Although growing cannabis at home is not for everybody, if it’s something you’d like to try, then you come to the right place. The simple reality is that there is a good deal of work that goes into growing weed at home, but there’s also a whole lot of reward.
Sure, it might take quite a few months and a lot of diligence, but at the end of it all, you’re left with a huge crop of stinky and sticky cannabis that you get to enjoy all to yourself.
However, there are tools at your disposal to make this process of cultivating cannabis at home much easier, faster, and safer. From timers and smart lights to smart pots and UV shielding glasses, and much more, there is a plethora of equipment out there designed specifically for cannabis growers.
There are also many pieces of equipment out there not designed for growing cannabis, but which can come in quite handy anyway. Today, we’re going to talk about some of the most essential tools for every cannabis at home grower that will help make the cannabis cultivation process more successful.
1. ph Pen
Something that you as a cannabis cultivator might be aware of is that keeping track of the pH level of your soil and of the nutrient solution is very important. For those who don’t know, the pH level of the soil refers to the acidity or basicity of the soil, with 1 being extremely acidic and 14 being very basic.
If your cannabis is not growing in the proper pH levels, it won’t be able to intake nutrients properly. Some nutrients may become less available and some may become over available, with the result being nutrient toxicities and deficiencies, combined with root rot, stunted growth, and the possible death of your cannabis plant.
For the record, cannabis usually prefers somewhere between 5.5 and 7.0 in terms of the pH scale. Well, to be able to keep track of all this, a pH pen, otherwise known as a digital PH meter, is a great tool to have at your disposal.
A pH pen is able to measure the PH level whether we are talking about soil, hydroponics, or anything in between.
A digital pH meter will allow you to easily keep track of the pH level of your nutrient solution before you feed it to your plants, as well as the soil that your plants are living in. Along with your pH pen, you’ll also want the pH down and pH up adjusters, so you can adjust the pH levels as needed.
2. Smart Pots
One of the issues that many beginner cannabis cultivators have is finding the right kinds of pots or containers for their plants. Sure, you could go for regular plastic planters or buckets, but those do have their issues. For instance, drainage is a big deal when it comes to growing cannabis. With regular planters and buckets, they often don’t have good drainage at the bottom, if any at all.
This tends to lead to soil becoming far too wet, which can in turn lead to root rot and the death of your plant. Therefore, it is essential that you have pots that can actually allow water to drain out. However, there’s more to it than that as well, because all of your average plastic or even clay containers can’t breathe as well.
This means that there isn’t enough oxygen getting into the soil, especially to allow for enzymatic processes and microbial activity to flourish. There is, however, a good solution here, and this is known as the smart spot.
Although a smart pot might sound like something super technologically advanced, it’s actually just a fabric-based pot. These are pots that are made out of fabric or canvas, which therefore allow for great air flow to the root system, as well as great drainage. Smart pots are also ideal because they don’t cost much, they can be washed, they are reusable, and often sustainable as well.
3. Heat Mat and Dome Tray
If you are planning on growing your cannabis from seedling, then there are some essential tools that can help you on this front. Here, we are talking about a combination of a heat mat and a dome tray. You see, seedlings are quite fragile and sensitive, and they require pretty specific conditions. In general, seedlings require fairly warm temperatures and moist conditions.
Without the right equipment, keeping seedlings warm and moist can be somewhat difficult. However, with a piece of equipment such as a heat mat, this all becomes much easier. A heat mat is simply a thin piece of rubber or plastic that you can heat up to a certain temperature.
You then place this underneath the seedlings to keep the soil and the roots warm from the bottom up. Having the soil go cold is one of the worst possibilities as far as seedlings are concerned. Although this takes care of the heating issue, it doesn’t take care of the humidity, which is where the Dome tray comes into play.
A dome tray is simply a small tray with a lid that can fit over top. This therefore allows for both humidity and heat to stay where it belongs. Just put a little water in the bottom of the tray you know little container, place it on top of the heating mat, and you’ve got a perfect little heating and humidifier combination to keep your seedlings in the perfect conditions.
4. Grow Room Glasses
What many people may not realize is that your average growing room can be pretty damaging to your eyes. After all, in a grow room, you probably have some really powerful LED lights, HPS lights, or anything else of the sort. The simple reality is that there is a whole lot of light being bombarded right at your eyes, and that can’t be good.
This is especially the case if you’ve gotten some kind of full spectrum lights that accurately mimic real sunlight, therefore effectively pounding your eyes with UV light. Grow lights designed for cannabis are not good for your eyes at all. It can cause serious damage to your eyes, especially with repeated and prolonged exposure.
Furthermore, having the light in your grow room be so intense can also make it really difficult to spot little intricacies, such as pests and disease on your plants. All of that light can drown out everything else. However, there are tools out there designed specifically to help protect your eyes in a grow room, mainly grow room sunglasses.
There are specialized versions for grow rooms that use LED lights as well as those that the blue lens is designed to cut down on the harshness of HPS lights. Whatever the case may be, you don’t want to spend any amount of time in a grow room for months on end without effectively protecting your eyes. Over the course of several months, those lights can take a serious toll on your vision, and that is something that can’t be reversed.
5. LED Loupe Light
Something else that you may be aware of as a cannabis cultivator is that finding the right time to harvest is essential. More often than not, cannabis growers will look at the trichomes of a cannabis plant to see whether or not it is ready for harvest.
For the record, the trichomes for those little mushroom shaped growths on the outside of cannabis buds, and to the naked eye, they just look like white and shiny crystals. However, under a magnifying glass or lens, they look more like very small mushrooms. This is where all of the THC, CBD, terpenes, and all of the other good stuff is contained. Therefore, you need these terpenes to be mature, but not over mature.
Catching your cannabis buds at the right time for harvest is essential, or else they won’t have enough of those essential cannabinoids and terpenes present. Harvesting a cannabis plant either too early or too late can both produce a subpar results.
The best way to determine when your cannabis is ready for harvest is by taking a magnified look at those trichomes. Remember that they are very small, so this isn’t something that you can do with your naked eye.
However, with an LED loupe light or LED loupe lens, this all becomes much easier. These are special lenses that can magnify anything by up to 60 times, and also come with an LED light for Illumination.
6. LED Grow Lights
Seeing as we were just talking about special sunglasses above, it only makes sense to mention the piece of equipment that you need the sunglasses for, your grow lights. Of course, cannabis requires light in order to grow, and this light should mimic natural sunlight. Now, there are of course many different types of grow lights out there.
These include regular incandescent lights, fluorescent lights, LED grow lights, HID grow lights, HPS grow lights, and many more. Sure, we could go over the pros and cons of all of these different types of grow lights, and rest assured, there are plenty. Although HPS and HID grow lights are fine for large scale operations, they’re not really ideal for smaller scale grow operations, such as you might be doing at home.
In the grand scheme of things, the best option that you have at your disposal is a simple LED light. LED lights are beneficial because first of all, they can be designed so they mimic natural sunlight, or in other words, produce both blue and red light. Remember, it’s this full spectrum of sunlight that and this plants really thrive in, especially as far as the flowering stage is concerned.
Furthermore, LED lights are also relatively inexpensive compared to having a relatively long lifespan, and are in fact some of the most cost effective grow lights of all. What you also need to consider is that LED grow lights don’t give off all that much heat.
There are other types of grow lights out there that give off much more heat, and this can cause problems, especially in a small grow space. Therefore, getting yourself some high-quality LED grow lights is one of the biggest favorites you can do yourself as far as growing cannabis is concerned.
7. A Combination Air Conditioner and Dehumidifier
Another essential piece of equipment that you need for every grow space is a combination air conditioner and dehumidifier. Yes, your grow space needs to be kept at a certain temperature and at a certain humidity level. Now, we are aware that this can go in either direction, so some people may actually need heaters and humidifiers, as opposed to air conditioners and dehumidifiers.
However, in most cases, your issue will be that the temperature is too high, and that the humidity level is also too high, as opposed to the opposite. Although some people may be dealing with cooler conditions and dry air, this usually isn’t the case.
This is especially so seeing as your grow lights give off a lot of heat, and all of the water you give your plants evaporates into the air, therefore creating a warm and humid environment. To keep the conditions as they are supposed to be, you need an air conditioner to cool things down and a dehumidifier to suck some moisture out of the air.
Luckily, there are plenty of combination units out there that include both of these features, not to mention accurate monitoring as well. Yes, these pieces of equipment also come with built-in thermostats and hygrometers, so you can accurately measure the temperature and humidity levels while correcting them simultaneously.
Conclusion
The bottom line here is that if you get yourself these seven pieces of equipment, your life as a cannabis cultivator will become much easier and more successful. Whether we’re talking about grow lights and air conditioners for the grow space itself, pH pens to make monitoring easier, more special glasses to help protect your eyes in the grow room, they’re all essential pieces of equipment that you can make great use of.
