Hemp Growing Guide (Part 1: Getting Ready)

Happy Spring everyone. Ready to grow some hemp? Maybe you use hemp flower or CBD to treat a medical condition and you’re worried that your favorite products won’t be available come November (when the new “hemp ban” passed by Congress in 2025 takes effect).

Or maybe you just want to save some money by raising and processing your own crop. Or you just like the idea of growing your medicine and developing a personal relationship with the plant. All good reasons to grow hemp!

If you’ve never grown hemp before, I’m here to help. If you can grow vegetables in your garden or flowers in your flower bed you can grow hemp. All you need is some decent soil, sunshine, water, and a little TLC. Let’s get started!

Start with a Plan

Some people just buy some seeds and wing it, but it’s not a bad idea to take a little time at the outset to think things through a bit.

Check Your State’s Laws

First, is it legal to grow hemp in your state? Check if you’re not sure, and if the answer is no stop right there (sorry!). If it’s legal, find out if there are any stipulations about number of plants, location, visibility, etc. You’ll want to check with your local county and town as well as your state. Best to go by the book even if some of the rules are downright silly.

Choose Your Spot

The next thing to consider is location. Where are you going to grow this plant? While some people grow hemp indoors, I’ve never done so (other than seedlings during early spring). We’re going to be talking exclusively about outdoor growing here since that’s what I know. Personally I think outdoor-grown plants make better medicine but that’s a debate for another time.

Choose a spot that gets plenty of sun–like tomatoes, hemp plants use all the sun they can get. Full sun all day is ideal but just a few hours can work too. Avoid a spot that stays shaded most of the day. And don’t forget to consider how shaded areas shift and grow as the sun moves further south in the sky in the late summer and fall. Plants that are in full sun in June could end up shaded come fall, just when the flowers are developing. The ideal situation in fall is to have morning sun in order to dry the dew off the flowers.

In the Ground or in a Container?

Another key question is whether to grow your hemp plant in the ground or a container. I like growing in the ground because frankly it’s easier–less watering needed, plus unless you grow in a very large container the earthgrown plant will grow bigger and produce a more abundant harvest. On the other hand, growing in a container allows you to move the plant to safety in certain situations (like a hailstorm or an impending frost). I’ve done both successfully but in general I think growing in the ground is preferable.

Good Soil

Hemp grows best in loamy, well-draining soil. The roots don’t like to be saturated all the time. If you’re growing in the ground, choose a place with soil that stays damp after rain but doesn’t turn remain soggy or have pools of water at the surface. Otherwise just remove the native soil and replace it with something more appropriate for your hemp plant. You can mix up your own soil (lots of guidance online) or buy some at a local gardening store.

Although some people skip this step, it’s helpful to have a soil test if you’re using native soil. There’s usually a soil lab at one of your state universities that offers soil tests for a reasonable fee. This is good information to have and will help you care for the plant. The soil test will indicate the soil’s pH, which should be between 6 and 7 for hemp, so just slightly acidic but not too much. You can adjust this with various soil amendments.

Growing Organically

I’ve always grown hemp organically, meaning without chemical fertilizers and pesticides, so that’s what I’m going to show you here. You don’t have to follow my methods if you don’t want to but I can only show you what I know.

Personally I think hemp flower grown organically in living soil (containing a rich, healthy microbial life in other words) makes for better medicine. But I can’t say I have the data to prove that…it’s just what I (and many others) believe. I’d grow organically even if it didn’t make a difference in the product because it’s the smart way to farm–builds soil health instead of depleting it, fosters more resilient plants, among other benefits, keeps pesticides and herbicides out of the environment and our bodies, among other benefits.

Supplies You’ll Need

If you’re already a gardener you probably have most of what you need already. But if you’re starting from scratch here’s a list of items to have on hand before you get started:

• A few small seedling containers (a “6-pack” works great)
• Potting soil (I use Coast of Maine Stonington Blend Grower’s Mix)
• LED grow light (if starting seeds indoors before last frost; I like the Feit LEDs)
• 1 or 2 gallon nursery pots
• organic fertilizer (you can get a premixed one like Coast of Maine’s Stonington Blend Plant Food or make your own–I use alfalfa meal, worm castings, and other nitrogen-rich materials I have on hand).
• hemp seeds (check with any local growers or find a reputable online seedbank–Fortuna, for example).

Pretty simple, right?

Go ahead and get everything you need and next week we’ll plant some seeds together. Don’t worry if you aren’t ready then, you can plant later in the spring or even up until Father’s Day and still have time to grow your plant this summer.

If you’ve never grown a hemp plant before, you’re in for a treat–they’re impressive to watch through the season.

See you next week, when we plant our seeds and begin the magical germination process.