How to Grow

your own

This book will teach you how to build

a discreet Grow Box that doesnt smell:

TO ALL WEED LOVERS

You are about to learn how to grow your own delicious weed.
With this book, you will be able to set up a discreet, small or medium sized
grow in your home.

by
Jack Tambo
www.how-to-marijuana.com

THE BASICS
about our favourite plant

Cannabis is strong, fast growing

plant. It literally grows like a weed.

Thats why it is relatively easy to
grow at home.

Cannabis plants can be male or

female. To produce smokeable

Marijuana, only the female plants
are being used. Males are being
removed.

The Marijuana plants live has 2

phases: Growth (or vegetative) and

Flowering phase.

During growth, the plant builds up

its scaffolding of branches and

leaves. It tries to grow as fast as
possible. In nature, this happens
during spring until midsummer.

During flowering, most of the

plants energy goes into producing

buds. The growth of new stems
and leaves will slow down.

The plant knows when to switch

from growth to flowering by the

light duration and light color.

In spring and early summer, the

days get progressively longer. The

light is more blue.

Once the longest day of the year

has passed, the days are slowly

getting shorter again. And the
sunlight turns more red. Now the
plant knows that it is time to grow
buds.

Under artificial lights, we start

young plants under 18 hours of

light and 6 hours darkness. At this
time, we use lamps that are more
blue in color. The plant thinks that
it is spring and grows as fast as it
can.

After 3-4 weeks, we change the

light duration to 12 hours on / off

and swap the light bulbs to
something a bit more red. When
we do that, the plant starts
flowering.

Under artificial light it will take

around 4 month for a plant to go

from seed to harvest.

Cannabis is a hungry plants.

Fertiliser must be given in regular

intervals.

Medical Marijuana and regular

Marijuana are the same thing.

Marijuana Seeds can be bought

online

GROWING INDOORS
This Book is all about

I n d o o r g ro w i n g i s

independent from sun,

growing inside your

safer. Your operation is

rain & wind.

home with artificial

less likely to be found.

lights. Because:

Also you are being

And you can harvest

multiple times per year

GROW IN A BOX

This is the best way to

set up a home grow.
All the parts for such
operation are readily
available on sites like
eBay. (I will provide
links later.)
The plants and lamps
are inside a light proof
grow tent. (Here in the
picture, the front door is
open.)

A fan sucks the used air

through a carbon filter.
That filter removes the
characteristic Marijuana
smell.
The cleaned, but used
air is discarded through
a duct out of a window.
The light can be CFL or
H P S o r L E D. I w i l l
explain the differences.

The plants stand in

plastic flower pots with
generic potting mix.
Both can be bought
from the local
gardening store.
Watering is done by
hand. At a certain point,
you will add fertiliser to
the water.
You can create such
setup in different sizes,
depending on your

LIGHT = WEIGHT

The more light your plants get, the more youll harvest.
By that, I mean light intensity, not so much light duration.
In nature, Cannabis will grow best when it has direct sunlight.
You can never have too much light. The more intense the light you
give, the more you will harvest.
For your grow box, that means you get as much light-power as
possible, while keeping in mind electricity consumption and heat
generation.

CFL LAMPS
Compact Fluorescent

CFL Grow Lamps are

large Energy savers
bulbs.
They are very easy to
use. Just plug into the
electrical outlet.
Also they do not
produce overly much
heat. So you wont need
as much ventilation. A
smaller fan will suffice.
(More on ventilation
later).

CFLs are typically run

with a reflector to direct
more light to the plants.
With CFLs, you will get
a smaller harvest than
with other lamps.
Use them if you want a
small, easy setup and if
you dont need that
much weed.

Very small grow setups

can use 1 Bulb. It is
better to use 2 bulbs
together.
CFL Lamps come in
different colors. 2700
Kelvin (used for
flowering) and 6400 K
(for growth phase).
You ideally use both
together for the whole
growth period.
But consider that for the
electricity used by 2 x

Marijuana buds grown under CFL are

not as big and compact as with other
lamps.

However, it is still a good harvest for

self-consumption.
CFL lamps could be bought on eBay:

CFL Quick Facts

Easy, just plug & play.
Harvest will be smaller than with other lamps.
They do not really save electricity. As soon as you use 2 bulbs (= 250Watt),

you could also use a 250 HPS light which will yield more.

Use these if youre on a low budget or if you intend to grow in a small space.
6400 Kelvin for growth phase, 2700 K for flowering,
Run both 2700K and 6400K at the same time.
Touch at plastic base only. They break easily and have harmful chemicals

inside.

MINIMALIST GROW
SETUP
The smallest, cheapest setup possible

This is a 125Watt Energy Saver bulb

Cannabis needs lots and lots of

with reflector and a timer.

light.

You can put this into a closet or any

This setup has only 1 CFL Bulb. This

room really. Leave the door open to

is ok for a self supply grower, but all

allow for some air circulation.

in all the amount of harvest is small.

This will allow you to grow 1-3

Parts:

plants and harvest up to 3/4 of an

ounce. Around 20 gram.

Light + Reflector + Timer

HPS LAMPS
Now youre cooking with gas!

HPS Lamps (High Pressure

Sodium) are still the most
commonly used light for
growing Marijuana.
They produce much more
light per electricity used than
CFLs.
They are as inexpensive to
buy as CFLs.
You will get a lot more weed
out of your operation than
with CFL.
The weed nuggets will be
bigger and harder.
But:
HPS will produce lots of heat.
Yo u w i l l n e e d g o o d
ventilation. (I will explain
how).
They may be heavier on your
electricity bill.
There will be more Marijuana
scent. Unless you live alone
in the countryside, youll
need a filter.
They come in 250 Watt, 400
Watt, 600 Watt and even
more.
Get the 400 Watt version. Its
what I used to grow the
weed you see here on the
left.
They do need a ballast which
is included when you buy it.
Please get one with an
electronic ballast because
they are better than old

HPS Quick Facts

Gets you more weed per electricity used than CFL lamps
Can be used for the whole grow cycle. Growth and flowering phase
Buy an additional MH Bulb for extra growth during vegetative phase
Choose an electronic ballast, not magnetic
400 Watt is recommended for medium sized home grow boxes

LED LIGHTS
The Supercar

LED Lights.
You could think of these as a little bit like the new
Porsche 918
Its one of the fastest cars in the world, yet it uses as little
petrol as a Toyota Prius. According to Top Gears
Richard Hammond.
LED lights do the same. They use
less electricity than CFL lamps and
produce as much or more than
HPS.
But only high quality LED lights.
There are many LED grow lights
sold on eBay with cheap
components. They wont perform
well.
I have found a small manufacturer
in Holland who makes, in my
opinion, the best LED Grow lights
available.
He actually posts photos of his
LED grow results. I have added
some here:
Producing 110gram (3.9 oz) of
dried weed costs only about $20

LED Quick Facts

Good quality ones will outperform HPS.
Huge harvest for very little electricity.
Good ones are expensive but cheap ones will not work.
They have a switch to change light color (growth & flowering).
Get these if you want the newest and best.
I recommend Hans LED Panel (Website)

THE GROW BOX

It all goes in here

These are tents made

from a strong reflective
fabric.

mistake people make is

that they buy a grow
tent that is too small.

They have openings for

air and electric cables.

Even smallest setups

need at least a height of
62 inch (1.60m). Normal
operations are at least
70 in (1.80m).

The bright light stays

contained inside.
I learned from the many
comments on my
website that a common

Because weed grows

tall and you also need

to calculate that lamp

and filter take up space.
As for width and depth,
it does not really matter.
Buy as suitable for your
space.
Grow tents are available
here.
You could also build
your own from wood.

How many plants can fit into

a grow tent?
Lets say you have a grow
tent with the size 24in x 48in
x 84in (60cm x 120cm x
213cm). That is, by the way, a
very good size.
You can fit 10 plants into this
tent. As can be seen in the
graphic underneath.

2 Gallon fabric pots are

working very well in such
boxes
Plants grow better in fabric
pots than plastic pots
because more oxygen
reaches the roots.
Fa b r i c G ro w p o t s a re
available here

VENTILATION
Take a deep breath

As you may know from early school,

plants need CO2 and oxygen to grow.
So does cannabis, and thus you must
supply fresh air from outside. So it can
grow healthily and strong.
If you lead your used air out of a
window, your grow box will suck in fresh
air by itself. All you
need to do is open a
window slightly.
Adequate airflow will
also reduce problems
like mould and make
l i f e h a rd e r f o r a n y
insect pests.

FAN
These industrial fans transport heaps of air.
They can run around the clock for years
without breaking.
A 4 inch fan is enough if you dont use a filter. With
filter, you need a 6 inch fan.
To reduce noise and save electricity, add a fan speed controller.
While the plants are small and during dark periods, you wont need
the fan to run full speed. Power it down and save.

FILTER
Cannabis has a strong smell. While we growers love it, it might bother your
neighbour and expose your operation.
You install this filter in front of the fan to
remove that scent completely.
Fans have activated charcoal in them which
needs replacing every 9 - 12 months.

DUCT
To lead used air out of a window.
You could even leave it in your house. But
you must bring in fresh air.

RECAP

Grow Box 24 x 48 x 84 (fits 10 plants)

400 Watt HPS Light + Timer
Fan 6 inch, if you dont need a filter 4 inch. fan speed controller
Carbon air filter 6 inch & duct
Fabric pots.

STARTING A
GROW

SEEDS

You can either order seeds online, I

seeds which turn out mostly

recommend this store.

feminine.

But you can also use seeds found in

There are indoor and outdoor

a green bag. They usually work fine.

strains available.

But you likely wont know the strain.

Also they are a 2nd generation and
the genetics might be not as good.

Healthy seeds are hard like nuts and

beautifully marble colored.
Dead seeds are hollow or totally

Normally, cannabis plants will turn

black. Like the one on the very right

out roughly 50% male and 50%

in the photo.

female. But most seed shops now

sell nothing else but feminized

You can store seeds in an air tight

container in a fridge for 2 years.

GERMINATING SEEDS
Seeds germinate most reliable in jiffy peat
pellets. These provide a safe sterile basis.
Peat pellets come pressed. Put them in
water for 10 minutes and theyll expand to
their full size.
Take a pencil, poke a half inch (2cm) deep
hole into it at the top. Put 1 seed in there
and cover it loosely.
Put that pellet on a plastic tray. They should
be kept slightly warm. 20 - 25 deg.
You will see some babies popping up after
3-6 days.
Never let the peat pellets dry out. Give a
little water to avoid that. Dont pour water
over the pellet or the seed will wash out.
Pour it into the plastic tray, it will get soaked
up.
As soon as you can see the
plant, it needs light. Time
to switch on the lights!

Into the pot

Soon after the seed germinated, you will see the white roots coming out at the
sides and bottom of your peat pellet.
That means its now time to transfer it into its pot.
Fill up a put 3/4 with soil and dig a hole in the middle. Carefully insert the peat
pellet with plant into that hole.
Bury it deep. You can bury parts of the plant stem, it will grow roots.
Slightly, just gently compress the soil afterwards and give a bit of water.

SOIL

Soil can be bought from the

Do you have a garden? It might be

garden store like Home depot.

tempting to use your own soil from

You need good quality flower

outside.

potting mix. Its the basis for good

But thats not great because you

growth, so get the best one.

will have all kinds of insects

hatching inside your grow room.
Now explain that to your wife.

NOW RELAX
By now your little

There is not much to do

plantie-babies are safe

now other than wait.

in their pots.

Hang your lights as

They are in good soil

close as possible to the

and under 18hrs of

plants without burning

light / 6 hrs darkness.

them.

Good.

Give water only when

Now you can relax.

the soil surface is

getting dry.

3 WEEKS LATER

After 3 - 4 weeks of 18 hr light

After switching to 12/12, the

and 6 hr darkness, you now

plants will slowly change from

change the light duration to 12 hr

growth to flowering.

on / 12 hr off.

They will keep increasing in

Dont wait more than 4 weeks

height. It will now take at least

because the plants will keep

one month until you can see first

growing taller during flowering.

buds.

They would eventually become

As soon as you do, you will know

too tall for your grow tent.

how many females you have.

MALE OR FEMALE?
After 4 weeks or more you will start to
see flowers.

These flowers are basically the plants

genitals.

Both female and male plants have

flowers. But they look differently.

Since males dont produce smokeable

Marijuana, we remove them.

Female buds have white hairs.

Remove male plants from your grow

tent and discreetly dispose of them.

Male buds look like hanging balls.

FEMALE

FEMALE

MALE

MALE

FERTILIZER
Cannabis is a fast growing plant. Its
hungry and needs a lot of nutrients.
Start giving fertiliser the day you
switch your lights to 12h / 12h.
Fertiliser comes in liquid form. You
give it by mixing it into the plant
water 2 x per week.
Every fertiliser has dosage
recommendations written on the
bottle.

Stick to the recommendations

because giving more will not make
them grow faster but hurt them.
Start with a low dosage and increase
it weekly by 10% until you reach the
maximum dose recommended.
Something as simple as tomato
fertiliser will work. But for better
results buy a fertiliser that was
formulated for cannabis.

YOURE A FARMER
Its true. Youre a farmer.
You have sown a seed. It sprouted

You will have to patiently wait

until your plants ripen.

and now you are nursing your

Only then can you reap the fruits

plants with water, light and food.

of your labour.

Just like any farmer, you cannot

Enjoy your indoor sun.

rush things.

OBSERVE
Some of these symptoms will

But its important to address the

show up.

problem.

Dont panic, your plants wont

die!

Light green or yellow leaves are a

sign that you are not giving enough
fertiliser.
Give 15% more.

Brown spots mean your plant got

burned by too much fertiliser.
Stop giving any for 10 days. Just give
clean water.

Spider mites are very common. They party on the leave underside and
get drunk of plant
juice.
Initially you only see
tiny white spots.
On

the

leave

underside, you will

see tiny black balls
t h at s l o w l y m o v e
around.
Left untreated, they
will wrap your plants
into spider web like
material.
To get rid of them, spray the whole plant with Triple Action Neem oil.

Healthy leaves have a nice even

green color and no brown spots.

2 MONTH
FLOWERING

These plants grew so high that they

touched the hot lamp and got
burned.
So they were tied down with strings.

2.5 MTH FLOWERING

When you plant has spend 2 - 3

microscope, you would see they

month in the flowering phase, it will

have turned brown, too.

be ripe.
Ripe plants have dense, hard buds.
They smell intensely and growth

Some people leave their cannabis

until it looks dead. They harvest
very late.

has slowed down.

I prefer to harvest a bit earlier.

Most of the little white hairs have

The older a weed plant gets, the

turned brown.

more sleepy its weed makes you.

If you were to check the tiny white

Younger plants have a more upbeat

sticky things on the leaves under a

kinda high.

HARVEST TIME

Now you basically have your

weed save.
The difficult part of growing it is
done!
Now you just need to trim and
dry it. Heres how:

Use nail scissors to remove the small leaves that grow between your buds

so your buds
ends up with a
clean look.
This is time
consuming work.
it will make your
weed look and
taste better.

Before
Trimming:

Type to enter text

After
Trimming:

After trimming, spread them out on a piece of paper.

Avoid touching the buds. They are very sticky at this point. And
any stickiness that ends up on your fingers wont be in your joint
later.
Leave these buds in a dark, well ventilated area.
Do not leave them in direct sunlight. That would reduce its
potency.
Dont dry it with a hair dryer, baking oven or microwave. You
would end up with a product that, when smoked, tastes like hay.
Dry it slowly. While drying, chlorophyll (green plant color) will
reduce. Making its smoke smoother.

After 5 -10 days of drying, your weed will feel dry on the
outside.
At this point, there will still be moisture inside the stems and
leaves.
This is a good time to put it all into a big plastic bag for 12
hours.
When you take it back out, it will feel moist again.
This procedure helps slowing down the drying process. You
want to dry slowly for better quality weed.
Dont dry too slowly or your weed is at risk of growing mold.

ITS DRY, HAVE A TRY!

You can tell that your weed is properly dry when the branches
snap upon bending. They should make a crack noise.
Now stop drying. Its important for good weed to retain a little
bit of moisture.
It is now smokeable, but you can make it better by letting it
cure.

CURING
Keep your Marijuana in an airtight glass jar. Glass is neutral and
wont change the taste/smell as some plastics would.
Over 3 month or so, the weed will change. Chlorophyll will
further diminish and the active ingredients will increase.
So it gets better over time. Open the glass once a week or so to
let in oxygen. Avoid direct sunlight and heat.
After curing, store in fridge (not freezer) for long term storage.

HOW TO GET A
GROW BOX?
This grow box used to produce the weed in this book is
available on eBay.
Please follow this link to see where:
www.how-to-marijuana.com/grow-shop.html

Thank You, happy Growing!