The perceived difficulty of growing cannabis is not a fixed measure but exists on a spectrum determined entirely by the cultivation method a person chooses and their quality goals. For a beginner, the process can range from a relatively passive, hands-off experience to a demanding, high-tech endeavor. The answer to how hard it is depends not only on the plant itself, which is generally hardy, but on the grower’s commitment to controlling every variable in the environment. Achieving a small, modest harvest requires far less effort than producing a consistent, high-potency crop.
Assessing the Difficulty: Indoor Versus Outdoor Methods
The choice between growing outdoors and indoors represents the largest factor in determining the difficulty for a new cultivator. Outdoor cultivation is often the simpler, more forgiving approach, relying on the natural environment to provide the necessary inputs. The sun offers free, full-spectrum light, and the soil provides the growing medium, resulting in significantly lower startup costs. Once a plant is established, it requires less hands-on maintenance, with most of the work centered on occasional watering and general monitoring.
Outdoor challenges stem from a lack of environmental control and unpredictable factors. Weather variability, such as early frosts or heavy rain, can quickly ruin a crop, limiting growers to typically only one harvest per year. The outdoor setting also exposes plants to a higher risk of pests and diseases that are difficult to manage. Security is a practical hurdle, as outdoor plants are more visible and vulnerable to theft.
Indoor growing presents a steep initial learning curve and a high financial barrier to entry. This method requires the cultivator to artificially recreate and precisely manage every condition the plant needs to thrive. It demands specialized equipment, including lighting, ventilation, and monitoring tools, requiring a large initial investment. While the environment is controllable, the grower assumes full responsibility for maintaining stability; any error in temperature, humidity, or nutrition management directly impacts plant health.
Essential Environmental Controls and Setup
The technical complexity of indoor growing requires meticulously managing several interdependent environmental inputs simultaneously. Lighting is a primary concern, requiring the grower to choose the correct spectrum and intensity for both the vegetative and flowering phases. The vegetative stage requires an 18/6 light cycle, while flowering requires a precise 12/12 schedule. Artificial light also generates significant heat, which must be managed to keep the grow space within the ideal temperature range of 70–85°F during the light cycle.
Air quality requires constant attention through a robust ventilation and airflow system. Exhaust fans remove warm, stale air and replenish the room with fresh, carbon dioxide-rich air for photosynthesis. Humidity control is a major technical hurdle: young plants prefer 60–70% relative humidity, but this must be lowered to 40–50% during flowering to prevent mold. These systems must work in concert, creating a perpetual balancing act for the grower, as lowering humidity often means raising the temperature.
Managing the plant’s nutrition involves precise measurements and monitoring, which is a common source of difficulty for beginners. Nutrients are only available to the plant’s roots within a narrow pH window, generally between 6.0 and 7.0 in soil and 5.5 and 6.5 in hydroponic setups. If the growing medium strays outside this range, the plant can experience “nutrient lock-out,” where essential elements are present but chemically unavailable for absorption. Novice growers often mistake this issue for a nutrient deficiency, incorrectly adding more fertilizer, which only exacerbates the problem by causing a toxic salt buildup around the roots.
The Grow Cycle: Time Commitment and Maintenance
Beyond the initial setup and environmental controls, the ongoing labor and time commitment across the plant’s life cycle also contribute significantly to the difficulty. The process begins with the germination and seedling phase, which lasts approximately two to four weeks. During this time, the small plants are highly vulnerable to overwatering, temperature fluctuations, and fungal diseases. Careful monitoring is required during this delicate start to ensure a strong foundation for the later stages of growth.
The vegetative phase is characterized by rapid growth, demanding increased interaction and maintenance. Growers must frequently feed the plants with nitrogen-rich nutrients to support the development of leaves and branches. This is the stage for labor-intensive training techniques, such as “topping” or “Low-Stress Training (LST),” which manipulate the plant’s shape for better light distribution. While these techniques maximize yield, they require daily interaction to tie, bend, or prune the growing tips.
Once the plant enters the flowering phase, which can last eight to twelve weeks, the grower must remain vigilant for signs of male plants. These must be removed immediately to prevent the fertilization of female plants and the production of seeds. Pest and disease management continues throughout this phase, requiring regular inspection of the dense flower clusters for early signs of problems like spider mites or bud rot. The entire cycle, from seed to harvest, typically lasts between three and eight months, depending on the strain and method.
Post-Harvest Processing
The commitment does not end when the plant is harvested; the post-harvest process of drying and curing determines the final quality of the product. Drying must occur slowly and steadily, typically over seven to ten days, in a dark environment with controlled temperature and humidity. This preserves the plant’s volatile aromatic compounds.
Following drying, the curing process involves sealing the dried flowers in airtight containers and regularly opening them, or “burping,” over a period of two to six weeks. This allows for the slow degradation of residual sugars and starches. This final step is entirely hands-on and directly affects the smoothness and flavor of the final product, demanding patience and attention to detail.