Cannabis legalization gives new options for indoor gardeners

At just under seven months in, cannabis legalization is already starting to show a trickle-down effect on the gardening industry.

Under the new Cannabis Act implemented on Oct. 17, Canadians are allowed to grow up to four marijuana plants for personal use.

While some may have been growing the plant illegally before, Dutch Growers Garden Centre’s Rick van Duyvendyk thinks there’s no doubt that legalization has affected gardening products and practices.

“Before, we just had other types of fluorescent and incandescent grow lights,” he said. “With the whole cannabis market, which is a huge market, the researchers are getting money to do more experiments.”

Legalizing cannabis, previously an illegal substance and a taboo topic, has led to some simple advancements. One example is the variety of LED strips and lighting packages that can increase the lifespan of a plant.

Instead of placing a big light above the plant, researchers have found new ways to get more light in the tighter spaces.

“They’re actually putting lights within the canopy of the plants. Now you get flowers and leaves more than just at the top. Of course you’re using more space and more light, so you get a better results from the plants growing in better light,” said van Duyvendyk.

That small change can have that same impact on nearly any type of indoor plant. Herbs, flowers and vegetables can all benefit from some tricky light placement, van Duyvendyk said.

Things that weren’t thought of a few years ago, like using a wide variety of lighting colours, could soon become common practice for all indoor gardens.

“There’s a lot more dollars involved for research. All these universities are doing this research with different types of lights. So now, the technology is there and they’re finding out different plants react to different lights,” he said.

Lighting isn’t the only advancement made in recent years. Things like fertilizer, soil and organics have come a long way due to intensified research efforts.

“Whenever you get more research put into plants, there’s always spinoffs for every other part of the horticulture industry,” van Duyvendyk said.

While growing an indoor garden has evolved greatly in recent years, van Duyvendyk warns it is still a hobby that involves passion and work.

“You just don’t put a seed in a pot and reap the harvest of a crop,” he said. “There’s things you got to do to make that crop grow well, and you learn by experience.”