Backyard hemp growing guide.

The whole thing in four steps.

A plant. Nothing more.

Strip away nine decades of bad press and hemp is, finally, just a plant. It germinates in a week. It grows tall and fast. It puts down a deep taproot and produces a seed head full of protein, fibre and oil.

The leaves give it away: five to eleven palmate fingers, the silhouette everyone thinks they know. The seed is the whole point of the operation. Same plant we've been pressing since 2017.

Get your seed.

Only industrial hemp can be grown at home without a licence. Seed from the grocery store won't do. You need certified hemp seed sold for growing.

Order your seed in August or September. Soil prep happens through September, and you'll want seed in hand and ready to plant by the first warm week of October.

• Certified industrial hemp seed
• Sold for cultivation, not food-grade hulled seed
• From a known, traceable NZ source

One form. Two emails.

Before you plant, you need to notify NZ Police and the Ministry for Primary Industries. For Police, download the hemp notification form, fill it in and email it to them. For MPI, it's a short email. Each notification lasts a year. No licence, no fee.

Download the Police form

We wrote the emails for you.

Fill in your details once. Both emails update as you type. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Site, soil, timing.

1. Site selection

2. Soil preparation Sep–Oct

3. Planting time

Best window is October to early November: warm soil, reduced frost risk. A simple soil thermometer in the morning gives you a reliable reading. Wait for three consecutive mornings above 12°C before sowing.

4. Sowing seed

Sow each seed 1–2cm deep, spaced 30–50cm between plants and 50–80cm between rows. The gap matters. It lets the plants branch, breathe and pour their energy into seed heads instead of fighting each other.

Water lightly after sowing: enough to settle the soil, not enough to drown the seed. Germination usually arrives in 4–10 days. If in doubt, less deep. Hemp wants to find the surface.

5. Water requirements

Consistent moisture during establishment, more water through summer (2–4 times a week in dry stretches), and a generous mulch layer around the base of each plant to hold it all in. Avoid waterlogging. Hemp hates soggy feet.

6. Growth stage Nov–Jan

7. Flowering and seed development Jan–Mar

As daylight hours shorten through late summer, hemp shifts from vegetative growth into flowering, then seed development. Your job through this stage is to step back and protect the crop.

Cut, dry, store.

Everything you need on harvest day is probably already in the shed.

8. Harvest timing March

A few days early is far better than a few days late. Check the crop every morning from late February.

9. Harvest method

10. Drying and storage

Dry seed thoroughly before storage. Target cool, dry conditions away from direct light. Properly dried seed lasts years. A pantry shelf will do. Cold storage extends it further if you're keeping seed for next season's planting.

Legal to grow. Simple rules.

Industrial hemp must comply with the Misuse of Drugs (Industrial Hemp) Regulations. Stay in the lane these regulations set, seed, fibre, food and gardening, and the law is on your side.

Seed commerce

Selling seed commercially, or importing and exporting it, may trigger additional approvals under seed and food regulations. If you plan to sell at the gate or at a farmers' market, check with MPI first. They're the right point of contact.

Grown for seed and fibre

Hemp varieties like Kompolti are bred for seed and fibre, and home growing is for exactly that: food, fibre, gardening and education. If you want to do more than that, there's a separate commercial licence, and it exists for exactly that reason.