As the American cannabis industry expands into states and regions once thought impossible for legal cultivation, growers around the country are updating their methods.
Here’s why indoor cannabis cultivation is increasingly popular in legal markets.
Key Takeaways
- – Total environmental control means more consistent crops.
- – Multiple indoor grow rooms enable strain diversity.
- – Indoor growing protects against risks outdoor farms can’t control.
- – Indoor cultivation enables year-round harvests in any climate.
A Brief History of Indoor Growing
Starting in the late 1960s, the famed cannabis farms of California’s Emerald Triangle formed the backbone of the legacy market. Indoor growing became more common with the advent of hydroponics in the 1980s.
While sun-grown, outdoor cannabis has many wonderful qualities, indoor cultivation has become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons.
Facing intense eradication efforts in the 1980s from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), many growers responded by moving operations indoors to avoid aerial surveillance. As technology advanced, this shift birthed sophisticated cultivation techniques that led to indoor-grown craft cannabis.
Today, state-regulated cannabis growers can make the most of indoor cultivation methods to grow craft cannabis at scale.
Indoor cannabis cultivation has many advantages that benefit every single stage of the plant and harvest cycle by controlling nearly every aspect of the cannabis crop.
Better Environmental Control
One of the most beneficial aspects of indoor growing is the total control that indoor facilities and technologies provide. From exact temperature to humidity and light cycles, growing indoors means a tightly controlled cultivation experience.
Cannabis strains need specific conditions to thrive; indoor cultivation allows growers to dial everything in without worrying about the weather.
Growing Multiple Strains at Once
Another aspect of indoor cultivation that benefits cultivators and consumers alike is the diversity of strains achievable indoors. A variety of factors come into play when growing cannabis, with each strain requiring a particular amount of light, nutrients, and water to maximize its potential.
Cultivation facilities with multiple grow rooms allow growers to customize the conditions of each room. This means they can run several rooms simultaneously, maintaining optimal conditions for each strain. Growing plants under these conditions allow them to express their full genetic potential, with a high concentration of cannabinoids and terpenes.
From the most citrusy sativa to the most myrcene-heavy indica, indoor cultivation allows for diversity, potency, and flavor.
Less Worry Over Outdoor Conditions
Along with control over conditions needed to ensure bountiful harvests, indoor growing provides an added layer of security against unforeseeable issues that can arise with outdoor cultivation.
Protection From Weather and Pests
Indoor cultivation offers protection from weather-related issues such as thunderstorms, hail, floods, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events that can damage outdoor cannabis plants. It’s also easier to identify and control pests like spider mites, which often affect outdoor grows.
Consistent Light, Consistent Yields
Modern lighting systems ensure that indoor plants receive the exact number of hours of light they require each day. Outdoor plants are obviously affected by overcast skies, storms, and shorter days as the seasons change. The health and size of the yield are directly tied to the amount of light a crop receives; indoor growers don’t need to worry about where the sun is in the sky.
Built-In Security With CCTV
Another benefit of indoor cultivation is security. Most state regulators require dispensaries and cultivation facilities to install CCTV systems. Protecting crops from thieves and burglars leads to more successful harvests and offers growers peace of mind.
Year-Round Cultivation, Anywhere
There aren’t many climates conducive to growing cannabis outdoors, as the Emerald Triangle farmers have for decades. Controlled indoor cultivation allows for large-scale cannabis cultivation with year-round harvests. This is critical in markets like Minnesota and New England, where long, cold winters make outdoor cultivation impossible after summer draws to a close.
Whether it’s too rainy, cold, or the days are getting shorter, indoor cultivation facilities and innovative growing technologies provide year-round opportunities for quality cannabis, wherever you are.
The Bottom Line
While growing cannabis outdoors has plenty of benefits, there are uncontrollable factors. Growing indoors helps cultivators avoid these issues. The level of control that indoor cultivation provides with protection against weather, pests, and theft is making it more and more common in legal cannabis states.
DISCLAIMER: The contents of this blog are intended for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
