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[Continuously Updating] The Complete Guide to Start Growing Weeds Indoor for Beginners
Last updated: [2025-07-08]
by TheOneGrow Team
Hi, this is the TheOneGrow team. We aim to share and communicate the most comprehensive guide and strategies for growing weeds at home in this post! We will continue to update this post and provide links to separate articles addressing some more advanced questions! If you don’t want to lose this guide, you can bookmark it or subscribe to our website so you can find it anytime.
Why Grow Indoors?
Growing plants indoors isn’t just a hobby—it’s a revolution. Imagine:
Year-round stable harvests – No more waiting for seasons,.
Total control – Perfect light, temperature, without worries of pests or pollution. Experienced growers can take control of the harvest cycle themselves.
Privacy & Enjoyment – There’s a sense of accomplishment in harvesting your own flowers, and growing them at home offers some privacy and convenience.
Money Saving – For most beginners, even if you buy very good set ups, the initial budget is probably only about $300. When you can harvest steadily, the cost will be significantly less than buying finished products directly from spensary.
At TheOneGrow, we’ve helped over 1,000 beginners turn their first seeds into thriving plants. Here’s how to start right!
What You’ll Need
1. Grow Space
A grow tent would be a perfect place to start your growing, it keeps light, humidity, and smells contained. More importantly, the reflective material of the planting tent can make good use of every photon, allowing your plant light's PPFD to reach higher values inside the tent. A good well-sealed tent can enhance your comfort and privacy while also reaching the point of being able to achieve your previous goals. The light intensity of plant lights is much more higher compared to our daily lighting, so if they are not placed in a well-shaded tent, they can easily affect our daily life.
Pro tips for choosing a grow tent:
Sufficient structural strength-Tents specifically used for growing weeds, as we mentioned, are not like ordinary greenhouse tents. To ensure good light blocking and reflectivity, the materials of a good tent are usually very thick. Additionally, considering that you need to hang your grow light or ventilation equipment on the tent, the weight capacity of the tent is an important factor to consider. Of course, you won't want to buy some tents with plastic structures only to find that they have deformed badly after a very short period of use.
Dimension of tent-The size of the tent depends on the area you have, your budget and the amount of harvest you want to achieve. Generally speaking, if you want to achieve the same planting effect, the larger the planting area, the more budget you will invest. So for beginners, you can start with a smaller area. →What size grow tent should I choose?
You can try our basic tent kits, including tents with ventilation and filtration equipment, trellis, planting bags, etc. Then match them with lamps. Experienced growers can also use our smart controller to achieve automatic control and monitoring of VPD.
Starter kits suggestion
3x3
3x3 grow tent kits+200W grow light+Smart controller（optional）
4x4
4x4 grow tent kits+800W grow light+Smart controller（optional）
5x5
5x5 grow tent kits+800W grow light/1000W grow light+Smart controller（optional）
2. Grow Lighting
Light is indispensable for the growth of any plant, and it is especially important for weeds. Weeds is a species that requires much more light than other plants, and for some strains, adjusting the light can control its growth cycle.
For indoor Weeds cultivators who can’t rely on the sun’s natural rays, grow lights are the backbone of a successful indoor grow. But with so many options—LED grow lights, HID (HPS/MH), and fluorescent—how do you choose the best one for bigger yields, better bud quality, and lower electricity costs? Let’s break it down.
Fluorescent Grow Lights: Budget-Friendly but Weak
fluorescents are great for seedlings, clones, and small veg plants, but they suck for flowering:
Low Penetration – Light doesn’t reach deep into the canopy, leading to airy buds.
Poor Yield/Watt – Expect 0.25g per watt, compared to 0.5-1g with LEDs/HPS.
Best For: seedlings, clones stages.
HID Grow Lights: The Old-School Workhorse
HPS (High Pressure Sodium) and MH (Metal Halide) lights have been the gold standard for decades, especially for maximizing yields. But they come with drawbacks:
Extreme Heat – HIDs require ventilation systems (exhaust fans, ducting) to prevent heat burn.
Higher Electricity Costs – A 600W HPS pulls more watts than a 300W LED for similar results.
Bulb Replacement – HPS bulbs degrade fast, losing efficiency after 6-12 months.
Best For: Large-scale growers who prioritize sheer yield power and don’t mind the extra cooling setup.
Why LED Grow Lights Dominate Nowdays
LED grow lights have revolutionized indoor weeds cultivation, offering unmatched efficiency, cooler operation, and superior bud quality compared to older technologies like HID and fluorescent. Here’s why top growers are switching to LEDs:
Energy Efficiency – LEDs use up to 50% less electricity than HPS/MH lights while delivering comparable or better yields. Say goodbye to sky-high power bills!
Low Heat Output – Unlike HID grow lights, which blast heat downward, LEDs disperse heat upward, reducing the risk of heat stress and eliminating the need for complex cooling systems.
Full-Spectrum Lighting – Modern full-spectrum LED grow lights (like TheOneGrow MA1200/MA2000) provide the ideal light spectrum for vegetative growth (full spectrum) and flowering (red), boosting trichome production and THC levels.
Longer Lifespan – A high-quality LED grow light lasts 50,000+ hours, while HPS bulbs need replacing every 1-2 grows.
Compact & Scalable – Whether you’re running a 2x2, 3x3 grow tent or a commercial grow room, LEDs like the MA series or OC series fit any space.
Pro Tip: Avoid outdated “blurple” LEDs—opt for white or pinkish full-spectrum LEDs for the best results!
read more →How to choose the best grow light for tent setups
3. Growing Medium & Nutrients
Like most plants, weeds can be grown in soil and hydro. For some beginners, soil cultivation is the simplest, fastest and most convenient way to start. If you already have some gardening knowledge, it won't be too difficult, so we will focus on soil cultivation here.
There are probably two ways to use soil as a medium:
1. Use soil + nutrient solution purchased from the store
2. Use organic soil mixed with your own compost
Both methods have their pros and cons, and we will introduce them in detail later.
pro tips: Weeds plants do not like N, but require P and K elements more, so this should be taken into consideration when choosing nutrients and soil. Excessive N elements will have a bad effect on the yield and taste of the buds.
4. Extras（Will be completed later）
Temperature
Humidity
PH
VPD
Step-by-Step Setup（Will be completed later）
1. Germinate Seeds
2. Vegetative Stage
3. Flowering Stage
4. Harvest
5. Dry & Cure
Common Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)（Will be completed later）
Overwatering
Light burns
Skipping pH checks
What Else You May Want to Know
（Update later）
Visit our homepage to find more!→www.theonegrow.com