I would also like to say that many countries have permitted medical users to grow cannabis in their home. If they have in your country then this site will be of massive benefit to you and your health.

First off let me start the growing lesson off with, a grower is not limited by their growing experience. A grower is limited by law, space, money, information and good genetics. We can not help you with money, space and the law, but we can help you with growing information and we can tell you where to obtain good genetics.

Don't ever let bad results hamper your new hobby. That is part of the process of learning. Tho i hope to pint out some of the mistakes that past people have made so that you don't have to make them, and the first thing that you should do if you are thinking about this is to look at these things and consider if it is even possible!

The next question for you is " do i grow indoor or outdoor?". This is also very very very important, sometimes if it is not possible to continue the current grow, then a successful is possible but not recommended as this can cause stress on the plants.

Here are some other things you should look at to take this into better perspective:

It is very important to start with good genetics. You should attempt to find seeds from local gardeners that are acclimated and bred for local climate and best floral characteristics. Potency, aroma, fast growth, early maturation, resistance to fungus and pests. All of these factors are considered by the seasoned gardener and you will benefit enormously by finding a friend to get you started on the journey that never ends...

Attempt to find an Indica/Sativa hybrid if possible, as this will have the best high and good characteristics for indoor growth as well. Indica plants have a heavy, stony high that is tiresome, and sativas are hard to grow indoors due to high light requirements, and late flowering traits, so a hybrid can be bread that will have the energetic, cerebral high of the sativa and the early maturation tendencies of the Indica plant.

The Indica plant is easily recognized by its extremely broad leaves that are very rounded on the sides. The Sativa has very narrow, finger-like leaves. A hybrid will have qualities of both and have leaves that are a cross of these two types, thinner than an Indica, but much broader than a Sativa. It is possible to recognize a good hybrid by the leaves once you know what to look for.

Look for seeds that are dark brown or light grey. Some may have dark lines inset into these colors, like tiger stripes. White, small seeds are immature and should not be planted.

Marijuana plants require a minimum of eight hours of sunlight per day and should be planted in late April/early May, after the last frost of the year. Growing an outdoor marijuana crop has been the favored method over the years, because marijuana seems to grow better without as much attention when in its natural habitat.

Growing marijuana outdoors requires precautions not encountered with an indoors crop; you must be able to avoid detection, both from law enforcement freaks and common freaks, both of whom will take your weed and probably use it ( I have seen someone turned in to get a rent break that they didn't even get!). Of course, one will also arrest you. You must also have access to the area to prepare the soil and harvest the crop. There are two schools of thought about starting the marijuana seeds. One says you should start the seedlings for about ten days in an indoor starter box (see the indoor section) and then transplant. The other theory is that you should just start them in the correct location. Fewer plants will come up with this method, but there is no shock of transplant to kill some of the seedlings halfway through.

The soil should be prepared for the plants by turning it over a couple of times and adding about one cup of hydrated lime per square yard of soil and a little bit (not too much, now) of good water soluble nitrogen fertilizer. The soil should now be watered several times and left to sit about one week.

The plants should be planted at least three feet apart, getting too greedy and stacking them too close will result in stunted plants. The plants like some water during their growing season, BUT not too much. This is especially true around the roots, as too much water will rot the root system.

Grass grows well in corn or hops, and these plants will help provide some camouflage. It does not grow well with rye, or spinach It is probably a good idea to plant in many small, broken patches, as people tend to notice patterns.

Has many advantages, besides the apparent fact that it is much harder to have your crop found, you can control the ambient conditions just exactly as you want them and get a guaranteed good plant.

Plants grown indoors will not appear the same as their outdoor cousins. They will be scrawnier appearing with a weak stems and may even require you to tie them to a growing post to remain upright, BUT THEY WILL HAVE AS MUCH OR MORE RESIN!

You should be growing weed in a growing room, you should put tar paper on the floors and then buy sterilized bags of soil form a nursery. You will need about one cubic foot of soil for each plant.

The plants will need fresh air, so the room must be ventilated. (however, the fresh air should contain NO TOBACCO smoke.)

And here is something to consider if you can do both!

One of the best solutions to energy verses output for most home gardeners is to use outdoor light for flowering and use continuous light indoors for germination and vegetative growth. This will take advantage of the natural light/dark cycle and cut your energy use in half compared to the same operation indoors. A small greenhouse can be built of Filon fiberglass or PVC sheets that is innocuous and looks much like a storage shed or tool shed so it is not likely to raise suspicions.

In fact, a large shed of metal or plywood can be modified with a luminous roof of PVC, glass, fiberglass or plastic sheet, and some strains that do not require a great deal of light will grow well. Such a shed will discourage fly-by sightings and keep your business your own! It also allows you to keep out rats and gophers, keeps out the neighbor kids, and can be easily locked up. It will also give you an opportunity to actually plant in the ground if you desire, and this is the best way to avoid root-bound plants (if your not using hydroponics), and get bigger harvests.

In winter, indoor space is used to start new seedlings or cuttings to be placed outside in the spring, using natural sunlight to ripen the plants. This routine will provide at least 3 outdoor/greenhouse harvests per year. If more space is available to constantly be starting indoors and flowering 2nd harvest plants outdoors, harvests are possible every 60 days in many areas, with a small indoor harvest in the winter as a possibility as well.

The basic strategy of year round production is to understand the plant has two growth cycles. At germination the plant enters into a vegetative state and will be able to use all the continuous light you can give it. This means there is no dark cycle required. The plant will photosynthesis constantly and grow faster than it would outdoors with long evenings. Photosynthesis stops during dark periods and the plant uses sugars produced to build during the evening. This is not a requirement and the plant will grow faster at this stage with continuous photosynthesis (constant light).

Once the plant is 12-18" tall, weather permitting, it can be forced to start flowering by placing it outside in the Spring or Fall. (For Summer outdoor flowering, the night must be artificially lengthened in the greenhouse to "force" the plants to flower. See FLOWERING chapter.)

Moving the plants to 10-13 hour light periods (moving it outside) with uninterrupted darkness (no bright lights nearby) will force the plant to flower. It will ripen and be 2-3 when ready to harvest. When a plant is moved from continuous indoor light to a 10-13 hour day outside, it will start to flower in anticipation of oncoming winter. Vegetative starts moved outside March 1st, will be ripe by May 1. Vegetative starts moved outside on May 1 will be ripe by July 1. Starts moved outside Sept 1 are picked by Nov. 1st. In Winter, operations are moved indoors and a crop is planted for seed in anticipation of planting outdoors the next summer, or just for some extra winter stash.

Keep in mind that the "man" is looking for plants in the Sept./Oct./Nov. time-frame, and may never notice plants placed outside to flower in April. Be smart, make your big harvest in May, not October!