There is a great success when engaging yourself into the cannabis business since the legislation of cannabis is booming, and the market is already going its way to worldwide popularity. There are a lot of people wondering about the different types of cultivation processes involved in cannabis and curious about what might be the cost involved.
Knowing the whole cost of the cultivation of cannabis is a great knowledge to acquire when you are trying to start up a business. According to statistics, the average cost will be 42 dollars per square foot in cannabis cultivation. In this article, we have gathered the necessary information and resources with estimated costs to give you insights into the overall expense in setting up cannabis cultivation, specifically indoor setup.
Indoor Cannabis Cultivation
Compared to other types of cannabis cultivation, indoor set up is more expensive and higher in expenses because the overall features of this cultivating process must be controlled. For instance, outdoor cultivation utilizes natural lighting fro. The sun directly and does not need equipment like lights and any device that can control and manage the environment during the cultivation process.
Nonetheless, regardless of its cost, the controlled environment features can generate much higher plants in high quality, and they typically sell at higher prices. Also, the advantage of indoor cultivation is you can cultivate multiple times within a year.
Seeds
In terms of indoor setup, the most important way is to keep it simple. For regular seeds of cannabis, half of its quantity will become male plants when grown. Although male plants feature it’s used too, it does not produce resinous buds. Hence, many growers opt for feminized seeds.
The price of seeds you can buy online will range around 10 to 20 dollars per piece. There are also discounted prices if you purchase in either three to ten packs. The usual discount will be around 20% of the price, and it should cost you around 60 dollars for approximately six plants.
Growing Space
The size of your growing space matters depending on what you are aiming for to do. Cultivating space for professionally claimed cannabis crops is far different from growing few plants only in a limited space. In large scale cultivation, you need to think bigger and wider. Compared to other businesses, it would be hard to find landlords who are willing to allow renting their place for cannabis cultivation, and if they are, it is usually the price is high.
According to experts, typically, the space rent pays around more than 4 dollars per square foot. Some are even paying more than that price and could reach up to 17 dollars per square foot. Indeed the price varies depending on the state you are in, but it is not surprising that the price is not affordable.
Growing Tent
If you are not interested in renting a space for indoor cannabis cultivation, there is one way to make your expenses less suffocating, and that is to have it in your home. Invest in purchasing a growing tent that is manufactured for growing cannabis, particularly. Make certain that it is reasonable to assemble and must not result in any destruction to the area.
Typically, a tent with a measurement of 2×2 feet is approximately 120 dollars and can already cover three cannabis plants. A tent of 3×3 feet could cover up to four plants, and this should cost you approximately 200 dollars. So, this means, the larger the tent, the higher the price will be and could reach up to 300 dollars for larger ones.
Hydroponics Cultivation
For indoor cannabis cultivation, you can always opt for a hydroponic setup that requires many expenses. However, just like other cultivating techniques like coco coir, it features the assurance of evenly distributed nutrients to all your plants. Well, the price will vary according to what type of system you prefer. If you intend to use the water system for twelve plants, it should cost you 500 dollars, and some also have a much lesser price of around 200 dollars.
Nutrients Needed
One of the vital components in cultivating cannabis is the nutrients that allow you to fully maximize the capabilities of your cannabis. Throughout the life cycle of your cannabis plants, they require various nutrients, and the expenses on this matter will rely on how many plants you have. But on an average basis, you could spend up to a thousand dollars just for the nutrients alone.
For instance, super soil will cost you around twenty dollars up to fifty dollars, depending on the brand and quality. There are some that could even reach up to eighty dollars.
Temperatures and Ventilation
For indoors, it requires lightings that can regulate the temperature inside the grow room. This will cost you more in price. Also, fans provide ventilation, which is a very crucial factor in growing cannabis indoors. It could reach up to a hundred dollars for one fan, but that depends on how large your space is. If you have a larger growing space, you need a large van that could accommodate the whole area. This will cost you a thousand dollars or more than that.
On top of that, growers also recommend humidifiers to feature inside your growing space to control the humidity inside and make your cannabis plants happy. Typically, it will range around a thousand dollars up to three thousand dollars.
Electricity
As you know, natural lighting from the sun is not possible for indoor cannabis plants; hence, lighting features must be installed inside and enable the plants to get sufficient light they require. Approximately around 18 hours, the cannabis must be exposed to lights every day. It will transition to 12 hours a day when it reaches the flowering period.
It will cost you around fifty to twenty dollars for a light with 200 watts under a small space while 140/watts of light around 300 dollars and can accommodate 36 ounces of plants already. The electricity for these lights will be much harder to estimate since it varies from one place to another. During the vegetative period, the plants will use an average of 6 kWh per day, while during the blooming stage, it will be using around 4 kWh per day. So, as estimated, the plants will cost 120 dollars within ten weeks of growing.
Filter
Filters like carbon filters are not necessarily needed; however, it helps to eliminate the odor released by the weed. So, the average market price will cost you a hundred dollars for a carbon filter.
Other Equipment
Not necessarily required, but it can help the growing process of the plants if you by a pH testing kit, so whenever your plants cannot absorb nutrients properly, they would not be compromised. The pH kit will cost you around 20 dollars only, and the timer is approximately 25 dollars.
A thermometer with a hygrometer in one device, which is necessary to measure the humidity and temperature of your growing area, will cost you for only 10 dollars.
Overall Cost
On average, the cost of indoor cannabis cultivation is not affordable because there is a lot to be bought, and there is a lot to pay for. Do not forget that you still have to pay for a license to start a business, and that adds to the cost of your indoor cultivation. Overall, growers pay yearly payments of around 78,000 dollars just for a medium-size growing area. If you intend to venture into the world of indoor cannabis cultivation, you need an average of 20,000 dollars to start at least.
Takeaway
One of the benefits of indoor cultivation of cannabis is you can always grow multiple cycles within a year and harvest multiple times as well. In a smaller growing area, you can at least produce a harvest of 200 grams and sell for 10 dollars per gram.
Also, the equipment you have purchase can be utilized for the next growing cycle, which is favorable as you continue cultivating harvest after harvest. Nonetheless, it will always boil down to the strain of cannabis you used. If you have paid around 4,000 dollars for growing and harvested 1000 grams, you can sell it for 4 dollars per gram and still remains to be a winning harvest, especially if it is a medicinal strain, you can even sell it more.