Indoor Growing: Our First Weeks

A few weeks have passed since receiving our cultivation license in March. Time for a first, honest update from the grow rooms.

The infrastructure is in place. Lighting, ventilation, irrigation, climate control — all installed and operational. That sounds simpler than it was. The ventilation system planning alone cost us more time than expected. Odor filters, air circulation, temperature and humidity control — everything has to work together before a single plant goes into the soil.

Our first strains are in the vegetative phase. We deliberately started with robust, beginner-friendly strains — varieties that forgive mistakes and don't immediately die if a parameter is slightly off. Northern Lights and Blue Dream were our starting selection, both known for resilience and reliable growth.

What's going well: The LED lighting delivers consistent PPFD values, plants are visibly growing. We maintain daytime temperatures at 24–26°C, nighttime at 18–20°C. Relative humidity sits at 60–70% during vegetation — right on target.

What surprised us: The electricity consumption. Despite energy-efficient LED technology, the energy demand for lighting, climate control and ventilation is substantial. We accounted for this in our budget, but the real numbers are at the upper end of our estimates.

What we're still learning: Nutrient management. The right dosing of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium at each growth stage is a science in itself. We document everything meticulously — pH value, EC value, leaf color, plant height — to be better prepared for the next cycles.

The growing council meets weekly to discuss progress and make adjustments. Transparency toward our members is important to us: we will report regularly on the status — even when things don't go according to plan.

Next steps: Once the plants are large enough, the flowering phase begins. Then the light regime changes from 18/6 to 12/12 hours. We expect another 8–12 weeks until the first harvest. Then comes drying, curing and quality testing before anything is distributed to members.

We'll keep you posted.