Wouldn’t it be nice to always have a fresh supply of cannabis? I’ve been asked by several folks how to accomplish this in their home grow space. It’s not overly difficult, and is really just a matter of timing and lighting. It can be hard to get your head around at first, but if you write it down it starts to become clear.
Lights should remain a certain distance above a canopy for best results so it is difficult to use a single light to effectively provide light for plants in various stages of growth. Ideally, you will need 2 or 3 lights to accomplish a continuous harvest. The good news is that with a plant count of 6 flowering plants, you can probably get by with two less expensive lights that have a footprint of 2’x3′ or 3’x3′ instead of one larger light in a 4’x4′ or 5’x5′ footprint. That said, you can make a single light work.
Auto-flowering cannabis schedule:
Autosauto-flowing cannabis; or cultivars that will flower on thei... More typically have a 60-90 days life-cycle. For this example, we’ll assume you are using feminized cultivars with a 60 day life-cycle. You will need two lights.
- Month 1 – start your 1st cycle of 3 seeds/plants under one light.
- Month 2 – start your 2nd cycle of 3 seeds/plants under your second light.
- Month 3 – harvest your 1st cycle and start your 3rd cycle of 3 seeds under your first light.
- Month 4 – harvest your 2nd cycle and start your 4th cycle of 3 seeds under your second light.
- …and so on…
Cannabis (photoperiod) schedule:
For this example it is assumed that you are using feminized varieties that flower in 60 days. Unlike Autosauto-flowing cannabis; or cultivars that will flower on thei... More, photoperiod cannabis will need additional time to sprout seeds and vegetate them to approximately 15″-18″. You will need two lights for flowering and one smaller light for vegetating.
- Month 1
- Veg Light: Start 3 seeds
- Flowering Light #1: Setup as time permits
- Month 2
- Veg Light: Start 3 more seeds
- Flower Light #1: Transplant 30 day old plants into final containers and set light cycle to 12/12 (on/off)
- Flower Light #2: Setup as time permits
- Month 3
- Veg Light: Start 3 more seeds
- Flower Light #1: Wait patiently for flowers to finish
- Flower Light #2: Transplant 30 day old plants into final containers and set light cycle to 12/12 (on/off)
- Month 4
- Veg Light: Start 3 more seeds
- Flower Light #1: Harvest 3 mature plants and transplant 30 day old plants into final containers
- Flower Light #2: Wait patiently for flowers to finish
- Month 5
- Veg Light: Start 3 more seeds
- Flower Light #1: Wait patiently for flowers to finish
- Flower Light #2: Harvest 3 mature plants and transplant 30 day old plants into final containers
- …and so on…
As you can see, it is not terribly difficult. However, timing needs to be on point. If 30 days is not long enough to sprout and vegetate seedlings to the right height then you may need to start seedlings a little in advance. The regulations regarding juvenile/vegetative/flowering plant counts allow for this.
I do recommend that the cultivator avoid cutting the timing too close as I’d rather have a vacant flowering light for a week rather than vegetative plants root bound and languishing for a week. Using cuttings and parent stock throws another little wrinkle in this process, but it is just a matter of scheduling how long each stage takes and then sticking to that schedule.
Happy Harvests!
— The Lit Farmer —