Good light, proper materials and ‘love’ needed to grow cannabis at home: expert
Books like Herb: The Art of Cooking with Cannabis, The Stoner Babes Colouring Book and Ganja Yoga sit on a table just inside the front door.
To the right stand a couple of grow tents and an automated grow cabinet filled with live tomato plants. To the left sit a variety of soils and fertilizers.
Lots of other cannabis-related items sit on display around the room, including everything you need to make your own cannabis gummy bears and lockable travel cases for safe and scent-free storage. Collectively, there’s everything you need to grow — and enjoy — your own cannabis at home, something Chad Bonin has done for 24 years.
“You’re basically in charge of being Mother Nature,” said Bonin, who is the “master grower” at The Grow Room, which opened in Regina on Oct. 17, the day recreational cannabis was legalized in Canada.
“You need a light source because you’re trying to mimic the sun. You need to make sure that your temperatures fall within a certain range,” he said. “You need a good substrate to grow in,” he added.
After deciding between a hydroponic, organic or soil method with water soluble fertilizers — the basic growing options according to Bonin — “then you just need to love your plants.”
Bonin has had a medical licence for quite some time and grows cannabis at home to help treat arthritis in his knees and a condition called ulcerative colitis.
“It’s a lot easier than people think. A lot of people get scared when they see a wall full of fertilizers and they have no idea where to begin,” he said. “It can be as simple as having a pre-fertilized organic soil and adding water.”
For those interested in growing at home, beginner workshops are held at the shop every Wednesday and a series of more advanced workshops is currently being developed, said co-owner Jeremy Drummond.
“Our store has some stuff for people that don’t want to grow,” added Drummond.
“You can’t buy edibles, but you can make your own,” he said. “If people want that, we’ve got a lot of that equipment for making your own. You don’t have to be a hard-core gardener to come in the store.”
Currently, the store does not have any seeds or plant clones. Drummond said they were supposed to be available on Oct. 17, but now aren’t expected until the spring.
But he’s not too concerned about the delay.
“Everyone’s been waiting 20, 25 years for this to happen. What’s a few more months?” he said. “It’s the early days of an industry that’s going to be around for a long time.”
Bonin said the benefit of growing your own cannabis is that you know exactly what’s gone into making it.
“You can do it fully organic with no pesticides, no sprays of any kind. You’re just in total control,” he said.
It’s also a cost saver in the long run, said Bonin.
“Right now at the dispensaries, they ’re selling a gram for like $20,” he said, adding that with light and a basic fertilizer system “you can get started for under $500 easily.”
And both Drummond and Bonin said you won’t even notice a difference in your home if you’ve already got some house plants.
Beginners may see a small increase in their power bill, but otherwise the investment pays itself off rather quickly considering you can yield about one pound per plant.
Drummond said growing at home can yield three to four crops a year.
“We also want to sort of dispel the myth that it’s going to ruin your house,” said Drummond. “We know for a fact that growing a few plants in your house is not going to cause it to destroy itself from inside or be overcome with black mould.”
For Bonin, growing his own cannabis isn’t just about the medicinal benefits.
“I think people will find even just growing it therapeutic,” said Bonin.
Everyone’s been waiting 20, 25 years ... What’s a few more months? It’s the early days of an industry that’s going to be around for a long time.