Your First Grow

The thing to remember on your first grow is to keep it simple. I would not advise using hydroponics or co2 until you have some experience of the whole life cycle of the plant. I would also recommend starting from seeds. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the tiny shoot erupting from the soil and watching it grow all the way through to maturity. I found my first grow a magical experience. This guide will tell you what you need without spending a lot of money, most of the stuff you may have or will be able to scrounge.

Light

To grow indoors you will need to provide the right kind of light, at the right intensity to keep your plants happy. You have two choices : Fluorescent strip lights or a High Intensity Discharge (H.I.D.) light. Fluorescent lights are perfectly acceptable and are generally the cheaper and more available option. H.I.D. Lights however are much more suitable for growing plants and they are a lot more efficient but they cost more and you will have to got to a specialist shop to buy them.

Mounting your light is very important, you need to be able to easily raise your light as your plants grow. They will shoot up very quickly and it is easy for them to get burned by the light. Your mounting needs to be strong as well. H.I.D. bulbs are extremely dangerous if you break them, and the last thing you want is your light squashing all your plants. Screw in eyes, S hooks and chain are a good choice and easily available from your local DIY shop.

If you decide to buy an H.I.D. You should get a 400 watt High Pressure Sodium this light is good for both vegetating and flowering. Some shops may try and tell you that you need 2 separate lights or an extra bulb, this is not true. Try to buy one with a horizontally mounted Son T Agro bulb, make sure it come with a reflector and try to get one with a separate ballast. The ballast is the box which contains all the transformers and running gear, they are very heavy and get quite hot so it is better to keep it outside your growspace if possible. You can order these lights by mail order, but it is better to buy a light from a local shop so that you can pick it up and pay by cash. H.I.D. lights can be dangerous, the bulbs get very hot so be careful not to let any water touch them, electricity and water are a dangerous combination so keep your ballast off the floor, preferably outside you growspace.

Seeds

Some varieties of cannabis are much easier to grow than others I have found Skunk No 1 to be the most tolerant variety, it can grow happily in a wide variety of conditions and it always forms nice dense sweet tasting buds. Skunk seeds are also cheap and more widely available than other strains. Northern Lights is also good for first time growers. Seeds that you find in good quality skunk are also contenders for growing if you cannot buy some, the advantage is that they are free but you will not know what variety they are, and they may have a tendency to produce hermaphrodites. Do not grow seeds from normal weed.

Germination

To start your seeds growing they need moisture, warmth and darkness. Spread the seeds out evenly between two damp paper towels in-between two saucers. Put them in an airing cupboard or somewhere fairly warm. Make sure you keep the paper moist, a plant sprayer is good for this. They may take up to a week to start sprouting, but some will germinate very quickly so it is important to check them 2 or 3 times a day. As soon as you see the white root tip starting to emerge from the seed it is time to plant it. The seeds are very delicate at this stage so carefully put the seed with the root tip facing upwards in a 8-10 mm deep hole in your soil, cover and very gently water. Place the pot under your light. You will need to keep the soil moist but not sodden. The seedling will emerge after several days. Don't panic if they do not emerge it often takes up to a week so don't go digging to see if they are still alive. A good alternative is to just plant the seeds 8-10 mm deep in your soil and keep the soil moist. You avoid the risk of damaging the seed when you move it, but the wait will be more nerve racking.

Watering

Plants absorb oxygen, which they need for growth, through their roots. If the soil around the roots is constantly water logged they will be unable to take up enough oxygen. So it is important to let the soil around your plants dry out between watering. You do this by giving them a good soaking and then wait. Don't give them a little nip every time you check them just to be on the safe side, your plants will let you know when they are thirsty long before they die. When you water you should use lukewarm water, keep adding it slowly until it starts to fill the tray at the bottom. How often you have to water will depend on the size of the plants, as they get bigger you will have to water them more often. The best way to tell when to water is to wait until you see one of your plants start to wilt, then water them all. You should try and check them at least once a day.

Vegetating

No, not what you do when you've had to many buckets but the main growth period when the plant grows just leaves and gets bigger. For the vegetative period the plants need 18 hours per day of light. You will need to buy a plug in timer, a relay is a good investment as well because plug in timers tend to stop switching after a while on there own, so keep an eye on them.

Flowering

After 6-8 weeks you need to start the plants flowering, (do not let your plants get too big in the hope that you will get more bud, if your space becomes too crowded, you invite bud mold, and you will end up lots of small poorly formed buds). This is done by switching to 12 hours light per day. It is important to ensure that the plants receive 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness per day. Even a brief flash of light can be enough to switch them back to vegetating, so be careful. You should at this point run several liters of water through the pot to remove any nitrogen in the soil. After 1-2 weeks you can sex the plants and remove the males. The female are easily spotted by the long white hairs you will see coming out of the tiny buds, the male buds look more like clubs from playing cards. You should feed them once a week for the first few weeks with miracle-gro, just follow the directions on the packet. 3 weeks before harvest wash the soil out again and stop all feeding.

Harvesting

After 8-12 weeks of flowering, when most of the hairs on the buds change to orange and the buds are nice and firm it is time to harvest, if you are not sure, WAIT. Most beginners harvest too early. Cut of the lower limbs first and trim the leaves off with nail scissors, how much leaf you take of is up to you. The more leaf the harsher the smoke, the leaves coming out of the buds are still very potent. Put all the smaller buds into paper bags and hang them along with the colas in a dark place at room temperature for 6-7 days. Do not try and dry them quicker or they will taste horrible. After 6-7 days the buds will seem very dry this is what you want. Put them in an airtight container for 24 hours. This will even out the moisture and you will have perfectly cured bud.

From one 400 watt light you should get 3-6 ounces of premium quality buds. It will be the most satisfying smoke you'll ever have.