For patients who need medical marijuana, the progress of LED grow lights has been closely watched. The lights, which promise greater energy efficiency and lower heat than their high pressure sodium and metal halide cousins, have gained increasing visibility in the cannabis community.“The heat given off by an HPS grow light quickly builds up and can seriously hurt and even kill a marijuana plant if the hot air is not vented out through an exhaust system.”The two of them recently released a review and case study of their attempts at growing marijuana with LED grow lights. high pressure sodium HPS light emitting diodes metal halide nebula hazeCan marijuana be grown as effectively under LED lighting and proper climate control rather than energy-sucking heat lamps? Heavens, it’s a big week for pot questions. Why just the other day I answered a query about whether it’s safe to use plastic soil beads in potted plants, and now this. Thanks for keeping the theme alive. Marijuana aficionados stereotypically feel a deep and abiding connection with the natural world, or so I hear.

So stereotypically, I’d expect it would harsh their mell to know what a whopping energy footprint their buds have. Pot may look like an oh-so-natural herb, but until recently the illegal nature of it has meant not much grew outdoors, kissed by sunlight and light breezes. Instead, as you note, most crops have been raised indoors, under enormously energy-intensive and inefficient lamps. The good news is there are indeed ways the indoor-weed industry can clean up its act, and LED bulbs are a big part of that. But before we get to the solution, a look at the problem. Typically, growing operations use glaringly bright high-pressure sodium, or HPS, lights (metal halide and fluorescents are sometimes involved, too). How bright are we talking? Try 1,000 watts and 500 times brighter than your average reading lights. HPS lights are useful because they produce the wavelengths plants need to grow, but they do so quite inefficiently, and lots of the energy they tap ends up lost as heat. That means growers need to crank up the AC to keep their greenhouses the proper climate, further adding to their energy bills — and on top of that, many ops also use dehumidifiers and/or ventilation systems, and burn fossil fuels to boost the building’s carbon dioxide levels (a shot of CO2 makes plants, including pot, grow like — well, weeds).

All told, producing the average joint creates roughly three pounds of carbon emissions, according to a 2011 study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — equivalent to driving a hybrid car 22 miles.Bath Fun Shower Head Toy Might not sound like much, but all this adds up to staggering electricity bills for growers big and small. Blinds Com Remote ControlThat Berkeley Lab study reported that the legal indoor marijuana industry accounts for one percent of the country’s power consumption; Black And White Striped Panel Curtainssome larger growers blaze through $1 million worth in electricity every month. In Denver, which is ahead of the curve with pot infrastructure thanks to its trailblazing legalization of the stuff back in 2012, the marijuana biz uses closer to 2 percent of the city’s electricity, and growing.

As more and more states (24 and counting) legalize recreational or medicinal marijuana use, we can expect this usage to increase. Unless, that is, the industry starts greening up its game. And research suggests that’s entirely possible: The Berkeley Lab estimates that upgrading to more efficient equipment and improving practices could reduce related energy use by 75 percent. And just like in our fixtures at home, switching to LEDs can make a huge difference. To find out more about how, I turned to Neil Yorio, technology advisor for a cannabis consulting firm in Denver and vice president of agricultural lighting research at BIOS Lighting. That company sells LEDs, but before his stint there, Yorio spent more than 20 years at NASA studying how to best raise plants on long-term space missions. The guy knows grow bulbs. LEDs are more efficient than HPS bulbs generally, and as Yorio pointed out: “With HPS, light comes out of 360 degrees from the lamp. Half the light is going in the wrong direction, to the reflector hood, and that decreases efficiency.

With LEDs, all the light is going the direction you want it to.” What’s more, you can also engineer LEDs to produce only the kinds of wavelengths that plants need for photosynthesis. Boom, no more “spending money buying watts from the electric company to create light that the plants don’t use,” Yorio said. And then there’s the heat effect. Because LEDs run so much cooler than HPS bulbs, growers don’t need to blast the AC quite as aggressively to keep their plants happy. All together, Yorio estimates, LED grow bulbs will get the job done for half the energy. And yes, the herb they produce is just as good — and often, yields are higher, said Yorio. Sometimes, the light spectrums emitted by LEDs let farms raise even more potent puffs. LEDs are beginning to catch on in the industry, which is great news for the power grid. But even with these bulbs in use, “indoor cannabis production is an energy hog,” Yorio said. “Anything we can do to reduce energy consumption of the grid is something we should be embracing.”

Like what, you may ask? Here’s one idea: System-wide measures like demand response, where the electric plant would coordinate with growers to shift their bright hours to off-peak times, therefore reducing pressure on the grid. And of course, switching over to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar would be better still. These next-level practices aren’t off the ground in a major way yet, but here’s hoping the weed industry will press these changes soon. Say what you will about pot and motivation — a million dollars up in smoke every month on an energy bill seems pretty darn motivational to me.Marijuana is an extraordinary crop: it can thrive almost everywhere on our planet. But to get really outstanding results you may need some help. This comprehensive yet easy-to-understand guide will teach you how to grow your own weed step by step. HOW TO GROW WEED: GETTING STARTED Are you going to grow your marijuana indoors or outside? This isn’t an easy decision, as both options have their own advantages.

The most important thing is to protect your plants from thieves and scavengers. Also, you need to provide warmth and light. Both indoor and outdoor grows adhere to these conditions. The choice is down to your individual circumstances. Do you want big harvests of commercial marijuana or just a small crop of medical plants? Do you have a lot of time and energy to spend researching and tending to your plants, or do you prefer something a little less high-maintenance? It’s about time to make an important decision. To grow weed indoors you need a well ventilated room or shed without too many windows. If you take some precautions, indoor growing isn’t too risky. A big advantage of growing inside is that it has a yield potential of several crops a year. A first tryout grow does not require specialist tools. Just buy some cannabis seeds from a reputable source, and you’re good to go. Marijuana plants are just like any others – all they need is fertile earth, water and light. In a simple set up, this could mean a pot of potting soil and a couple of fluorescent lamps.

As time, money or your energy levels permit, you can add more frills such as filters, hydroponic or aeroponic propagation, advanced nutrient systems, training and cropping plants and so on. But if all that scares you, then a pot of soil and a nice bright lamp is all you need to get started growing indoor marijuana! Growing outdoors, your plants are more exposed to danger than inside. A surprise frost, a hungry rabbit, a nosey neighbor can all ruin your crop. But there are simple precautions you can take to prevent this. Use other plants to camouflage your grow, or find a secluded area for guerrilla growing. To protect plant roots from frost, drought, and pests, there are special plant pots for outdoor growing available – and you can even buy seeds for outdoor marijuana plants that are more hardy and pest-resistant. Growing outdoors, in most climates you can only harvest once a year. On the other hand, individual plants are often huge, resulting in bigger yields at lower cost.

After all, you need fewer seeds, pay no electricity bills, and need no filters or fans. If the climate is right, outdoor growing is a fun, easy and cost-effective way to grow your own weed. Strongest early-finishing marijuana strain available anywhere. Most potent indica strain on the marijuana seeds market. On the menu of just about every coffeeshop in the Netherlands. Another one of those fabulous new high-volume marijuana plants. Without light you can’t grow crops. Basically, you need to provide 24/7 light as long as your plants are growing (vegetative growth) and then switch to 12/12 light and darkness to induce flowering. Almost any old light source will do, as long as it is not incandescent (those give off far too much heat and too little light). As a beginner, CFLs or fluorescent grow lights are probably your best bet. Of course, if you grow your marijuana outdoors you won’t need lamps at all. The sun is and will always be the best light, as long as you’re getting any where you live.

A relatively new phenomenon is the use of LEDs for growing weed. Traditionally, metal halide lamps are used during vegetative growth and CFLs or high pressure sodium lamps for flowering. There are also (more spendy) switchable ballast MH/HPS lamps available. Once you’ve decided where to grow, you need to decide WHAT to grow. The choice of different cannabis strains on the internet is almost overwhelming. A strain simply means a genetic variant. Just like you can buy cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, stripy, big, small, extra juicy, extra sweet and so on, there are also many types of marijuana. The most common terms you will hear are sativa and indica. Usually, sativa strains are taller and headier in effect while indicas are more dense and short and have a body effect. There are also special medical marijuana seeds suitable for medicinal purposes. Most seed shops will provide all the information you need regarding plant size, effect and expected yield. One more thing to take into account is the difference between normal and feminized seeds. 

Regular cannabis seeds can grow into male or female plants. Male cannabis flowers look like small ‘bananas’. As soon as you spot these, pull the plant. Male plants do not produce harvestable weed. More importantly, they will fertilize your females if you don’t remove them! An easier solution might be to order feminized seeds instead. However, as a beginner, you may be more likely to stress your plants, and given enough stress, even feminized plants will grow male flowers. So make sure you educate yourself on the pros and cons of feminized seeds. Finally, you can also opt for autoflowering seeds. These do not require a switch in the lighting schedule like normal cannabis seeds do. The right time to harvest is a matter of some debate. Usually, growers decide to harvest when about 50% of the trichomes (tiny droplets of resin) on the cannabis flowers have turned from clear or cloudy to an amber colour. Harvesting too early results in premature bud which lacks the full effect of a properly ripened flower cluster.