
How Much Space Do You Have?
The average amount of indoor space that each plant requires is 5 feet in height, and 1 to 2 square feet in width. More width is better, to give room for branching, but the interweaving of neighbouring plants allows for a canopy effect, using as much light as possible. Just know that anything under the canopy will need to be clipped, as it will waste energy that can be used to grow the parts getting enough light (more on that later).
Let’s use four as an example, because it is the legal number of plants you can grow in Canada and Oregon, and in Colorado can grow six, but can only flower three at a time. So, four is the maximum in a single growing space.
Some people choose to convert a closet into usable growing space, but the access is limited by the size and type of the door. Also, it is very difficult to ensure that no light gets into a closet during the “night” cycle.
The better option, in this case, is a grow tent.
You may be thinking the windbreaker material dome in which you would sleep outside.
Grow tents are quite different. They are like a standalone closet, rectangular, with zippered or Velcro doors and air-tight and light-tight ports for all of your wires, hoses and ventilation tubes. They are almost always lined on the inside with Mylar, a very efficient reflective material that will help to ensure that the plants get as much light as possible.

Shown here is an aeroponic system in a grow tent. Aeroponics is recommended for expert growers only and will be covered in a later tutorial.
Grow tents can also be acquired quite cheaply, like the tent we chose in What You Need to Grow Marijuana.
The tent we chose is easy to set up, has all the portholes you need, and it is large enough for all the equipment and the space you will need for four plants.
For help setting up your grow tent, see 24″ x 48″ Grow Tent Setup – Step-by-Step Instructions With Pictures.
The Layout (for Soil)

As you can see, this tent would give you the minimum required space (1 square foot by 5 feet), with extra space between for equipment access, branching, and clipping. You do not want to go much larger, because the smaller space, the more efficiently the light is delivered to the plants, and not absorbed by your equipment and converted to heat (like black paint in the sun).
If you are using soil, the buckets should be situated like the above diagram. If you are growing hydroponically, place your baskets or nets in the center of each quadrant above, to allow for growth. You can slightly offset them to give room front-to-back, but doing so will make the light that each plant gets uneven.
This has an added benefit with our recommended LED grow light. The highest PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) will be in the very center, meaning the majority of branching will be between the plants, ensuring a thick, dense canopy growth.
The Equipment
For a list of the equipment that you will need, see What You Need to Grow Marijuana
We won’t go too far into details when it comes to setting up your equipment, as most companies include detailed instructions with their products. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask down in the comments.
As you add pieces of equipment to your tent, try to keep it as organized as possible by:
- running wires up and down one corner with white zip ties or twist ties and feeding them out the highest possible wire porthole
- keeping air tubes as high as possible, preferably above the water line if using hydroponic systems
- keeping water tubes as low as possible, to prevent damage to other equipment if a leak occurs
The reason you want white zip ties is that any other colour will absorb tiny amounts of the light you are producing. It may not seem like much, but it can add up.
You want everything to be as reflective as possible, and white reflects virtually all colours of light. Try to cover as many coloured components as possible, like wrapping or covering black equipment pieces in aluminum foil. DO NOT cover any ventilation holes, and only loosely cover any electrical components that produce heat.
Another useful purpose for aluminum foil (after your plants are transplanted) is to keep your substrate from getting too much light. Just like in a fish tank, water, nutrients and light can easily mean algae, which will use up some nutrients you bought for your plants. So, loosely set a layer of aluminum foil (do not wrap the buckets or pots, you want them to breathe) over the substrate (soil, rock wool, clay pebbles) and around the stems of the plants.
At this point, you should have your:
- tent set up
- ventilation system installed (pulling air out a higher hole, to pull carbon dioxide up as much as possible, and to not push the heat down onto your plants and equipment)
- pots or buckets (and possibly reservoir) in place (empty so far)
- a light (or two) installed and centred, ready to plug into the timer
- circulation fans clipped to opposite corners, one high, one low, aiming along the side of the tent, not at the plants
- wires routed outside the tent, ready to plug into the surge bar
It’s time to move on to Lesson 3 – Starting Your Seeds
If you are starting with clones, and do not wish to learn about how seeds are started, skip ahead to Lesson 4 – Soil Growing
Wow! Didn’t realize this would be so complicated!
Let’s just say I’m much looking forward to your article on how to grow hydroponic, since I’m going to think twice before venturing to grow it in soil indoors.
It would be super-helpful if you could have links to every item that’s needed, because I have no clue where I would buy any of the stuff. Is everything available online, or hardware stores are best?
There are two links in the article that lead to What You Need To Grow Marijuana
I so much love this post especially the way you were able to illustrated the diagram of layout of soil. People underestimate the complexity of growing cannabis successfully. If people follow these basic guidelines they’ll save themselves frustration or crop loss because this is such a nice breakdown for people just starting to learn about cannabis growing! Also the type of strain to choose is of importance. Some strains are easier than others. Hope to get more from you.
I just posted an article for which strains are best. It’s located here, Top 10 Canadian Cannabis Seeds.
Thank you
I will like to commend you for taking out time to write this article about How to Grow Marijuana. I never knew how to grow marijuana because in my country, it’s prohibited. With this informative article, when I’ll finally get my visa to Canada, I will definitely try it out. I will also like to ask, what Is the health benefits of marijuana
Most of the health benefits are covered in our article, How Does CBD Oil Work?
Very interesting and totally unknown area for me. And in my country, they made the decision yesterday that marijuana can be grown for health purposes. I know that about that was conducted a long discussion where people were divided.
I’m pretty skeptical about growing marijuana because I have an absolute aversion to drugs.But time will show.
I, myself, no longer use marijuana, but I admit to it’s usefulness and ability to help those that need it. It’s also much less harmful than most other alternative drugs that people could be using. I do grow it, but not for myself.
Since I know a lot about it, I share my knowledge with those that will still use it.
I love your page, and I love your post. Your information is so good. I’ll certainly bookmark and come back regularly for more. I had to go and study your Lesson 1 first, then I came back to this one. Growing my own marijuana is on my bucket list, so after finding your site I will have to just do it. Test all your information and grow my own.
I would have to grow in a pot, either inside or outside. From what I see in your post, outside will be better. My inside space is too small. We do have a lot of sun so natural lighting will not be a problem. All those other stuff is just too much for me at this time. All natural works for me. I have taken many notes, and I will probably come with questions as time goes by.
I just want one maybe two plants for own use only. I have many different seeds, so I think it is time I started growing and experimenting with some. Thank you for your post on what you need to grow marijuana too. Your entire site is informative and very useful. Thank you.
I’ll be back soon
I am very glad that you ventured to other parts of the site, and I am glad that I could help.
Be very careful and thorough and check the local laws for growing outside. For most places where it is legal to grow, it isn’t outside, because you cannot provide the required security measures to ensure that none of the resulting product ends up in the hands of criminals or children.
For this reason, in most places, it is only legal to grow personal supply in your home and in a locked space if there is a possibility of children gaining access.
This is really amazing! I did not know that Marijuana can be planted in a tent. We often plant it in the house courtyard. Because it has many herbal qualities. However, knowing the tips about how to care for it in small areas has benefited greatly. I’ll apply this method in my room. Thank you to the author for presenting the topic beautifully and clearly.
Best wishes,
Rgpratap.
I really wish that I was able to follow your directions and grow Marijuana, but here in the UK you can get a jail term for growing it, any kind of possession is illegal! In fact I personally know people who have been prosecuted for growing. You are so lucky.
What I really don’t understand therefore is Canada’s attitude towards CBD products – the two things just don’t seem to add up!
Thank you so much for your enticing article!
Chrissie 🙂
I’m not sure what you mean. We only recently had it become legal to grow or purchase, and the system hasn’t been put in place to purchase products other than dry marijuana. So, “legally” you can’t purchase oils, edibles or extracts. There are, however a ton of websites, and companies in different parts of the companies that do provide those products. I believe, at the moment, they are not cracking down on that law, to keep people buying them, until they have their own (taxed) system in place.
Your illustrations were very helpful. This a complex crop to grow and you have given an all-inclusive plan. Think I could cultivate these seeds now. I did not understand the complexities of this particular plant. Even as a Master Gardener I have learned so much. Thank you for this well-written article.