Growing Hemp Part 1: Germinating The Seeds

One of the most incredible things about Hemp is that it is easy to grow, unlike Kratom which is extremely hard to grow due to the seeds being microscopic and fragile, and even if you get Kratom seeds to germinate they would need a greenhouse since they do poorly at room temperature, and one strong cold front could kill a Kratom tree. Fortunately, Hemp literally grows like a weed, it can be grown indoors at room temperature, and it has regular seeds (above photo) that are easy to germinate.

This is the beginning of a series of articles on growing Hemp, starting with this article on germinating the seeds, and regular updates will be posted as the Hemp sprouts and then moves through the phases of its lifecycle, and in several months, if all goes well, there will be articles on harvesting and processing Hemp.

Some people may wet a paper towel and put the seeds inbetween it to stimulate germination, but honestly Hemp doesn’t require any special procedure for germination, it literally just needs soil and water.

In the below photo is my setup, which I got from Home Depot for just $25 total. I have 5 pots, and in each one I will plant an individual seed, and I got Miracle Gro potting soil mix. Also, there is a trough that will collect any excess water from when I water the plants, which is essential for growing indoors without making a mess.

Perhaps regular soil could have been used and it may work. However, I’ve grown all sorts of plants throughout the decades, and Miracle Gro soil makes plants grow way better, and it stimulates germination. I actually would have gotten the Miracle Gro soil that is specifically for rooting new plants, but Home Depot didn’t have it this time, and I figure the potting soil mix is fine. The main point of using Miracle Gro soil is it has all of the nutrients that a plant needs to thrive.

Ultimately I chose to only use 4 pots, so that the plants will have some room once they start growing, and so that all the pots sit level in the trough. I filled each pot with soil up to the line, leaving a few inches of room, just in case I need to add any soil later on, since sometimes plants can start leaning over when they’re new, and this can be remedied by adding soil for support.

I simply stuck my finger in the soil down as far as my nail, making an indent of an inch or less. I then dropped a seed in, and covered it up with soil. After that I lightly poured some water on the part of the pot where I planted the seed.

The key with the initial watering is to make the soil wet around the seed cause that is essential to stimulate germination. Simultaneously however, no need to water all the soil in the pot, just use as much water as it takes to wet the soil around the seed, since too much water can cause fungus growth. The end result can be seen in the below photo.

Today, and henceforth, I will use a spray bottle of water to wet the soil as needed, but once again important not to constantly soak it to prevent fungus growth. Certainly however, during germination it is critical to keep the soil near the seed constantly wet.

Notably, I planted 1 Hemp seed per pot. These pots are relatively big, and if the seeds sprout, the plant will have tons of room to grow. It is wise to only put 1 seed per pot, so you don’t have plants competing in the same pot.

These plants may never need to be transplanted, since I got that blue Miracle Gro crystal fertilizer for once they start getting big and need more nutrients.

Also notably, I put a Heavenly Blue Morning Glory seed in one of the 4 pots as a control for this experiment, since Morning Glory seeds always germinate, so if it germinates and the Hemp seeds do nothing then I’ll know to put in new Hemp seeds or try a different technique. Of course, I’ll wait a week before putting in any new seed, if that is even necessary.

That’s all it takes to germinate Hemp seeds based on my experience, and within the next week I’ll post another article once the seeds start sprouting.