Hemp is cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight, so it will not get you high. You grow it much like marijuana: germinate the seeds, give plenty of sun, then harvest for fiber, seeds or CBD flower. Rules vary by state, so check yours. Start with our how to grow weed guide.
What is Hemp?
Both “marijuana” and “hemp” are the cannabis family. Their differences lie in their chemical composition and their uses. Hemp is marijuana, minus the famed (and highly-controversial) cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)., the chemical compound causing psychoactive effects that get you “high.” Hemp has remained in a legal grey area since marijuana was first criminalized in the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.
Where Does Hemp Come From?
Hemp is part of the cannabis family, and contains trace amounts of THC — though smoking it (or consuming it in other ways) will not produce a psychoactive buzz. Hemp may look and smell like marijuana, but it grows much taller and skinnier than marijuana, and is not as rich in aromatic terpenes. Mature plants look more like stalks of sugarcane than the bushy, full look of a marijuana plant’s foliage.
Is Hemp Legal?
With the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act and the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), hemp was considered the same as cannabis.
However, it still was not legal to grow it, since it was technically part of the marijuana family and a Schedule I drug. That left hemp illegal to grow even for research purposes, despite considerable evidence showing how beneficial the plant was.
This all changed with the 2014 Farm Bill’s passage, aka the Agricultural Act of 2014. This made hemp legal to grow on an experimental basis. Rules vary by state, so check yours with your state’s official sources.
So, how can you grow hemp?It’s much easier than in the past, thanks to both the Farm Act and handy grow kits like a Pot for Pot.
How to Grow Hemp
So, how do you grow hemp? How do you take advantage of growing this extremely versatile renewable resource?
This is easy and inexpensive thanks to grow kits like a Pot for Pot. Our all-inclusive grow kits have everything you need to grow your own hemp seeds in the comfort of your own home. Now you don’t have to hassle with unreliable sources for information on growing hemp. Everything you need is in this kit. Simply supply your own hemp seeds and water!
Finding Hemp Seeds
Finding hemp seeds to grow your own hemp is becoming easier. But the seeds you need are not the ones packaged up in the health food aisle at the grocery store. Those are for eating and exactly like what you can grow yourself. To get viable seeds you will need to look a little harder.
Because hemp was in a legal timeout for a few decades, reliable genetics are now emerging. It is best to buy seeds from a reputable company so that you may grow hemp with the characteristics you are looking for whether that be for hemp seeds, hemp seed oil, hemp CBD flower, or whatever hemp your heart desires.
How to Grow Hemp Indoors
Get some seeds from an online seed bank as well as organic soil, nutrients, and some lighting. Once you have your seeds, it’s time to germinate.
We usually recommend germinating seeds by soaking in water for 24 hours then planting in Jiffy Pellets as they are designed to be the perfect environment for starting a seed with no risk of damaging the fragile first root. Jiffy Pellets mean less mess and less handling– less stress! Alternatively, you can start seeds by soaking them for 24 hours and then placing them in a damp paper towel until they form their little tails. Just be careful as sometimes they can catch on the paper towel. If you start with one of our Complete Kits, you’ll have everything you need to quickly sprout your seeds.
Place your seedlings somewhere they will get plenty of light. We recommend a window sill that will be sunny throughout the day if you are growing indoors. Our grow kit has everything you need, but for extra lighting, purchase a Light for Pot. Once your hemp plant begins growing, the fun has begun!
When your plant reaches the next stage of its life, and it has sprouted 4-5 sets of leaves, then it is time to transplant your plant into its final resting place, aka its finishing pot. Transplanting ensures that your plant does not become rootbound and will be able to properly take in water and nutrients.
Don’t have a lot of space in your house, or don’t have a grow room? You can still grow hemp outdoors or in your backyard! Hemp can grow quite tall, and thus prefers to stretch to its maximum size, outside. Just ensure your plants get plenty of sunlight on a back patio or deck.
The felt fabric pots in our grow kit make it easy for you to move your plant to the areas in your backyard that get all the sunlight, or inside when it rains!
How to Harvest Hemp
Thanks to a Pot for Pot, you have everything that you need to harvest your hemp when the time comes. However, how and when to harvest your hemp depends on what your growing goals are; If growing hemp to harvest the fibers, begin harvesting before your plants produce seeds.
Growing hemp for the seeds? The time to harvest will be when the plant has seeded. Your stalks should be cut down and dried, a process called “retting,” which can take up to 5 weeks.
Pro-Tip: When growing hemp for the seeds, ensure seed husks are hard; if you wait too late, your seeds will start dropping as your plant dries — the longer you wait, the more seeds you lose!
Harvesting Home Grown Hemp
When growing hemp for its CBD, you need to be extra careful at harvest time. You’ll know when it’s time to harvest when the trichomes on your buds start turning from solid white to a milkier white color when looking under a microscope.
Safety first: Make sure to send it to a certified lab for analysis to run a THC test on your hemp to ensure it meets the 0.3% legal threshold.
You would not want to destroy all your hard work over just a few percentage points! Trim off your buds using the bud trimming shears you received with you’re a Pot for Pot grow kit. Dry and cure them by hanging them upside down in a well-ventilated area that’s not warmer than 65°F and not more humid than 63%, to prevent mold and mildew from ruining your buds!
How Long Does it Take to Grow Hemp?
>Hemp is an annual plant that needs at least one season of the year to reach full maturity. Most plant it after the last frost, and harvest it in October if growing outdoors. For those growing indoors, we can grow hemp year-round, with multiple harvests each year if you grow hemp autoflowers.
Autoflowering hemp plants mature in less than half the time of a regular photoperiod hemp plant. They also do not need a lighting adjustment once they begin flowering. If you get your timing just right, have the right conditions, and use the right tools, you can grow up to 100 ounces per year.
Now, you too know how to grow hemp, and you know how to grow hemp yourself, from the comfort of your home. We’re here to help you with the right tools for making your hemp growing project a success!
Industrial Hemp & What to Expect From Your Garden
Most good patriots know that even George Washington grew hemp at Mt. Vernon. Our first president established a profitable relationship with the plant because of hemp’s versatile industrial uses, mostly by making ropes, sail canvases, fishing nets, and thread for clothing.
Washington was an enterprising farmer with acres of hemp. You, dear reader, may not harvest enough fibrous material to sew your own Betsy Ross flag from your one or two backyard or kitchen window plants. Although, if your plants are really stalky, why not harvest the stalks too? If there is not enough fiber for clothing, you could use the material to make pulp for paper.
But, you most likely can expect a more than satisfactory haul of hemp seeds, which are totally delicious in smoothies, salads, and on top of your morning avocado toast.
Or maybe you’re in it for a healthy harvest of CBD-rich flowers which you can smoke, vape, or use to make your own hemp oil. And juicing the fresh hemp leaves is a fun way to utilize your ‘waste’.
Hemp vs. Marijuana
Let’s be clear: Cannabis is a plant.
“Hemp” and “marijuana” are not really plants, but words used to broadly classify variations of the cannabis plant.
In an attempt to distance themselves from the antiquated association of your new favorite garden plant with red-eyed teenagers and incense, many well-mannered farmers will discuss how hemp has a unique biological structure.
They may tout that hemp is long, lean, and fibrous while marijuana is shorter, leafy, and displays robust flowers or buds.
This oversimplification is simply not true.
With the cultivation of any plant, selective breeding results in variations that display the most desired phenotype, or observable characteristics.
Cannabis has a long relationship with human cultivation. Perhaps the longest of any plant that humans have grown, with evidence of hemp-based agriculture going back thousands of years. This is due to the plant’s wide spectrum of applicable uses.
As a result, cannabis comes in all shapes and sizes. And you may find that it grows just like any other house plant!
The hemp vs. marijuana classification comes down to one major difference: can this variation of the plant get you high (or not)?
Or, to put it more scientifically, what is the percentage of the main psychoactive cannabinoid, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, in the mature cannabis product?
This distinction was defined legally with the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill that classified cannabis as “hemp” when the plant does not contain more than 0.3 percent of THC by dry weight.
This places all cannabis plants containing more than 0.3 percent of THC, by dry weight, into the “marijuana” category.
So, it could be argued that any cannabis plant is “hemp” until the plant is harvested, cured, and tested by a laboratory to determine the THC percentage.
Does Hemp Have “Buds” Like Marijuana Does?
Like female marijuana plants, female hemp plants also produce buds. To the uninformed, they look exactly the same as marijuana buds, with trichomes. The difference is that they will not get you high if you smoke them.
All buds are trimmed and cured the same way , by properly inspecting each bud for caterpillars, bud rot, mites, mildew, and mold. You certainly don’t want to be smoking moldy hemp or using it to make edibles or oil for your friends and family!
What Does Hemp Look and Smell Like?
Hemp looks so similar to marijuana, most people cannot tell them apart while experienced growers can tell the difference right away. Hemp grows much taller and skinnier than a traditional cannabis plant, with long, hollow bamboo cane-like stalks.
Hemp does have a smell, but it is not nearly as aromatic as marijuana. It has more of a fresh piney smell, with a hint of citrus. You don’t have to worry about your garden attracting unwanted attention like you would if you were growing marijuana!
Hemp Uses and Benefits
Hemp has boundless uses— over 50,000 and counting.
Hemp is the strongest natural fiber in the world and hemp products span across multiple different categories: everyday and industrial textiles, building materials, paper, fuel, body care, food, wellness products, plastic substitutes, and more. It truly is a magical plant.
Top 8 Uses for Hemp:
- Textiles and Clothing
- Food
- Paper
- Dietary supplements
- Skincare
- Housing materials
- Fuel
- Plastic replacements
Moreover, hemp demonstrates clear superiority when matched against comparable materials like cotton, flax, trees, soybeans, and petroleum.
Hemp has a unique ability to be strong, durable, and flourish in relatively small growing areas, with light to moderate needs in terms of soil quality and water consumption, and a speedy turnaround time from seed to harvest. Plus, every growth cycle it renews the soil.
The time to normalize this plant is now. If not for its everyday use and versatility, then for the greater environmental positive impact on this planet.
What is Hemp CBD
CBD seems to be everywhere these days— grocery store checkout lines, gas stations, pet stores, the gym, the salon… Even my ophthalmologist has asked me to clarify some of his personal CBD questions.
Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, almost all this CBD is from hemp plants.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is just one of countless cannabinoids found in cannabis plants.
Discovered in 1940, CBD is one of the first cannabinoids to gain notoriety. CBD is present in varying percentages in every species of cannabis. It is possible to purchase CBD products from marijuana in states that have legal recreational or medical marijuana, but if you do not live in one of those 33 states, your CBD will come from hemp.
CBD occupies an elevated status currently in the mainstream marketplace. The exciting thing is that we are still discovering cannabinoids and we are still learning how they interact with each other and with other things we add to our bodies.
CBD as a supplement is a hot topic. You may have seen CBD sodas or coffees in your neighborhood grocery store. These may have less CBD than advertised as the FDA is cracking down on CBD as a supplement. We recommend growing your own cannabis for CBD so that you can be sure of what you are consuming.
Frequently Asked Questions about growing hemp
Is it legal to grow Hemp at home?
Rules vary by state. Check yours with your state’s official sources.
How much water does a hemp plant need per day?
It depends on the climate, but two to three gallons per day, per plant at peak consumption, is an average amount.
How tall does hemp grow?
Usually, hemp plants grow very tall (up to 16 feet) and seeds germinate very quickly which is amazing.
More Hemp Growing Tips: Where, When and How Long
Indoors or Outdoors?
Before you plant your hemp seeds, decide whether to grow indoors or outdoors. Indoors, you have more control over conditions and less pest pressure. Outdoors, you have the benefit of powerful sunlight.
Photoperiod hemp starts flowering when daylight drops to roughly 12 hours a day. If you plant outdoors, plant early enough to allow at least a month of vegetative growth.
Setting Up a Grow Tent for Hemp
Many home growers use a grow tent for hemp indoors. Prepare your space with good air circulation and choose an LED light made for plant growth, such as the A Light for Pot LED grow light. Add a few small fans to move air inside the tent. An inline fan pulls stale air out of the tent and sends it through a carbon filter, which removes odors from the plants.
A Hemp Growing Timeline
How long photoperiod hemp takes depends on how much vegetative time you give it. Most hemp growers allow a minimum of 30-40 days of vegetative growth, and the more vegetative time a plant gets, the larger it will be. Indoor gardeners then switch the light cycle to 12/12, which starts flowering. Most hemp varieties are ready within 8-10 weeks of starting the flowering cycle. In total, from seed to harvest, the average time to grow a hemp plant is 100-120 days.
| Step | Timing | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Germinate | Soak 24 hours | Then plant in a Jiffy Pellet or damp paper towel |
| Transplant | At 4-5 sets of leaves | Move into the finishing pot |
| Vegetative | Most growers allow at least 30-40 days | More veg time means a bigger plant |
| Flowering | Most varieties: 8-10 weeks after the switch to 12/12 | Outdoors, starts near 12 hours of daylight |
| Harvest (CBD flower) | When trichomes turn milky white | Lab-test THC against the 0.3% limit |
| Dry and cure | – | Hang at 65°F or cooler, 63% humidity or lower |
| Total, seed to harvest | Average 100-120 days | Outdoors: most plant after last frost, harvest in October |
Which Hemp Varieties Grow Best in Your Area?
There are many hemp varieties, so research the ones grown commercially in your area. Some areas deal with extreme heat and little water. Others have chilly nights and damp, foggy mornings. If you grow outdoors, pick a spot with plenty of sunny days.
Each climate zone has one or two hemp varieties that do better than others. Reach out to the agricultural extension at your state college. Many have run field trials and have region-specific information on which varieties to plant.
Check Your State’s Rules
Rules for growing hemp, and for what you can do with it, vary by state. Check yours with your state’s official sources before you plant.
Sources
- Federal Register (USDA) – Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service – Hemp Production Program
- FDA – Regulation of Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Products, Including CBD
Laws change: check the USDA Hemp Production Program before you plant.
