First timer dos and don’t?

Check out cocoforcannabis.com Even if you don't choose to grow in a soilless context, it's got great info in the "guides and articles" section as well as "dr photon's corner" - the rest is as suspect as any othe user-submitted forum or grow site like this. Not afraid to point out urban myths like 'mass defoliation' somehow being a good things to whimsically do. Lots of oversophisticated and useless 'techniques' float around. Some cause a really long vege phase for no reason and accomplish nothing, lol. So, do things well, but simply to start. This way when you try new things, you can better discern whether they are magical nonsense or something truly effective. Even that is quite difficult to be confident about if it's a small effect. Genetic diversity will cause a wide range of results even when you do things very well and in a consistent manner. So, get a good idea of the wide variaty of results that naturally occur, so you don't falsely attribute a huge benefit or cost to new behaviours. I was completely new to gardening when i started 7 years ago. I hate to admit it, but i was so anxious after planting my first seeds about doing things 'wrong' i lost some sleep over it, bwahaha. That goes away, even if not as extreme or worse. Soon, you'll treat them like red-headed step-children if you don't repeatedly give in to compulsions... condition yourself to be rational, LOL. don't beat yourself up if things don't go well the first couple grows. If systematic, you'll quickly learn. It's really not that difficult. Most people make it more difficult than it is by not getting out of the way of the plant and thinking they have some major impact on it beyond not screwing up. There's a lot of weird information going around lately about watering... i'll cover both soil and soilless succinctly... 1) fully satureate, and if it is a soilless grow, you also want 10% runoff or more. 2) wait for appropriate dryback and repeat. Loss of weight is a great way to recognize when and so is depth of dryness up top (stick a finger in). Causing dry pockets is bad. Superficial watering is bad. Seedlings may be a slightly different context.. but still similar. Partial watering is still a bad idea as roots turn toward greater moisture and will grow up instead of down. You probably won't allow as much of a wet-dry cycle between initial irrigations of a seedling but still not too frequently. To avoid watering a recently germinated seed, i use a humidity dome to retain moisture and slow evaporation (roots don't drink much early, so evaporation is the loss of most soil moiture at this point) If this ever causes a problem it's either the fault of the medium being poorly constituted with not enough drainage amendment or you are not waiting long enough between irrigations. With high water capacity soil, wait for about 1" deep to dry - learn the weight loss, too. With something that holds less water, like coco coir, you'll re-irrigate when the top starts to change colors (superfically dry) or slightly before that. Proper constitution: soils or sphagnum peat moss - 50% perlite or similar. coco coir 33% perlite or similar. If you do this, rootzone is virtually impossible to fuck up. Virtually impossible to overwater unless you sit there and run water through the pot at heavy flow for 15-20 minutes, lol... nobody in their right mind would do that, therefore impossible.. These suggestions are not opinions. they are the proper gas:water mixture for the roots to grow optimally. A lot of people want to believe this plant is super unique and special. It's a mostly hum-drum potted plant in reality. The best practices of most common potted plants will also apply here. Any product you consider buying, look for an equivalent non-marinjuana brand and you'll likely pay 1/4th the price or less for the exact same thing. If you want the shortest learning curve, go soilless. When you control everything that enters the pot, it's pretty easy to know what needs to be adjusted to fix any problem seen and avoid those problems in the future. Within 1-2 grows, if systematic, should have nearly flawless plants... some blemishes are inevitable, but relatively speaking superior health seed to harvest is easy to achieve in a short time with fewer unknowns....

Do not mix your growing method until you have the knowledge to do so. Organic delivery or Synthetic delivery, pick one but try not use organic nutrients in a synthetic setup, probably the biggest boo boo for new growers I see. When transitioning from organic methods to synthetic coco setups, understanding chemical forms of nitrogen makes all the difference. Without this knowledge, week 4 flower everytimeeeee. Synthetic nutrient: has been broken down into final ionic form, ready for uptake. Organic nutrient: Anything that has yet to be broken down. Synthetic delivery: feed the plant. Organic delivery: feed the rhizosphere and plant. Synthetic, usually has very low CEC or limited in that the plant works with the direct medium EC, very low buffer zone. Deficiencies show rapidly. Organic is all about high CEC (EC storage) and EC with a much bigger buffer zone. Far more forgiving to EC, spikes but you cannot switch off the rate of nutrient release, which can make controlling pH difficult. There is no better or worse method, only different approaches, pick one, stick to it, understand it, then learn something new. Worst thing you can do is jump on the bandwagon and buy some "organic" nutrients because it makes you feel warm and fuzzy, when all it really does is complicate the process. Synthetic nutrients for synthetic delivery, for the synthetic method. Organic nutrients for organic delivery and organic method. Once you get them downpat then you can mix the best of bothworlds. Blending synthetic and organic "hybrid" growing or "singanics" is an optimal approach. It combines the rapid, controllable growth and high yields of synthetic nutrients with the enhanced terpene profiles, complex flavors, and soil-health benefits of organic methods. That takes time and effort. No one can do the hardworking but yourself. Good luck, happy to see new growers.

YouTube Channel : Education With The Grow Boss https://youtu.be/ULk3a30zyCs?si=KXYbwptx2ViK05FA https://youtu.be/tp2qI4tBox8?si=S7CkSOuyxdVXyBgN https://youtu.be/SybXu7oWwHI?si=lIsCV5g8SHPSDrve https://youtu.be/3GmT4OYmFFc?si=k-64Xm50p9UYjUMk https://youtu.be/6_FJR0kKQX4?si=HKPjOt2cLVsEgqdo https://youtu.be/_Lqkinl_nUY?si=pAffD6qC7hWyzr6S https://youtu.be/j8Pk13nOYkc?si=jsIyDSAB6W4hGM8U Here is a few videos to start with, there’s everything you need to know about being successful in growing marijuana on this channel.

1.Use a high-quality potting mix with good drainage. 2.Make sure the plant receives an appropriate amount of light for its species. 3.Water when the top layer of soil feels dry rather than following a fixed schedule. 4.Avoid letting roots sit in waterlogged soil for extended periods. 5.Ensure good air circulation around your plants. 6.Check regularly for pests and fungal diseases. 7.Use fertilizers according to the recommended dosage. 8.Keep tools clean to help prevent the spread of diseases. 9.Repot plants when they become root-bound. 10. Observe your plants frequently; early signs of stress are usually easier to address.

Just to add to the other 2 responses before mine as they are giving sound advice. Find a diary of the strain your growing with possibly the same grow medium as yours that's detailed, it should help to give you a guide. There are quite a few growers that have very good details in there diaries. Also don't panic at any point in the grow.

Write down EVERYTHING you do for future reference so you have a record of what worked and what didn't. Do not grow autoflowers, grow photoperiod fems.........you will learn a lot more and can get decent results as a newbie. Do not cut leaves off. Do not fertilize too much. Do not do things just because you feel a need to be "doing something". Do not water to a fixed schedule or to a fixed amount..........i,e. - 4 cups every two days........fully saturate until run off then do not water again until the top inch has dried out and then repeat. Mycorrhizae, humic acid, fulvic acid and amino acid are your friends.

As a first timer, it's important to not over water them, when there young seedlings, less is more. Next once they start growing, I would focus on the environment, making sure environment is on point. Lastly, I would just focus on enjoying the entire process, learn from every single stage, seedlings, veg, flower, and you will see that after every grow your becoming they much more of an expert.