The total time it takes to grow marijuana plants depends on many factors. These factors, as we discuss below, will determine how long it takes for your weed to be ready for harvest. On average, it takes about 3 to 4 months to grow a marijuana plant indoors.
A more detailed explanation is that the complete lifecycle of your cannabis plants from seed to harvest can take anywhere from 2 to 7 months, or even more depending on your conditions (like which indoor grow lights or grow tent you are using). That’s quite a long time, but you can shorten it if you use creative growing techniques like the sea of green growing method (SOG) to accelerate the vegetative or flowering stage. This method of growing indoors also brings in better yields. If you’d like to learn more about SOG: What Is The Sea Of Green Growing Method-Part I
As a new cannabis grower, it’s important to understand the basics of marijuana growth and how long it takes to grow it indoors. Keep reading to learn more about the step-by-step guidelines for the whole growing process.
Time needed to grow weed from seedling to harvest
Knowing the exact factors that affect your grow operation will help you budget how much time, money, and effort required to get your marijuana ready for consumption.
Many factors such as the type of cannabis seed strains you want to grow, your indoor growing tent setup, the size of your weed project, and the technique you will use all determine your total growth time. An important point to note is that bigger marijuana plants take longer than small plants grown using the SOG method.
Therefore, weed can take around 12-20 weeks growing indoors. From seed to harvest, it’s around 3-5 months and another extra 2 weeks. The additional 2 weeks can be used to dry and cure your marijuana to improve its potency and retain its natural smell. More information and a detailed breakdown of the total time it takes to grow marijuana are provided in this article to help you plan and achieve your targeted harvest time.
Before you start growing weed
The entire preparation time can take up to 2 weeks or more. This includes the time needed to get your equipment and source for the marijuana seeds or clones.
Step 1: Getting your equipment (likely 1 day to 2 weeks)
An average of 1 day to 2 weeks may be sufficient for you to purchase all the equipment you will need to cultivate marijuana. You can reduce this time if you buy the equipment at your local hydroponics shop. Once you have all the physical resources necessary to grow weed, the next step entails setting up your growing space and equipment. An average growing setup can take a few hours or a weekend afternoon. The whole process can last a day or 2 weeks, depending on the procedure you used to purchase your equipment and the time needed for shipping (if necessary).
Step 2: Getting your seeds or clones (likely 1 day to 4 weeks)
If you are a regular cannabis grower, you can harvest and preserve seeds from your mature plants. You can also trim off mature buds beneath your marijuana plant before harvesting and keep them as clones.
Alternatively you can obtain clones or seeds from local growers. If this is beyond you, then consider ordering clones or seeds from a seed bank. Since this alternative involves shipping, the time it takes to receive the seeds can be 1 day to 3 weeks or more.
How much time is needed to grow Marijuana: stages of growth
Cannabis plants pass through several stages of growth before they are ready for harvesting. During these development stages, the plants require different amounts of nutrients, water, and light. You must understand these stages, their durations, and what each plant needs at every stage. This will help you know when to train your plants, when to trellis them, and when they are ready for harvest.
These five stages of cannabis growth include:
- The germination stage
- The seedling stage
- The vegetative stage
- Flowering stage
- Harvesting stage
Depending on your cannabis strains and the growing method you use, these stages can last up to 3 or 5 months on average. Here is a breakdown of these stages of growing indoors.
To be continued…