By Adam Parsons

Learn to grow cannabis in a greenhouse.

Growing cannabis in a greenhouse is ideal because it combines the benefits of outdoor growing with those of indoor cultivation. In this guide, we'll show you how to do it, offering tips and advice as we go along. If you don’t have a greenhouse yet, and want to build one, we can show you how to do that, too.


Why Grow Cannabis in a Greenhouse?

Maybe you’re wondering why you'd want to grow weed in a greenhouse, as opposed to growing indoors in a tent or having an ordinary outdoor grow in your garden. Let’s look at the advantages of greenhouse cultivation over other growing methods.

1. You Can Extend Your Growing Cycle

You can extend the cultivation period into the autumn and winter seasons simply by adding more light during cloudy days, and progressively keeping them on longer to compensate for shorter daylight hours. Likewise, if you want to start a new grow before the end of winter, you can add a low-powered light to supplement natural daylight.

2. Provides the Ideal Microclimate for Growing Cannabis

A greenhouse environment can sustain higher average temperatures than chilly open fields or gardens. Plus, during cold or hot seasons, you can heat or cool a greenhouse if needed. Even without a heater or cooling system, a greenhouse will provide a more consistent range of maximum and minimum temperatures, without the extremely dry and hot conditions typical for indoor grow rooms. A more consistent microclimate means healthier plants and bigger harvests.

3. Allows for Year-round Cultivation

The climate within greenhouses can easily be controlled, for instance by opening windows or installing fans. And, since the walls of a greenhouse keep humidity and heat inside, it allows for year-round cultivation. This control over climate and exposure to light isn’t possible in regular outdoor cultivation.

4. More Consistent Harvests

Greenhouse harvests tend to be more consistent over time, both in quantity and quality. This is also why the majority of commercial medicinal cannabis produced today is grown in greenhouses.

5. More Energy-efficient Than Indoor Growing

Since cultivators can take advantage of natural sunlight, growing in a greenhouse is way more energy efficient. You will also have much lower electricity costs compared to growing in a room or tent.

6. Provides Protection From the Elements

Unlike outdoor cultivation, a greenhouse protects your plants from the elements. There is no threat of rainfall or storms harming your precious plants. In addition, a greenhouse prevents scavenger animals from having their way with your crops.

7. Keeps Plants Safe From Detection

A greenhouse allows for discreet growing with a greatly decreased risk of detection. Your plants will be safe and secure, so you can go to sleep without worrying about thieves and vandals.

8. It's Not Expensive

Growers don’t need to spend a lot of money to set up a greenhouse. A simple walk-in greenhouse can be purchased for little money, and will do a decent job of housing your plants. Building a DIY greenhouse is another inexpensive option. For a simple grow using natural light and hand-watering, there’s no need for expensive grow equipment.

PROVIDES THE IDEAL MICROCLIMATE FOR GROWING CANNABIS

How to Grow Weed in a Greenhouse?

Growing cannabis in general involves many variables that need to be kept in check. Growing in a greenhouse is no exception. However, differences in methodology from indoor and outdoor cultivation need to be taken into account. Here is a list of steps you can take to run a successful greenhouse grow.

  • Pick a Suitable Strain

Cannabis strains differ in how they grow, and in regards to their requirements. The best type of cannabis for your greenhouse setup ultimately depends on a number of factors, including your local climate, available space, and whether you’re planning to use an artificial grow light. Let’s dig in a little deeper:

Autoflowering Seeds

Autoflowering cannabis is optimal if you’re growing using natural sunlight. As autoflowers don’t require a set light schedule to veg and flower, variations in sun exposure won’t harm your plants or diminish yields as much as photo-feminized plants. This also means you can plant and harvest autos in your greenhouse at any time of year—as long as you support ideal environmental conditions.

Lastly, the smaller size of most autoflowering varieties comes in handy if space is constrained, which is usually the case with small greenhouse setups. To make up for lower yields from smaller plants, you can simply grow more of them in your available space (e.g. the sea of green method).

Feminized Seeds

Growing photoperiod feminized cannabis is also possible in a greenhouse, but comes with some constraints, especially if you’re using exclusively natural light. As these strains flower based on the hours of light they receive, you rely on the seasons to support vegetation and stimulate flowering.

However, you could also set up an artificial grow light on a timer to control your plant’s development. But then you may also need to look into making your greenhouse light-proof. Otherwise, the natural daylight could interfere with your artificial light schedule, causing its own issues.

Another issue when growing photo-feminized plants in a greenhouse is that you may need to train and prune your strains to prevent them from growing out of contol. Especially if you’re using only sunlight, plants can get tall and spindly, and may require some topping, scrogging, and the like to remain at a reasonable height.

HOW TO GROW WEED IN A GREENHOUSE?

  • Plan Your Grow Window

With natural light as the main source of energy in your greenhouse, you need to plan your grow window accordingly. Ideally, you want to be ready as soon as daylight hours (and temperatures) start increasing in spring.

Even though your greenhouse will maintain higher temperatures than those outdoors, you should wait until there is no risk of frost before bringing your plants into the structure. Depending on your location and local climate, this may be early or quite late in spring.

  • Germinate Indoors

Building on the above, you can always germinate your seeds indoors and start nurturing your plants with low-powered CFLs to give them a head start. You won’t need much space for this, and CFLs tend to run cheap. This way, even if the rest of your grow is conducted using sunlight, you can still take full advantage of the outdoor growing season.

  • Move Seedlings to the Greenhouse Gradually

As soon as your plants get a little bigger and stronger, after about a week or two, you can gradually get them used to their new growing environment. Go easy on them, and don’t move them abruptly from the cosy indoors to the greenhouse. Set them in the structure for just a couple of hours each day and increase over the first few weeks.

This way, stress is reduced and plants can continue to develop without a hitch. Your plants are sensitive, especially at this stage, so don’t use your greenhouse as an excuse to be negligent.

  • Supplement Lighting According to Weather

One of the great things about greenhouses is that they allow growers to supplement natural lighting with an extra grow light. Stretches of poor/cloudy weather can be overcome without fear of a diminished harvest, and your electricity bill will be vastly lower than if you grow indoors.

Then again, if one is growing in a suitable climate with plenty of sun, a supplemental light may not be necessary. Still, having one at the ready is never a bad thing for a cannabis grower.

  • Use Blinds or Covers to Force Flowering

A greenhouse makes it possible to force-flower cannabis using light deprivation techniques. Elaborate timed shutters could be installed to obscure plants for this purpose, but simple blackout covers or blinds can also do the trick—at a fraction of the price and with much less effort.

In addition to allowing you to flower your weed at any time, blackout covers also serve to prevent cannabis light pollution (e.g. nearby street lighting), which could otherwise interfere with flowering for photo-feminized plants.

MOVE SEEDLINGS TO THE GREENHOUSE GRADUALLY

Pro Tips for Growing Cannabis in a Greenhouse

You want your cannabis to be happy, comfortable, and productive in your greenhouse grow-op. So, what else do you need to know to achieve a great harvest? Check out our pro tips below.

?️ Watch Your Temperatures

Unlike growing in a tent or room, temperatures in a greenhouse can fluctuate greatly. For example, a greenhouse in direct sun could easily spike temperatures above what your plants can handle. Installing a simple thermometer will give you a constant reading so you can decide whether your setup needs additional heating or cooling.

? Install a Fan

The enclosed environment in a greenhouse can promote high humidity levels, which could lead to mould threatening your harvest. Ensure your greenhouse has openings for adequate airflow to reduce the risk. A standing fan blowing a gentle breeze across your plants can go a long way in keeping humidity levels in check and preventing hot and/or humid spots.

? Plan for Your Space

Space in your greenhouse will be limited, so plan beforehand how many plants you can feasibly grow. Check strain descriptions to learn the expected final height of your specimens, and avoid obviously lanky strains like pure Hazes. Using a SOG (sea of green) setup—where you grow a large number of small plants in close proximity (as opposed to a few large ones)—is a great method for small greenhouses.

? How Will You Water?

A greenhouse allows you to be flexible in how you grow. You could use an old-school setup with a bunch of pots that you water manually, or you could choose from a variety of watering systems like drip irrigation or misting to fully automate your grow-op.

? Secure Your Greenhouse

Your greenhouse may attract curiosity, and possibly some unwanted attention. If your structure isn’t placed out of sight of nosey neighbours, opaque walls allow sunlight through but won’t reveal your precious “tomatoes”. A burglary alarm and cameras, or at the very least keeping your greenhouse doors locked, will provide a baseline level of security for your crops. In any case, a locked greenhouse is much safer from would-be thieves than growing weed out in the open!

? Keep Your Greenhouse Clean

Dirt will attract pests and diseases, which is why you should keep your greenhouse clean at all times. Make it a habit to collect debris like fallen leaves, etc., as these can harbour fungus, mould, and pests. Use sterile soil and containers to prevent diseases and pests from gaining a foothold in your greenhouse. Likewise, it’s a good idea to give your entire greenhouse, including all pots and tools, a thorough clean once a year, preferably before you start a new growing season.

INSTAL A FAN

Growing Weed in a Greenhouse - Conclusion

Growing cannabis in a greenhouse offers the best of both worlds. Massive harvests powered by sunlight, control over your environment, protection from wind and weather, and lower energy costs are convincing arguments that speak for themselves. Start your greenhouse grow today!

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: