How to set up an indoor weed homegrow for under $500

Growing weed at home is expensive, right? And it’s tough to setup, right? Wrong. It’s actually easier and cheaper than you may think. Our Leafly homegrow experts put together a solid indoor setup for $500. It’s literally all you’ll need, minus the seeds.

We purchased all of our equipment online, so your entire indoor homegrow can be delivered right to your doorstop. Here’s how to set it up and a breakdown of the costs.

List of equipment

Grow space equipment

• Grow tent (6’ x 3’ x 3’): $100
• Drain pan: $25
• Grow light: $120 
• Light timer: $8
• Intake fan (4”): $20
• Exhaust fan (4”): $20
• Air filter: $32 
• Ducting (4”): $15
• Clip fan (6”): $13
• Hygrometer/Thermometer: $7 

Planting materials

• Pots (5-gallon): $12
• Soil: $40
• Plant tags: $5
• Nutrients: $32 
• Measuring cup: $4
• Watering can: $10 

More helpful gear

• Trellis netting: $7
• Trimmers: $7
• Shears: $8
• Chikamasa scissors: $14

Total: $499

Grow space equipment

• Grow tent. For this setup, we use a 6′ tall, 3′ x 3′ grow tent. There are lots of options from 2′ x 2′ on up to 8′ x 8′. We felt this was a good, manageable size with good height, that you can grow a non-trivial amount of weed in. 
• Drain pan.This collects the water that runs off your plants. You can channel this directly into a drain with some quick mods, otherwise you’ll just need to suck it up by hand.
• Grow light. We went with an LED because they’re cheap and easy on your electric bill. These vary wildly in price, but for around $120 we found plenty of options. Whatever you choose, make sure it covers flowering in your tent size.
• Light timer. It’s important for plants to get a specific amount of light in each growth phase. This simple timer lets you automate your on and off times.
• Intake and exhaust fans. They bring cool, fresh air in, and pull out old hot air. These are 4″ fans—plenty big for a tent this size.
• Air filter. Important piece that attaches before your exhaust fan. It keeps the air clean and helps to filter out that stinky weed smell.
• Ducting. Used to direct your old weed-smelling air from the exhaust fan. Always a good idea, if you can, to setup your grow close to window so you can vent it outside. If your grow space is stuffy, you can also use ducting on your intake fan to pull in air from another location.
• 6″ Clip fan. Moving air around in the tent will help keep your plants healthy and strong. 
• Hygrometer/Thermometer. This device lets you see the humidity and temperature in your tent, in case you need to make adjustments.

Planting materials

• Pots. These five-gallon cloth pots are what you’ll fill with grow medium and plant your seeds or clones in. 
• Soil. We use soil because it’s cheap, easy, and readily available. This Pro Mix has mycorrhizae, to help promote growth, but there are tons of soils out there.
• Plant tags. To keep track of your strains! This might seem simple or silly, but trust us—you will lose track of which weed is which, if you’re growing multiple strains.
• Nutrients. This is a simple starter kit of micro, grow, and bloom from Gen Hydro. These will get the job done, but there are tons of nute options out there.
• Measuring cup. To measure out your nutes. You probably have one at home, but just in case.
• Watering can. Again, you likely have something that will do the job at home, but this simple watering can will ensure you water and feed the soil properly, without getting it on your plants.

More helpful gear

After plants are set up and growing, you’ll need this last bit of equipment for pruning, trimming, and trellising.

• Trellis netting. This will help spread out and support branches to maximize yields.
• Trimmers. For pruning fan leaves and small branches throughout the grow.
• Shears. For snipping off big branches, mainly when harvesting.
• Chikamasa scissors. The crème de la crème of trimming scissors. These are for trimming up your harvest, and we highly recommend them.

And that’s it!

This setup will allow you to grow a few plants every 3-4 months, with up to 1/4 lb. of dried buds off each plant.

Of course, that will vary with your specific gear and plant health, but this setup is a great start.

Happy growing, friends.

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