Invest In Your Garden

This Week’s Tip:  Invest in your Garden

This week I’d like to talk about investing in your garden.  We’ll be talking more about grow equipment in future Grow Tips, but I think its important to discuss some general tips for investing in your grow before we dive into specifics about gear and equipment recommendations.  So lets talk about it!

Growing cannabis is an investment of both time and money

Even the simplest grow will have expenses and require some effort, but this doesn’t mean growing has to be expensive or time consuming.

Spending money wisely and investing for the long term can help you stretch your budget further, regardless of how much you have to spend.

You can make gardening cheaper, easier, and more enjoyable by making SMART INVESTMENTS with your time and money.  Consider ways you can Invest your time and money that help you get the most enjoyment from your garden.

Buying crappy stuff often ends up costing you more

Buying crappy lights will mean less yield and lower bud quality.

Buying crappy genetics means less potential, less vigor, lower quality bud and potentially low germination rates or other issues. 

You are going to spend MONTHS caring for your plants, so invest in good genetics that are worthy of your effort!

Buying crappy fans or air conditioning means you are more likely to have a failure that could result in a lost crop or other issues.

This doesn’t mean you always have to buy fancy stuff.  Just always do your best to consider the long term results of your purchases, and be smart about how you spend your money.

Don’t “go cheap” on something if its going to come back to haunt you later!  Make smart investments and get the most out of your money!

Consider the Long Term

Think about how your investment will play out over the long term, not just the immediate effects.

Don’t buy crappy stuff that you’ll just have to replace later!  This is a waste of time, money and resources! 

Buying the cheaper, crappy version of something you know you’ll have to replace later means you end up BUYING THE SAME THING TWICE!  Its a much better investment to GET THE RIGHT THING THE FIRST TIME!

You should also consider the LONG TERM COSTS associated with a purchase

Example:

• Buying an HPS light might seem like a good deal, but when you factor in the long term expenses like replacement bulbs and increased electrical costs, suddenly things get much more expensive.

• LED lighting costs a little more upfront, but ends up being a much better investment.  Lower heat, electrical costs and no bulb replacements mean MUCH lower running costs.  This adds up to BIG SAVINGS, and LED lighting ends up costing you MUCH LESS over time!

Time is Money!

Your effort and labor are valuable!  Don’t undervalue your time!  There is only so much of you to go around.

Invest in gear that can make your life easier.  If buying something small will save you a lot of time, its usually worth the investment.

Invest in gear that helps free you up to focus on the parts of gardening you enjoy!

For example…. Investing in irrigation can allow you to spend less time watering, and frees you up to spend more time on other aspects of your garden.  OR if you like watering, invest in other areas of the grow so you have plenty of time to hand water your plants.

 Investing for the future helps you get the most out of your budget

My personal grow is a good example of this.  I have a very limited monthly budget, but spending wisely and making long term investments has allowed me to have a nice grow room that I’m able to really enjoy.  (Click here to check out my grow room build)

Examples from my garden:

• Using LEDs lighting helps me keep my monthly costs as low as possible.  Less cooling, less power, no bulbs to replace!

• I grow in beds of living soil.  I reuse my soil with only some minor amending and I’ve been able to use the same soil for 5+ years.  I don’t have to spend money on additional nutrients or buying more soil because I invested in quality soil that can be reused.  This saves me a ton of money and is less wasteful than buying new soil and bottled nutrients every run.

• I use an irrigation system to water my beds.  This frees me up to focus on the other parts of running my garden, so I get to spend more time doing the things that I enjoy.  I planned my irrigation system so its easily expandable.  This allowed me to start with a small system and expand it slowly over time as my budget allowed.

• I considered getting a crappy budget air conditioner, but quickly realized its much better to invest in a high quality, SUPER EFFICIENT air conditioner.  My mini split air conditioner cost a lot up front, but it uses roughly HALF THE POWER of an equivalent window unit, and it came with a 10 year warranty.  This means I’m saving money EVERY MONTH on my electrical bill, and I can feel confident that my air conditioner will last me many years.  Investing wisely means I get to have a nicer air conditioner, and the monthly electrical savings mean I will actually end up spending much less over time than if I went with a cheaper unit.

This Week’s Garden Homework:

Take some time to consider your own grow, and think about how you can invest wisely to get the most enjoyment out of it!

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Until next time…

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