If you’ve been wanting to try your hand at indoor cannabis cultivation, but aren’t sure where to start in regards to a grow setup and/or are daunted at the thought of investing thousands of dollars that you don’t have to spare, you’ve come to the right spot.

In this blog post, I’m going to go over two simple starter grow setups that aren’t going to cost you an arm and a leg nor will either require you to have a degree in botany, engineering, and architecture! In fact, they are essentially one and the same. However, the first option is an all-in-one grow setup that you can easily order online, and the latter is one where, in order to save a couple of hundred dollars, you will need to buy all the different items from either a hardware store or online.

No matter which setup you go with, you will want a few planting pots ranging from small to large so that you can transfer your plants to bigger pots as they and their roots grow. The other things you will need to get will be soil and plant feed, as soil generally will contain the necessary nutrients. Not only is a hydroponics setup more expensive than soil, but it’s also not the ideal way for a first-time cannabis cultivator to begin their journey as it will require some previous experience and know-how.

One more item that you’ll want to consider installing in your grow setup is a platform on which to keep your plants off the floor of the grow tent. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, and could easily be a few scrap pieces of wood you have lying about, wood or plastic crate, etc.

The All-in-One Grow Setup

TopoLite 24”x24”x48” LED Grow Tent Kit under $450 USD: Since the tent itself is just 24”x24”x48”, it should be small enough to fit in a closet, or if you live in a 2-story place under your stairs, etc. where you’ll be able to grow one to two plants in it. The fact that it is 4 feet in height means that it would be best if you grow strains that do not exceed 2 feet. As such, cultivating indica and auto-flowering strains will probably be your best bet.

This all-in-one grow setup, which can be easily found online, is ideal for first-time growers due to its size, ease of acquiring, and the fact that the majority of what you will need is included with your grow tent kit. This particular kit should arrive containing the following items:

A 300W LED full-spectrum grow light
4” Ventilation kit
1 Tent with reflective walls and heavy-duty Zippers
1 Thermometer hygrometer: This lets you monitor humidity and temperature levels, etc.
1 Timer
1 Pair of 60mm shears
1 5x15ft Plant trellis netting: Using this will allow for the sturdy support of plants with heavy nuggets that could otherwise cause the branches of your cannabis plant to break
1 pair of light hangers: These can be used for hanging lights, carbon filters, ventilation equipment, etc.

If $450 USD is a bit too steep for your budget, you could also shop around and purchase all of these individual items for perhaps a bit cheaper. However, what I personally like about this exact option is the sheer convenience of having everything you need all delivered to your doorstep without having to spend a lot of time, and several trips to collect all of these items.

Purchasing Individual Items

If you want to save yourself a few hundred dollars by either looking for second-hand items online or doing a few trips to the hardware store or a grow show, here are the key items you will need to have in order to successfully cultivate a couple of cannabis plants at a time.

A grow tent that has reflective walls and heavy-duty Zippers. If you go with one that’s the same size as the 24”x24”x48” TopoLite tent you’ll probably spend around $60-65 USD. If you want to start with growing say four plants instead of 1-2, then just remember that the larger the tent the more money you’ll spend.
LED lights, 300W minimum, though 400W is even better. Even though LEDs cost more, they are worth the money spent as they allow you to save money when it comes to power consumption.
An intake and exhaust fan to circulate air in and out of the space
Carbon filters. For a small grow tent, you should be fine with just one.
A thermometer hygrometer to monitor both humidity and temperature levels

All in all, purchasing and assembling your grow setup yourself could very well save you $200 USD depending on where you live, and whether or not you’re able to “thrift” a few of these items.

Conclusion

Hopefully, now that you, as one who is interested in becoming a cannabis cultivator, have read this piece and know that a basic grow setup is not going saddle you with any kind of unbearable debt, you have a bit more peace of mind about trying your hand at cannabis cultivation and are ready to go… or, rather, grow!