Cannabis Indoor Growing Class: The Homestretch
Purple Capers’ Purple Runtz Cake ready to be harvested. Photo by @ginja.club
Jackie and Christian’s Indoor Cannabis Growing Journey: The Homestretch
Jackie and Christian are on the final stretch of their first indoor cannabis grow, and things are looking fantastic. The flowers are thriving, and they’re both eager to harvest and process the fruits of their labor. Two of their autoflowers have already finished and are being taken down as we speak, while the remaining two will be given a bit more time to fully develop.
One of the key benefits of growing for personal use rather than commercially is the flexibility to harvest selectively. Instead of cutting down the entire plant at once, you can pick individual buds as they reach peak ripeness, maximizing quality and potency.
Now, let’s hear from Jackie and Christian about their experience:
Learning the Ropes with Autoflowers
The Cannabis Indoor Growing Class is gearing up for their very first harvest! The Vivosun tent setup has performed brilliantly, providing the perfect environment for a healthy, thriving grow. Time to reap the rewards!
We’re happy we chose Purple Caper’s autoflowers for our first indoor run. We’ve used their seeds many times before and trust the quality, so it was a solid choice for our initial experience with both indoor and hydroponic growing.
We germinated our seeds on December 16th, and now, just two and a half months later, we’re harvesting our first plants. One thing that surprised us was how well autoflowers developed in a controlled tent environment. Since we skipped transplanting by sowing them directly into the grow medium, we completely avoided transplant shock. The Forum and Black Runtz Cake plants grew so well that they could easily pass for regular photoperiod strains. That alone made the experience both fun and fulfilling.
A New Level of Connection with the Growing Process
Having Ed as our mentor was an incredible experience—one that went far beyond simply learning about cannabis cultivation. His depth of knowledge, gained from decades of pioneering work in the industry, was invaluable, but it was his passion for education and his willingness to share insights that truly made the difference.
One big takeaway is just how much closer indoor growing made us feel to the entire plant development process. With outdoor growing, there’s a more hands-off approach—you check in the morning, make occasional adjustments, and let nature do its thing. Indoors, however, we found ourselves constantly monitoring and tweaking conditions throughout the day.
The instant feedback loop was both challenging and rewarding. If we made a mistake, we saw the effects right away. We struggled with nutrient feeding at first, but over time, we refined our method, taking precise measurements and ensuring the plants received exactly what they needed. The result? Incredibly vibrant plants with impressive trichome development.
This experience has given us a new appreciation for nature. We’ve learned so much from growing in a tent that we plan to apply many of these skills to our outdoor plants as well. Spending more time fine-tuning environmental factors and nutrient schedules will undoubtedly improve our next outdoor harvest.
Preventing Pests and Mold: A Top Priority
We are really happy with the root development—it’s been thriving beyond our expectations. The roots are strong, well-structured, and spreading efficiently, which is a great indicator of overall plant health. Seeing such vigorous growth reassures us that the Vivosun setup, from nutrient balance to environmental conditions, is working as intended. Healthy roots mean better nutrient uptake, improved resilience, and stronger plants with higher yields.
One of our biggest concerns going into this was preventing pests and mold in the grow tent. We’ve seen firsthand how devastating a spider mite infestation can be, so we took every precaution to avoid that heartbreak.
We were meticulous about hygiene—always changing clothes between working in the outdoor garden and stepping into the tent. We also used GrowSafe as a preventative measure, starting in week three and applying it once a week. It worked perfectly—zero pest issues, which was a huge relief. As Ed Rosenthal always says, ‘Prevention is key.’ A little extra time and money spent on prevention is far better than losing an entire crop.
Another key to our success was airflow. Art from Purple Caper had warned us about mold risks, especially since we were maintaining the tent at 80°F with 60% humidity—ideal conditions for mold growth. To combat this, we used two oscillating fans instead of just one. This mimicked the natural wind exposure our outdoor plants experience, strengthening their stems and improving their overall resilience. The result? Solid stem architecture and beautifully developed plants.
Additionally, the Vivosun built-in ventilation system worked beautifully. It kept fresh air circulating efficiently throughout the tent, helping to regulate humidity and temperature while preventing stagnant air pockets where mold could thrive. Between the strong ventilation, well-placed fans, and preventative measures, we managed to create an optimal growing environment with zero mold issues.
What’s Next? Phase Two: Soil Growing
Ed is taking down the first two plants.
For this harvest, we’ll be taking a staggered approach—harvesting plants as they reach peak ripeness rather than taking down the entire crop at once. After that, we’ll remove the hydro system and move on to the next phase of our indoor growing journey.
For our second round, we’ll be switching from hydro to soil, using a Vivosun wick system with additional drip irrigation. This time, we’ll be growing a feminized photoperiod strain—Super High Life, developed by Ed Rosenthal in collaboration with Humboldt Seed Company.
We’ve had great success growing Ed Rosenthal’s Super Bud, which is an incredibly rewarding strain. Now, we’re excited to see how Super High Life performs under our new setup. It’s been a fantastic learning experience so far, and we can’t wait to keep pushing our growing skills to the next level.
