Cannabis Grow Guide by Royal Queen Seeds

How To Grow Weed in 7 Easy Steps

Legal cannabis is becoming the norm across the United States and in many other countries of the world. Hooray!! Although not official, it is ostensibly legal in most of Europe and if not legal, then certainly tolerated.

So, you have come to the decision to grow your own cannabis. Well done! Soon you will be part of a rapidly growing culture. The phenomenon of homegrown marijuana that is sweeping the world.

Growing your own cannabis is a fun and inexpensive way to put high-quality buds in your jar. Marijuana is a hardy plant that can grow in a wide range of climates, in greenhouses or indoors all year round.

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Growing Cannabis From Seed Step By Step

Like all gardening, cannabis growing is a skill developed over time. It is easy to learn but takes a happily stoned lifetime to master. There is no reason to be intimidated by growing your own. The process is not complicated and can be as inexpensive or expensive as you like.

Understanding the fundamentals of cannabis growing is a good place to start your marijuana growing journey. Making informed decisions early will maximise your end yields. These seven basic steps will give you an excellent knowledge base to become an expert marijuana gardener.

Step 1: Choosing Your Cannabis Seeds

Cannabis Seeds

Cannabis Seeds

The choice is staggering. Sativa, indica, ruderalis, any number of hybrids, all available at a click. You know what you enjoy from personal experience. What strains have fitted your groove in the past? What strains have performed as a satisfactory medicine for your particular ailment? They are probably a good place to start.

With your personal taste in mind now consider your growing circumstances. Are you growing in a small cupboard where small fast-maturing plants like autoflower strains or indicas will be the most effective use of your space? Or do you have a nice big backyard where you can grow one or more monsters directly in the soil or in large pots?

Step 2: Cannabis Fundamentals

In order to grow at its best and give you the juicy buds, you love cannabis requires some fundamental things.

Light 

For healthy vegetation marijuana needs over eighteen hours of light per twenty-four hour period. Indoors this is controlled by you with timers. Outdoors germination must be delayed until the plants can be exposed to more than twelve hours of daylight and receive at least eight hours of direct sunlight per day.

Growing Medium 

Organic growers will use some kinds of soil every time inside or out. However, soil isn't the only choice. Neutral mediums that are entirely nutrient dependant include coconut coir, perlite, vermiculite or rock wool. Aeroponics, purely hydroponic or deep water culture do not use mediums at all. The suspended root matrix gets nutrients directly from the nutrient mix.

Air 

For strength and proper exchange of gases, cannabis requires fresh moving air. Outdoors this is no problems your plants will be exposed to breeze and gale alike. Indoors your plants will need a fresh air intake, stale air exhaust and a fan for air movement. Still environments encourage pests, moulds and weak growth. A buildup of aspirated gases will stunt plant growth.

Water 

Like all living things cannabis needs water to grow, thrive and carry out its biological functions. If you live somewhere with regular rainfall your outdoor crop may get all it needs from nature alone. Large cannabis plants are notoriously thirsty. If you are going big then you will certainly need to supplement water between rains.

Indoors water becomes the medium that carries nutrients. Unmodified water is used to flush hydroponic and soilless systems regularly. The pH of your water is very important. The canny cannabis grower has a good pH meter as part of a comprehensive grow kit.

Cannabis Fundamentals

Cannabis Fundamentals

Temperature 

Cannabis is a very hardy plant and can survive cold and heat well. Just like you or me though, it can get stressed and not function well in the extremes. Cannabis can freeze or boil to death. It can stop growing or go into stasis. It will go into survival mode if the temperatures are too high or too cold for too long. Twenty-seven degrees centigrade is the accepted ideal for vigorous cannabis growth. Indoors this is easy to achieve with fans, air conditioning units, heating and cooling mats. Lights will certainly generate heat that needs to be vented.

Outdoors you need to pick your time. Know your particular climate well. Have a sun cycle app or chart to make sure you get your timing right. Too early and you risk your plants going into flower immediately, then re-vegging when the daylight increases. This is unwanted. Your flowers will not form properly when blooming begins. Too late and you will have small plants with fewer flower sites.

Nutrients

Like all living things cannabis also requires fuel to grow. A good friable soil mix that is rich with compost, living organisms, vitamins and minerals can supply your plants with enough food for their whole life cycle.

Watering with compost tea and other organic mixes like molasses or feather meals improve soil quality and encourage healthy plant growth.

With hydroponics or neutral mediums you supply all of the plant's lifeblood with pre-formulated nutrient blends. Usually customised for marijuana especially. Specialised concoctions are made exclusively for whichever soil-less medium you choose.

Humidity 

Outdoors you don't really have any control over this factor and you are at the mercy of your climate. The upside is that the variations in humidity and the robust biological functions needed to adapt to a changing grow environment makes your plants exceptionally strong!

Indoors humidity control is very important from seed to flower. Leaves aspirate atmospheric moisture as part of their day to day functions. Properly balanced humidity makes for a healthy pest and mould-free environment.

Cupboard, grow tent or dedicated grow room. Directly in the soil or in pots outdoors. Even in a companion planted garden your marijuana will need to satisfy all these needs to grow well and supply you with high-quality resin soaked nuggets.

Cannabis Fundamentals

Cannabis Fundamentals

Step 3: Lights For Indoor Cannabis Growing

With legalisation, there has been an absolute explosion in the choices of lights and grow chambers for growing cannabis indoors. Your budget then will be the deciding factor.

Grow Cupboards 

Fully customised for cannabis and ready to go sophisticated grow cupboards made by people with decades of experience are available. If you have the thousands of dollars to spare. Lights, fans, separate clone, veg and flower chambers, timers and carbon filters all ready to plug and play.

Lights for every budget 

At the other end of the scale, you can have a rudimentary yet very efficient CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) or small LED panel (Light Emitting Diode) setup for less than three hundred dollars. Growing great buds in a spare cupboard. Other compact fluorescent lights like T5 battens come in a range of spectrums for vegging and flowering and can fit in a small space well.

HPS (High-Pressure Sodium) and MH (Metal Halide) lamps are traditional types of grow lights. A 1000W HPS with reflectors can efficiently light a 1.5 x 1.5-meter space and provide excellent growth. Similarly, a 600W MH lamp will light the same sized space and give you world class flowers at the end of the grow cycle.

The heat factor generated by these lights must be considered. If not exhausted efficiently your grow space will quickly become too hot for healthy cannabis growth.

Cannabis Lighting

Cannabis Lighting

Step 4: Germination And Cannabis Seedlings

Beginning your whole cannabis grow adventure is the germination of your seeds. Each viable seed contains all the information needed to grow the strain of plant you have chosen. All they need are the right conditions and the life cycle will begin. Seeds won't germinate until three specific needs are met. Water, correct temperature (warmth) and a good location.

Growing cannabis is an organic process without strict sets of rules. It is not a linear system to learn, but an art to be mastered. There are a number of equally effective methods for germinating cannabis. Over time you will find the one that works best for you.

1. Straight into the medium

Place seeds directly into your medium, this way you can avoid any transplant shock. More often it is easier to germinate in a small pot of your chosen medium then pot on to the garden or bigger pots.

2. Paper towel

Seeds are placed on moistened paper towel on a plate and placed in a warm dark place. Usually covered with plastic or an upturned plate to retain moisture and humidity. After a few days to a week, your seeds have sprouted.

3. Jiffies, plugs and rock wool starters

Easy to maintain as you can have fifty seeds germinating in a very small space. Once the seedlings are established they can be put in their final position without damaging roots.

4. In water

Simply soak seeds in enzyme enriched water until you see the tap root appear then put in your medium. The seedling will quickly strike and break the surface about a week later.

5. Germination stations

Offering substantial control over the germinating environment, germination stations provide humidity and temperature control and can accelerate germination times.

When your plants have broken the surface and the cotyledons have shed the seed husk and opened to reveal the first set of true leaves photosynthesis has begun. Now you have a true marijuana seedling on its way to becoming a heavy resinous indoor miniature or booming outdoor tree.

Cannabis Seedlings

Cannabis Seedlings

Step 5: The Vegetative Phase Of Cannabis

The moment green leaves meet the light photosynthesis begins in earnest. Your plants start to metabolise and the vegetative phase has begun.

Indoors 

Lights are set to an eighteen hour day, six hour night light regimen. This doesn't have to coordinate with the actual daylight hours, you can set it to times of day that suit you. Running electrical equipment during off-peak periods can save you a lot of money.

Your plants are happy in an organic soil or they are being fed nutrients designed for the vegetative phase. Lots of fan-forced breezes keep temperatures under control and strengthen your young plants. Exotic disciplines can be used like adding carbon dioxide to the environment. Low-stress training and scrogging can be used to increase the growth rate and flower potential of indoor cannabis.

Outdoors 

Cannabis grows rapidly once the daylight hours start to increase during spring and on into summer. Unlimited root room and good genetics can see a plant grow to three or four meters during the vegetative phase.

Most contemporary plants are topped and under-shucked continually during the whole growth phase. This encourages an even canopy that will fill with homogeneously sized buds during the bloom stage. Cannabis will continue to vegetate while there are more than twelve hours of daylight. The further away from the equator, you are the shorter vegetation time your cannabis will have before starting to flower.

How Long Does The Vegetation Phase Last?

The vegetative phase can last as long as you like. Depending on whether you want lots of small plants taking up your space as with the Sea Of Green grow method. Or, choosing a few larger plants topped and mainlined to produce large flower clusters.

Vegetative Cannabis Growth

Vegetative phase of cannabis

Step 6: The Blooming Period Of Healthy Cannabis

Blooming, flowering and budding all refer to the same phase of growth for the marijuana plant. The next few months will be exciting times as aromas start to develop. Interesting floral arrangements also begin to emerge that are particular to your choice of strain. The blooming phase has distinctive chapters that are common to all cannabis plants and begin when vegetation finishes.

Outdoors the first stage of flowering can be seen when Summer's heat has passed and autumn approaches. Indoors you control when the flowering begins by changing the lighting schedule to a twelve hour day, twelve hour night photoperiod.

Depending on species cannabis responds to hormonal changes that make it continue vegetating or begin blooming.

There are typically two types APD and autoflowering:

  • APD or Absolute Photo Determinate plants rely on a hormone that is sensitive to light to keep vegetating. This hormone prevents flowering when it is active. It is rendered inactive in low light levels and as nights become longer. Twelve hours or more of night will induce flowering.
  • With autoflowering strains, this same hormone is age dependent. The plant stops producing it when it reaches a certain species-specific age and flowering begins regardless of photoperiod. This can be as little as two weeks after germination.

Vegetative Cannabis Growth

The blooming period of cannabis

The Different Stages Of Blooming

Differentiation

At the very beginning of the flowering phase a noticeable change in growth pattern happens. Rather than the striving and stretching symmetry of vegetation the branch growth begins to zig-zag and compresses with less distance between nodes. Differentiation is very noticeable.

Blooming

Flowering follows the same stages in all species, but for different lengths of time. A quick indica will be cured and in the pipe weeks before a long maturing sativa.

Soon after differentiation, proper flowers will start to form. Calyxes will emerge at branch internodes quickly forming pistil covered puffballs. Much desired resins are already forming in young trichomes on the pistils, calyxes and leaf surfaces.

The puffballs of calyxes start to stretch along their own spike. This makes room for fresh fluorescent clusters and bud-specific leaves. Unlike sugar leafs, these new leaves are thicker, smaller, often heavily crinkled and covered in trichomes. They are eventually partially submerged by the swelling flower clusters.

Over the weeks these flower clusters multiply and form large colas covered in resin swollen trichomes. Left to mature further the calyxes and the trichomes swell with copious amounts of desirable resins. Full maturity quickly approaches.

Step 7: Harvesting, Drying & Curing For Best Quality Buds

During the last few weeks, nutrients are ignored and your plants will be flushed out with clean water. This guarantees a pure flavour free of nutrient and built up salt aftertastes.

When Is My Cannabis Mature?

Now covered abundantly in trichomes, pistils are shrivelling back and changing colour. Deep orange, mauve, brown or scarlet may emerge depending on species. The swollen resin sacks begin to change colour in waves all over the plant. First, going from clear to milky then milky to amber. The flower clusters are so swollen they seem to have turned inside out.These signs mean it is time to harvest the results of your hard work.

For higher THC content harvest when trichomes are 20-30% amber. For a broader cannabinoid profile harvest when trichomes are 60-80% amber. Watch carefully as the differences here may only be twenty-four hours.

Harvesting The Marijuana Plant

There is no set way to harvest. Be rakish and learn by doing.

Some will wet trim which is removing all the leaves while the plant is still standing then break the plant down further. Hanging branches to dry or laying individual buds on a drying rack. Some will remove the large sugar leaves only then harvest and hang the whole plant.

There are no set rules except be careful when handling. You want to disturb the delicate trichomes as little as possible.

Drying Cannabis

Drying cannabis

Drying And Curing Cannabis

Dry your buds in a dark cool place with little humidity. Ideally, this process is very slow and should take a minimum of two weeks.

Check things often for over drying or moulds

When dry, thin branches will easily snap. Thick branches will still be slightly flexible.

The chlorophyll has degraded and the green of growth has been replaced with species dependent colours. Fawn, tan, a pale green or even deep blue and purple can emerge as the buds true dry colours develop.

Storing Cured Buds

At this point loosely pack a well-sealed glass jar with your treasure. Open the top or "burp" the jar once a day for the first two weeks. This releases built up humidity that can moulder your buds. Once the flowers are dry to the touch only burp the jar once a week. You don't want weeks of hard work to be wrecked by lack of attention.

How Long Does Cannabis Take To Cure?

You can curefor as long as you like. Remembering that the psychotropic compounds drop a water molecule when properly cured and become more psychoactive. This takes at least six weeks when cured under ideal conditions. The longer the cure the smoother the result. Keep your jars in a dark cool place. THC breaks down into other cannabinoids over time when exposed to light.

If you are unsure about bud dryness sample your wares as they dry so you have a future reference. Dry cannabis doesn't really feel completely dry because of the waxiness of the resins. You will develop the feel and skill quickly.

Enjoying your own well-grown cannabis is not difficult. Some attention and patience can reap stinky benefits even from the smallest of spaces.

Dry Cure Buds

Dry and cure cannabis buds

Happy growing friends!

Now That You Know How Easy It Is To Grow Cannabis, Pick A Strain

Selecting a strain to cultivate is perhaps the most crucial moment before beginning a grow. There are hundreds of known strains available on the market, and probably hundreds of others that aren’t registered. Choosing a strain can seem like a complicated task in itself. That’s why we’ve compiled numerous top 10 lists to present growers with the best strains in specific categories.

Our list of the top 10 autoflowering cannabis strains includes varieties such as Royal Gorilla Automatic, Royal Cookies Automatic, and Northern Light Automatic. Autoflowering strains are ideal for beginner growers, as well as more experienced cultivators looking for a quick harvest. They grow from seed to flower in around eight weeks, maintain easily manageable heights, and don’t attract much attention.

Growers seeking big yields should check out our top 10 best feminized cannabis strains. The list includes premium varieties such as Power Flower, Amnesia Haze, and White Widow. Feast your eyes on this array of genetics. You’ll find stoning indicas and energising sativas. These strains require a change in the life cycle to force flowering, but typically offer higher cannabinoid levels and bigger yields that autos.

Smoking cannabis isn’t just about getting high. Varying levels of aromatic terpenes in each strain offer a completely different sensory experience. Our top 10 tastiest cannabis strains list displays some of the most tantalising cultivars available, including Fruit Spirit, Fat Banana, and Haze Berry. These strains offer delectable tastes with every toke. Use them to make extracts and edibles to give your creations a flavourful kick.

Kush genetics are among the most sought-after and praised in the cannabis world. They descend from landraces found in the Hindu Kush mountains, and boast body-melting, stoning highs. Our breeders have harnessed these genetics to create powerful hybrids like Candy Kush, Bubble Kush, and Pineapple Kush. Check out our top 10 list of Kush cannabis strains.

Top 6 Cannabis Strains That Are Easy To Grow

Green Crack Punch: Fast, Beginner-friendly Sativa

Most sativas are finicky and require lots of time and experience to be able to do their thing. But smokers can't stop raving about the energetic high and delicious taste. If you're throwing caution to the wind and starting off with a sativa anyway, Green Crack Punch is a great choice.

This Purple Punch X Green Crack cross can take all your mistakes in stride no matter what you throw at her. She won't care if you over or under water, if you don't mix your nutrients just right, if the pH is a bit off or you have a few minor light leaks. She'll still yield very well! After just 55–60 days of bloom, Green Crack Punch will reward your efforts with up to 500g/m² of beautiful, multi-coloured buds that are dense and totally saturated with resin.

Green Crack Punch's high, on the other hand, doesn't take it easy on novice smokers. At 20% THC, the power is dead serious, starting off with Green Crack's raging energy and focus, before settling down, hours later, into a pain-relieving physical stone that's the perfect way to wind down. Thank Purple Punch's touch of indica for that final touch of peaceful calm. The smoke is smooth, silky and filled with hints of tart citrus, ripe blueberry and sweet grape.

Green Crack Punch

Green Crack Punch

Green Crack Punch
Green Crack x Purple Punch
450 - 500 gr/m2
90 - 160 cm
8 - 9 weeks
THC: 18%
Sativa 60% Indica 40%
550 - 600 gr/plant
180 - 220 cm
Late September
Calming, Euphoric

Buy Green Crack Punch

Easy Bud: Straight To The Point

Autoflowering hybrids are popular because they're both fast and simple to grow. Easy Bud is no exception to that rule. She gets straight to the point with fast finishes, short heights and a very forgiving nature. If you're on the hunt for cannabis seeds that are virtually guaranteed to give you some nice buds even if you're still figuring this growing thing out, Easy Bud is the way to go.

Easy Bud is a smart choice if you don't have a lot of space. Indoors, she'll stay under 60cm, but get fat and chunky. The branches will be sturdy enough to hold her 275–325g/m² payload without needing any type of complicated support system. Her white indica heritage results in green buds that sparkle with a frosty sheen of resin, nestled within healthy, dark green leaves.

If you're not an experienced user or you need a little more wake-and-bake in your stash, Easy Bud has your back! The THC is in the mild range at 12%, for a functional stone. The buzz takes the edge off, allowing you to chill, but it probably won't lock you to the couch even if you have zero tolerance. Even hard-core stoners could use a few of these flowers just in case one of their lightweight, or overly paranoid, mates shows up.

Easy Bud

Easy Bud
Easy Bud
White Indica x Ruderalis
275 - 325 gr/m2
50 - 60 cm
5 - 7 weeks
THC: 12%
Sativa 15% Indica 55% Ruderalis 30%
30 - 80 gr/plant
60 - 110 cm
9 - 10 weeks after sprouting
Physically Relaxing

Buy Easy Bud

Critical: Seriously Simple Cup Winner

Super easy and a Cannabis Cup winner? That's exactly what you'll get with this medium-sized cash cropper. Although it's simple enough for pure newbies, Critical delivers enough potent weed to attract the attention of professional growers. Whether you're new to the game or go by the "work smarter not harder" creed, this 7-week Afghani X Skunk could easily become your go-to variety after just a single try.

When grown indoors, Critical is easy to work with because she never gets above 140 cm tall. If you need shorter plants, use either low or high-stress training techniques, depending on what you prefer. The plants will recover quickly either way. The colour is predominantly green with some autumn hues showing up during the last week. Even beginners can see up to 600g/m² after a very rapid bloom period.

As a 60% indica, 40% sativa, Critical has a fairly balanced stone that affects both the mind and the body for total relaxation. It's very mellow, with no excess energy or anxiety. Get a little paranoid when you smoke high-powered weed? That won't be a problem with Critical, even though it has an 18% THC level. This weed is as calm as they come. The flavour is classic: pungently sweet with earthy notes.

Critical cannabis

Critical
Critical
Afghani x Skunk
550 - 600 gr/m2
80 - 140 cm
7 - 9 weeks
THC: 18%
Sativa 40% Indica 60%
600 - 650 gr/plant
180 - 220 cm
Late September
Heavy, Physically Relaxing, Stoned

Buy Critical

White Widow: Crystallised Perfection

Known as the mother of the "White" family, White Widow has spawned countless hybrids, but the original Brazilian Sativa X Indian Indica is still the best and the easiest to grow. She's won her share of cups, she's dazzled generations of growers and no true stoner can turn down her snow-covered buds or her euphoric buzz. Compared to any other strain, White Widow is a real show piece!

White Widow is a classic Dutch strain, and that wouldn't happen if she couldn't thrive outdoors in colder temperatures. She does like a lot of light for super-high yields, so this hybrid is best grown indoors. Other than that, White Widow isn't fussy. She doesn't require any special attention or have any peculiar nutrient needs. Just use a good soil or other medium, don't let your plants dry out, use feed designed for cannabis and you'll have a spectacular harvest after just 9 weeks of flowering.

Although White Widow only has 50% sativa genetics, she smokes like pure Haze, for a totally cerebral high. The buzz starts off as a tingle across the face before it explodes into a huge euphoric cloud of happiness. It's slightly trippy if you aren't used to smoking this type of weed, so take care if you usually associate herb with a more physical stone. The taste is crisp and refreshing, with an unmistakable pine flavour, accented by clean notes of tart citrus.

White Widow

White Widow
White Widow
White Widow S1
450 - 500 gr/m2
60 - 100 cm
8 - 10 weeks
THC: 19%
Sativa 50% Indica 50%
550 - 600 gr/plant
150 - 190 cm
Early October
Powerful , Stoned

Buy White Widow

Royal Jack Auto: Carrying On The Jack Herer Legacy

With a shorter height and faster flowering period, Royal Jack Auto puts classic Jack Herer buds within reach of novice growers. This version stays true to the original strain, with medical-grade head highs and Jack's signature spicy aroma. Pair this one with White Widow and your first few grows will feature a Dutch duo that's hard to beat.

Royal Jack Auto is a fully autoflowering strain. That means she'll start to show signs of bloom within two weeks of germination even if the lights are on around the clock. Flowers are fully mature and ready to cut in just 10 weeks total. Why not grow a few of these automatics side by side with some photoperiod strains? That way you'll have fully cured, smoke-ready Royal Jack Auto in hand to make your second trim way more pleasant.

At 16% THC, Royal Jack Auto has a decent potency level for medical use or mild recreation. It's even good as a functional morning smoke for the highly tolerant. The high starts off with a burst of creativity and motivation before it eases slowly into a chill body buzz for a pleasantly mellow ending. The taste is almost exactly like Jack Herer's fresh herbal flavour.

Royal Jack Auto
Royal Jack Auto
Royal Jack Auto
Jack Herer x Ruderalis
350 - 400 gr/m2
40 - 80 cm
7 - 8 weeks
THC: 16%
Sativa 40% Indica 30% Ruderalis 30%
70 - 120 gr/plant
60 - 80 cm
11 - 12 weeks after sprouting
Creative, Motivating

Buy Royal Jack Auto

Special Queen 1: Top Quality At A Low Price

Few beginners make it through their first few grows without ruining a few seeds or killing a plant or two. Special Queen 1 is a classic Skunk mix that's reasonably priced so you can harvest a nice supply of pungent flowers without breaking the bank. Save the more expensive seeds for after you learn the ropes.

Although she's relatively cheap, Special Queen 1 is no slacker. After just 8 weeks of bloom, sometimes 7, these plants will be covered from head to toe in Sativa-dominant blooms that have a heavy, permeating smell. They'll grow well just about anywhere including soil or hydro, indoors or out, trained or untrained. Yields are very generous at 550g/m² inside, or 550g/plant outside making Special Queen 1 just as appealing to professional growers as mere amateurs.

Special Queen 1 improves on original Skunk's potency with an impressive 18% THC rating that gives this strain staying power. Even though the effect is a bit stronger and longer lasting, it's still a classic high that's mostly cerebral with a definite mood lift. Just a few puffs and your eyes will droop, your smile will widen and your thoughts will expand. Special Queen 1 has a sweet, fruity taste with a spicy edge.

Special Queen 1
Special Queen 1
Special Queen 1
Power Bud x Skunk
500 - 550 gr/m2
80 - 140 cm
8 - 9 weeks
THC: 18%
Sativa 50% Indica 50%
500 - 550 gr/plant
200 - 270 cm
Late September
Long Lasting , Physically Relaxing, Powerful

Buy Special Queen 1

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