to ensure they have enough space. Our 240x120 Alchimia Box is a great option. It's also available as a full kit, including lamps, fans, ventilation and everything else you'll need, here's the link: Alchimia Box 240 basic kit. All the best and happy growing!

Tim Alchimia 2018-03-13
Hi, thanks for the question. Ideally you'll vent from the top of the tent to evacuate any hot air, but it can work fine either way. Venting the air up a tall chimney sounds like a great idea, but I'd still recommend using a carbon filter to avoid the smell being spread over a wide area! All the best and happy growing!

Dani Alchimia 2018-02-19
Hi JR Lautner, You should have no problem. I'd recommend you to use a 2-speed fan, so you can switch it in case you need more fresh air inside your grow (which usually happens in summer). Still, you can try with the fan you purchased, I think it'll work properly. Best!

Tim Alchimia 2018-01-22
Hi Tom, thanks for your question, sorry to hear about your plants dying... those numbers sound fine though, so it must be something else that's killing them. Without more information on your grow it's impossible to say what it is, but one of the most common mistakes made by beginners is over-watering, which deprives the roots of oxygen and stunts growth terribly, often killing plants. Allow pots to dry out a little between waterings and get used to the weight of the pots when they're properly irrigated, that way all you'll need to do is to lift each pot and if it feels light, it's time to water! Have a look at our article on watering for some more information on the subject. I hope that helps out, good luck with your next grow, let us know how it goes please! All the best.

Dani Alchimia 2017-10-04
Hi Sid, Let's imagine a 1,2 x 1,2m grow tent, which would normally require a 600W HPS lamp. If you can use 2 x 300W LEDs, light distribution will be perfect, much better than if you're only using a single lamp, and yields will probably be higher than with a standard HPS light. When growing indoors, any pure strain (either Sativa or Indica) is a bit more difficult to grow than hybrids, since in most cases they're not properly adapted to artificial lighting. Moreover, some pure Sativas are too vigorous and tall for indoor grows, while some pure Indicas take too long to grow and remain too short. For their characteristics, Indica/Sativa hybrids and Sativa/Indica hybrids are the most grown type of strains indoors. About nutrients, I'd suggest to start with something easy. Use some quality soil and slow-release organic nutrients like Biotabs or GH Feeding (Biogrow + Biobloom + Enhancer work great!!!). In this way, you'll only have to use water + some bacteria to irrigate the plants. Hope it helped!

Tim Alchimia 2017-08-29
Hi, This is a relatively common problem in summer, indeed I know many growers that simply don't grow indoors during summer to avoid just this problem! I'm not sure what the exterior temperatures are like where you are but one easy step you can take is to change the hours on your timer so the lights go on at night, when the exterior air is cooler, so the ambient temperature will be lower. Make sure your cool-tube ducting (insulated ducting will help lower temps too) is venting to the exterior well away from where you're pulling the fresh air into the tent, and to make the extraction more efficient, make sure the ducting is as straight and direct as possible, without too many twists and turns which would reduce airflow and make the fans work too hard. Is the ballast for the lamp inside the tent? Can you move it outside? That would certainly help too. If these measures don't make any difference, then you could look into cooling the tent with something as basic as a bucket of ice, or if that's too simple, then maybe look into a portable air conditioning unit that you could direct into the tent. I hope that's some help, happy growing!

Dani Alchimia 2017-04-03
Hi terry222, Excellent question! Outdoor plants are used to a changing environment, they have sunny days, rainy days, cloudy days, and different moon phases. They adapt to these conditions and react accordingly. On the other hand, indoor plants have much more constant environmental conditions. It must be said that they can also tolerate a certain amount of light during the night period and bloom normally, but it is always better to avoid light sources since indoor plants are more sensitive to environment changes. That's why complete darkness is always recommended, so you don't take any risk of stressing the plants. Hope it helped!

Dani Alchimia 2016-10-06
Hi Levi, As you say, light is not so important during the first stages of the plant, but it is imperative to get good yields once into flowering. Grow tents have been designed to keep a good environment for the plants while protecting them from light sources during their night periods. Thus, they're very convenient but not strictly necessary, especially in regard with yields. What you do need is a good light source (the Apollo 400W would be ok) and proper air renovation in the growing space (and of course controlling the temperature and humidity). These basic tips for indoor gardening should be useful for you. Hope it helped!

Dani Alchimia 2016-08-17
Hi Naomi, Check the min/max temperatures inside your grow room, plants normally develop purple hues when exposed to low temps, also if they're stressed somehow. Also, keep in mind that many strains develop purple colors naturally, which is not a problem at all! Hope it helped.

Dani Alchimia 2016-08-17
Hi Naomi, If you mean the lower leaves of the plant, then you need to add more nitrogen to your nutrient solution. Using any fertilizer formulated for the growth stage should solve the problem. On the other hand, if you mean the upper leaves it could be caused by the heat emitted by the bulb. Placing it a bit further from the plants should lower the temperature of their tops and allow plants to grow normally. Hope it helped! ;)

Dani Alchimia 2016-07-27
Hi Naomi, I don't know if I understood your post correctly. When you say at the end of the tent, you mean you have water condensated on the walls of the grow tent? Or is the water not coming from condensation but from a humidifier? If you have water drops on the walls of your tent caused by condensation, that means you should improve your air extraction system. If it comes from a humidifier, simply adjust it so it produces less vapor. Hope it helped! ;)

Dani Alchimia 2016-01-27
Hi Bethany, I am currently growing in a 4'x2'x4' grow tent with two 250W lamps and air cooled reflectors. My plan was using a 400W lamp, but when I checked light intensity with a luxmeter I realized that light distribution was better with two smaller lamps. Still, and since a 400W light produces more lumens than a 250W, you won't have major issues regarding this. The number of plants depends on growing systems and techniques: you can use the SOG technique and put about 12-16 plants in your space, or you can grow larger plants and use 2-4 plants (SCROG technique). It is up to you, each systems has pros and cons. As you can see, yields do not depend on the number of plants used, but on their size: the idea is always covering the whole growing surface with buds. Hope it helped!

Dani Alchimia 2015-07-06
Hi Papa Indica, We just love reading your opinions!! ;) While I haven't used duct fans but inline fans, I've also realized that the difference between wing reflectors and enclosed reflectors is huge, not only speaking about light reflection, but especially heat dissipation. Again, thanks for your comment... All our best vibes!