Your Quick Start Guide to Growing One Marijuana Plant in A Pot

If you haven’t grown marijuana before, you might feel anxious about the process. After all, it involves a lot of knowledge and plenty of hard work. If you make a few mistakes, you could lose what’s potentially a valuable crop.

In fact, cultivating cannabis is far easier than many people realize. Best of all, you can reduce the financial and time risks by starting with one plant in a pot. You’ll learn a huge amount about the practice of growing marijuana, and by harvest time, it will become apparent whether the process is right for you.

This guide helps you get started using soil, a seed, and a pot before providing useful tips on getting the most out of your experience.

Picking Your Pot

First and foremost, you need to select a pot that gives your plant the best opportunity to thrive. The size of the pot should be of primary concern. If you pick a pot that’s too small, your plant will quickly become rootbound. This means it won’t be able to grow properly and will fail to absorb nutrients. Consequently, you won’t get the biggest possible yield.

On the flip side, if you go too big too soon, there’s a danger of encountering drainage problems. Thus, nutrient absorption becomes problematic, likely leading to a deficiency.

Typically, you can germinate the seed in a 1-liter pot. When transplanting for the first time, you should transfer to a 2-5 gallon pot. Thereafter, you may need to increase the pot size by 5 gallons for every 12 inches of plant growth. By the time your plant reaches a height of 48 inches, you should use a 10-gallon pot. If it hits the heady height of 60 inches, you may require a 15-gallon pot.

Different pot materials are available, including porous clay, durable plastic, and fabric. It’s really up to you to decide on the material and shape. Many growers still prefer round pots, and quite a few experienced folks like using porous clay because it allows for better air circulation and water absorption.

Regardless of the pot you choose, please ensure it has drainage holes with something underneath to collect the water when it comes out. Make sure you remove this water as often as possible to avoid attracting pests. Allowing stagnant water to remain for a long time also increases the risk of mold.

Which Strain to Grow?

This is very much a personal choice. Check out our Strain Review section to learn key information about different strains, including their likely effects, how easy they are to grow, and the possible yield.

If you’re a novice grower, marijuana strains such as Blue Dream, Super Lemon Haze, and Sour OG are among the easiest to grow. However, you may have specific effects in mind, so research carefully to ensure you find what you need. Also, remember to use a high-quality seed bank, or else there’s a danger of getting duds.

Soil Preparation

It’s a good idea to use organic potting soil as your growing medium, especially if you’re a new grower. As long as you use high-quality soil, it will have enough nutrients to last a few weeks. As such, you won’t need to feed additional nutrients to your plant until it is approaching the flowering stage.

Once it’s time to add nutrients to the soil, use an organic product if possible. Many commercial products contain excessive salts, which could cause nutrient burn.

Also, please ensure that the soil you purchase is sterilized. Doing this greatly decreases the risk of it containing parasites or pests. These days, finding top-notch soil is easier than ever, with practically every garden store selling it. Even large retail chains such as Walmart will probably have it.

The best soil for your plant is ‘airy,’ which means it drains well and has a pH level between 6.5 and 7.5. Slightly acidic soil is okay, but if the pH falls below 6.0, it can affect the plant’s growth.

If you’re a more experienced grower, you might wish to create your own organic soil. This is possible by mixing two parts of sand with one part of moss, although there are other combinations worth exploring.

You can use soil from your garden, but you need to sterilize it. This involves putting it in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour. It’s also a good idea to leave the doors and windows open, as the smell is pungent. Add some fertilizer (one gallon of soil needs no more than a tablespoon’s worth), and you’re good to go.

It’s also a smart idea to measure the soil’s pH to ensure it’s not too acidic before proceeding to the next step.

Germination

When germinating your seed, put it about 1-1.5cm into the soil, ensuring it is totally covered. Keep the soil at a temperature of around 75 degrees, and wait for up to 7 days. When watering, do so carefully to ensure the seed remains covered. The soil must be constantly moist but not soggy.

However, a growing number of people are moving towards the paper towel method. As the name suggests, it involves using paper towels, along with two clean plates. You’ll find it relatively easy to keep the seed moist, and it could sprout within a few days.

For the record, you’ll know that the seed has germinated when you see a little root sticking out of it. When the time comes to transplant the seed, avoid touching the taproot.

Considerations When Growing Your Marijuana Plant

Here are some quick and easy tips to help you throughout your cannabis-growing journey. Please read our extensive growing section for more detailed information:

• Make sure your plant gets at least 16 hours of light exposure each day
• When the time comes to transition from the vegetative stage to flowering, your plant needs 12 hours of light, followed by 12 hours of complete darkness
• Don’t try to force your plant into flowering until it has spent at least 4 to 6 weeks in the vegetative stage
• A 250W HID light bulb may provide enough light; if the plant is stretching towards the light, this is a sign that you need to move it closer to the source (or invest in more powerful lighting)
• Keep the daytime temperature between 68 and 80 degrees; reduce by 10-15 degrees at night
• Ensure humidity levels are below 70% during the vegetative stage; gradually reduce it so the humidity is no more than 50% at the beginning of flowering
• Add a small fan to circulate air if you’re growing the plant in a cupboard or closet
• Use room temperature water when watering the plant; allow the water you’re using to sit for a full day in an open container to remove the chlorine
• Don’t water the plant when the soil still feels moist to the touch
• Feel free to remove large fan leaves, but don’t prune too much at once, or else you’ll send the plant into shock

Why Grow Only One Plant?

The most obvious reason is that it’s much easier to take care of a single plant than several! If you’re a new grower, you’ll need to pay more attention, but this becomes more straightforward when you only have one plant to worry about.

Then there’s the small matter of space. Growing several marijuana plants takes up a lot of space, not to mention the electricity required to keep your crop happy. With a single plant, you can use a small closet or even place it in the corner of a room. As long as there’s good air circulation (which also helps remove the smell of weed during flowering) and light, there shouldn’t be an issue.

It doesn’t cost much to get set up, and you’ll yield a reasonable amount of usable marijuana from the plant. Typically, when you grow marijuana indoors, you can expect to get at least four ounces of bud from the plant (depending on various factors such as genetics). When cultivated outdoors, one plant could provide an impressive eight ounces.

If you use a gram of marijuana a day on average, that single plant could keep you in weed for almost four months!

Growing A Single Marijuana Plant in a Pot: Try It Today!

Whether you’re growing cannabis for the first time or want a more serene experience, cultivating a single plant in a pot is a rewarding experience. You get to learn the nuances of growing marijuana with minimal financial risk. Moreover, it takes little time and effort to get started, and while you’ll ideally perform regular maintenance, the entire process shouldn’t be time-consuming.

Select your preferred strain and follow the tips above. First, however, please ensure that growing marijuana is legal in your state.