Getting Started
Growing weed from seed isn't as clean as the internet makes it look. The basic idea is simple enough — seed goes into damp medium, something happens, plant grows — but the details are where people lose plants, and it usually takes more than one failure to figure out which details actually matter. The actual process starts with germination. I use a paper towel method because it's reliable, not because it's fancy. Dampen a paper towel with distilled water — tap water is fine in most areas but if your city chlorinates aggressively, it can slow things down — fold it over the seed, put it in a zip bag or Tupperware, and keep it somewhere warm. 72 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit is the sweet spot. Room temperature on a shelf near a fridge compressor actually works fine too, which is how I've done it most of the time without a heat mat. You're looking for a white taproot to emerge, usually between 24 and 72 hours. Once that taproot is about a quarter inch long, you plant it pointed end down, half an inch deep, in a small cell with a light growing medium. Peat-based starter soil works. Don't bury it deeper. A seed has enough energy to push through a half inch, anything more and it either runs out of steam or comes out deformed.
One thing nobody warns you about: seeds from different batches or vendors can vary wildly in viability. I bought a five-pack from a dispensary once, planted them all, and only three came up. That's normal. It's not a sign you did something wrong. Just have backup seeds if you care about the outcome. Two seeds per cup, thin to the strongest one after the first true leaves show.
The Vegetative Phase
After germination, you move the plant into its growing space. Light is the main thing here. If you're using LED, 200 to 400 micromoles per square meter per second is adequate for veg. Fluorescents work but you'll be closer to the canopy and growth will be slower. That's not a dealbreaker, it just means patience matters more. Water when the top inch of soil feels dry. That's it. Most beginners overwater at this stage because they're nervous about drying out. The roots need oxygen as much as they need moisture. If the medium stays soggy for more than a day between waterings, you're doing something wrong — either the pot is too big, the soil is too dense, or you're watering on a schedule instead of by feel. Temperature during veg should stay between 68 and 78 degrees. Anything above 82 and the plant slows down. Humidity around 60 to 70 percent is fine. If you're growing in a tent, get a cheap hygrometer. They cost twelve dollars and save you from guessing.
Get the Full Details
Flowering
Flowering triggers when you switch the light schedule to 12 hours on, 12 hours off. No exceptions. Even a phone left on beside the tent counts as light leakage if it hits the plant. I learned this the hard way once when a basement outlet timer failed and one plant stayed under 14 hours of light instead of 12. It grew a male flower cluster before I caught it. Had to pull the whole plant to save the others. Once you flip to 12/12, don't expect buds for three weeks. That's pre-flower, the stretching phase. The first three weeks you're watching for pistils — little white hairs — at the nodes. That's when you know you're on the right track. If you see pod-like structures at the nodes instead, check immediately whether you have a male. Remove it right away if you do, unless you're trying to breed. Nutrient needs shift dramatically during flower. Veg food is high in nitrogen. Flower food is higher in phosphorus and potassium. Switching too late causes nutrient lockout symptoms that look like deficiencies but aren't — brown tips, curled leaves, weird discoloration. Start the switch at week two of flower. By week six you should be on bloom nutrients exclusively unless you're running a soil with built-in fertilizer, in which case you might not need to add anything until late flower.
Harvest
This is where timing matters more than anything else. Trichomes are the indicator, notbud color. Use a 60x jeweler's loupe or a phone microscope attachment — doesn't matter which, just something that lets you see the little resin glands. When most are cloudy with maybe ten to fifteen percent amber, harvest. Early harvest gives a more cerebral effect. Waiting for more amber leans sedative. Cut the plant at the base, hang it upside down in a dark space with air moving but not blowing directly on it. 60 degrees, 50 percent humidity. Drying takes seven to fourteen days depending on your setup. Trim after it's dry. Wet trimming saves time but loses some trichome integrity. Dry trimming is slower and messier but the final product looks and burns better.
Things That Go Wrong
Spider mites will find you. They arrive on clothes, on shoes, on air currents. You won't notice them until you see webbing under leaves. By then they've been there a while. Get neem oil or predatory mites on hand before you think you need them. A single leaf with mites in a tent of six plants means four more leaves with mites within a week. Potassium deficiency during late flower is common and it's easy to mistake for pH issues. The leaves yellow at the edges and tips first, not the middle. If you're correcting pH and the yellowing gets worse, check your nutrient solution. Also check your EC — if it's below 0.8 during late flower, the plant isn't getting enough food regardless of what the pH reads. And don't overthink pH. Soil grows forgiving. Water and coco need tighter control. If you're on soil, 6.0 to 7.0 is acceptable. If you're on coco, 5.5 to 6.2. Going outside those ranges consistently will burn roots. But if your tap water runs at 7.2 and you're in soil, you don't need to adjust it. The media buffers it. People waste hours adjusting pH for no reason when the plant would have grown fine without touching it.
