The short answer
Buy 3 to 5 seeds. Buy a 200W LED, a 5-gallon fabric pot, and a soil mix with perlite. Run 18 hours of light per day for vegetative growth, then 12 hours for photoperiod flowering. Water when the pot feels light. Keep pH at 6.0 to 7.0 in soil. Harvest in about 4 months from seed. Most first grows fail from overwatering, wrong pH, or a light leak during flowering.
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State law comes first
Federal law lists cannabis as a Schedule I drug. Home growing is legal under state rules, not federal rules. Limits differ by state. California allows 6 plants per residence, out of public view and locked. Colorado allows 6 plants per adult, 12 per household, with no more than half flowering. Massachusetts allows 6 plants per adult and 12 per household in a locked space. Some states allow medical grows but not recreational grows. Read the state statute before buying a seed. Do not move plants or seeds across state lines.
Autoflower or photoperiod
- Autoflower: flowers on a genetic timer, not a light change. Runs at 18/6 or 20/4 for the whole cycle. Finishes 8 to 10 weeks from seed. Smaller plants, less control.
- Photoperiod: stays vegetative under 18 hours of light. Flowers when light drops to 12/12. Yields more and allows cloning. Cycle runs 4 to 5 months.
Pick autoflower for one fast harvest. Pick photoperiod for bigger yields and a mother plant.
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Germination
Moisten a paper towel, place the seed inside, fold it, and put it in a bag. Keep it dark at 70 to 77°F (21 to 25°C). A taproot shows in 24 to 72 hours. Move the seed into the medium with the taproot down, 1 cm deep. A second method is to plant the seed straight into moist medium and wait 3 to 5 days. Do not soak seeds longer than 24 hours.
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Light
A 200W LED in a 2x2 or 3x3 ft tent gives enough light for 1 to 4 plants. Hang the fixture 18 to 24 in above the canopy. Light intensity is measured in PPFD. Target 300 to 600 µmol/m²/s in vegetative and 600 to 1000 µmol/m²/s in flower. Photoperiod plants need 12 hours of dark with no interruption. Light during the dark period can cause hermaphrodites. Autoflower plants run the whole cycle at 18/6.
Medium, pots, and pH
A 5-gallon fabric pot holds one photoperiod plant. Fabric moves air to the roots. Cannabis soil mixes hold peat or coco coir, perlite, and compost. Perlite at 25 to 30% by volume keeps the mix loose. Cannabis uses more calcium and magnesium than most garden plants. Target pH is 6.0 to 7.0 in soil and 5.5 to 6.5 in coco or hydro. A pH pen costs $30 to $60.
Watering
Overwatering is the top beginner error. Cannabis roots need oxygen. Water until 10 to 20% of the volume drains out, then wait. Lift the pot. A light pot means water is needed. In a 5-gallon pot of soil, that is often every 2 to 3 days in vegetative and every 1 to 2 days in late flower. Do not water on a fixed schedule.
Nutrients
Vegetative plants use more nitrogen. Flowering plants use more phosphorus and potassium. Add calcium and magnesium at 1 to 2 ml per liter with each feed in coco or reverse osmosis water. Target EC is 0.8 to 1.6 mS/cm in vegetative and 1.2 to 2.0 mS/cm in flower. Bottle charts run hot. Start at half the listed dose. Stop feeding the last 1 to 2 weeks and use plain pH-adjusted water.
Temperature, humidity, odor
Keep the room at 68 to 80°F (20 to 26°C) with lights on and 64 to 72°F (18 to 22°C) with lights off. Relative humidity: 55 to 70% in vegetative, 40 to 50% in flower. Humidity above 60% in late flower raises the risk of bud rot. One carbon filter with an inline fan removes most odor. Keep air moving across the canopy.
Timeline
- Seed to seedling: 3 to 7 days
- Vegetative: 4 to 8 weeks for photoperiod, 3 to 4 weeks for autoflower
- Flower: 7 to 12 weeks, strain dependent
- Dry: 7 to 14 days
- Cure: 2 to 4 weeks
Harvest and cure
Check trichomes with a 60x loupe or a phone microscope. Clear trichomes mean THC is still forming. Cloudy trichomes mean peak THC. Amber trichomes mean THC is turning into CBN. Cut the plant at the base and hang whole branches. Keep the drying room at 60 to 70°F and 45 to 55% humidity for 7 to 14 days. Stems should snap, not bend. Then trim and jar the buds. Cure in airtight glass at 58 to 62% humidity. Burp the jars once a day for the first week.
Common mistakes
- Watering on a schedule instead of checking pot weight.
- Feeding full strength from week one.
- Skipping pH checks.
- Letting light hit the plants during the dark period.
- Harvesting before trichomes turn cloudy.
- Jarring buds before the stems snap. That causes mold.
What to buy first
A tent, one LED fixture at 200W, an inline fan and carbon filter, a 5-gallon fabric pot, a soil mix with perlite, a pH pen, an EC pen, a two-part nutrient set for vegetative and flowering, and a 60x loupe. Start with 2 plants. Learn the water cycle and the pH before adding more.