Your First Grow: A Complete Week-by-Week Walkthrough

This is the one guide you read if you want to go from zero to harvested flower without bouncing between twenty tabs. It's a linear walkthrough of a single, standard grow: one strain, soil medium, a 4×4 tent, feminized photoperiod seed, 16 weeks seed to jar. Every decision has been made for you — follow the steps, adjust when the plant tells you to, and you'll have smokable flower at the end.

For deeper dives on any topic, links are provided throughout. But you don't need them to complete this grow.

Before you start

Buy your equipment

Total: $430–630. See our equipment guide for detailed recommendations.

Buy your seeds

For your first grow, buy feminized photoperiod seeds. Not autoflower (less forgiving of mistakes), not regular (requires sexing).

Recommended first-grow strains:

• Northern Lights — the easiest strain in existence. Short, resilient, fast-flowering, forgiving of every mistake
• Blue Dream — slightly taller but legendary vigor and tolerance
• Girl Scout Cookies (GSC) — intermediate height, excellent flower quality

Buy from a reputable seed bank (North Atlantic Seed Co., Multiverse Beans). Order 3–5 seeds — you want at least 2 successful plants.

Set up the tent

1. Assemble the tent in its permanent location (spare room, closet, basement)
2. Hang the LED light from the top bars using the included ratchet hangers
3. Install the inline fan + carbon filter inside the tent, ducted to exhaust outside the tent (or through the tent's exhaust port)
4. Set up the clip fan at canopy height, pointing across the top of the pots (not directly at the plants)
5. Place the thermometer/hygrometer at canopy height
6. Plug the light into the timer

Target environment:

• Temperature: 72–80°F
• Humidity: 60–70% (seedling), 50–65% (veg), 40–55% (flower)
• Light schedule: 18 hours on / 6 hours off (veg), 12/12 (flower)

Week 0: Germination (days 1–5)

The paper towel method

1. Wet two paper towels until damp (not dripping)
2. Place seeds on one towel, fold the other on top
3. Put the towels inside a ziplock bag, leave it slightly open
4. Place in a warm, dark location (75–80°F)
5. Check every 12 hours — remoisten if dry

Within 24–72 hours: a white taproot emerges from the seed. When the taproot is 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, it's ready to plant.

Planting

1. Fill a solo cup (with holes poked in the bottom) with pre-moistened soil (70% Fox Farms Ocean Forest, 30% perlite)
2. Poke a 1/2-inch hole in the center
3. Place the germinated seed taproot-down in the hole
4. Cover lightly with soil — don't pack it
5. Mist the surface lightly
6. Place under the light at 24–30 inches height, dimmed to 40% if dimmable

Light schedule: 18 hours on, 6 hours off. Set the timer now.

See our germination guide.

Weeks 1–2: Seedling

What's happening: the seed breaks the surface (usually within 2–3 days of planting). Two round cotyledon leaves appear first, followed by the first set of true leaves (single-bladed, then three-bladed).

Daily tasks:

• Check soil moisture — the solo cup should be moist but not soaked. Mist the soil surface if the top 1/2 inch is dry. Don't drench it
• Monitor temperature (72–78°F) and humidity (65–70%)
• Light at 24–30 inches, 40–60% power

Do NOT:

• Overwater (the #1 seedling killer)
• Add nutrients (Fox Farms soil feeds seedlings for 3–4 weeks)
• Touch or move the seedling unnecessarily

By end of week 2: the seedling should have 2–3 sets of true leaves and be 2–3 inches tall with a sturdy stem.

See our seedling guide.

Weeks 3–4: Early veg + first transplant

Week 3 tasks:

1. Transplant to 5-gallon fabric pot: the solo cup roots should be visible through the drain holes. Fill the 5-gallon fabric pot with moistened soil mix (70/30 FFOF/perlite), dig a solo-cup-sized hole in the center, pop the seedling out (squeeze the cup gently), and place it in the hole. Water around the base gently
2. Lower the light to 18–24 inches, 60–75% power
3. Begin pH checking: from now on, test the pH of your water EVERY time you water. Target 6.3–6.5

Week 4 tasks:

1. Begin nutrients (if using Fox Farms soil, which feeds for about 3–4 weeks, start nutrients now at 25% strength):
   • FloraMicro: 1.25ml per gallon
   • FloraGro: 1.25ml per gallon
   • FloraBloom: 1.25ml per gallon
   • Mix in this order: water → Micro → Gro → Bloom → pH adjust
2. Water when the pot feels light — lift it. Heavy = still wet. Light = time to water. Every 2–4 days in soil

By end of week 4: the plant has 4–5 nodes and is growing visibly daily.

Weeks 5–6: Veg growth + first training

Week 5:

1. Top the plant above the 5th node. Cut the main stem cleanly just above the 5th set of leaves. Two new main stems will grow from that node. See our topping guide
2. Increase nutrient strength to 50%:
   • FloraMicro: 2.5ml/gal
   • FloraGro: 2.5ml/gal
   • FloraBloom: 2.5ml/gal
3. Lower light to 18 inches, 80–100% power

Week 6:

1. Begin LST — the two new tops from the topping are now 2–3 inches long. Bend them outward and down with soft plant wire, securing to the pot edge. The goal: a flat, wide canopy
2. Continue bending as branches grow — check every 2 days
3. Increase nutrients to 75% if the plant looks healthy and hungry (light green = hungry, dark green = well-fed, very dark green with clawing = too much)

By end of week 6: the plant is bushy with multiple tops at the same height, 12–18 inches wide.

Weeks 7–8: Late veg + flip preparation

Week 7:

1. Full-strength nutrients:
   • FloraMicro: 5ml/gal
   • FloraGro: 5ml/gal
   • FloraBloom: 2.5ml/gal (lower bloom in veg)
2. Continue LST — keep all growing tips at the same height
3. Defoliate lightly — remove large fan leaves that are blocking light to lower bud sites. Don't strip the plant — remove 10–15% of leaves maximum
4. Lollipop — remove small growth on the bottom 1/3 of the plant (it won't produce quality buds)

Week 8: The flip

1. Check the plant's height — it should be roughly 50% of your maximum height (light to pot). If your light is 5 feet above the pot, the plant should be ~2 feet tall. It will stretch another 50–100% in early flower
2. Change the timer to 12 hours on / 12 hours off. This is "the flip" — the change in light schedule triggers flowering
3. Switch nutrients to bloom ratio:
   • FloraMicro: 5ml/gal
   • FloraGro: 2.5ml/gal (reduced)
   • FloraBloom: 5ml/gal (increased)
4. Lower humidity target to 45–55%

Weeks 9–10: Early flower (the stretch)

What's happening: the plant grows aggressively for 10–14 days after the flip (the "stretch"). Height increases 50–100%. Small white pistils appear at the nodes — confirmation that the plant is flowering.

Tasks:

• Manage height — if any branch is racing ahead, bend it down gently. This is the last LST you'll do
• Continue bloom nutrients at full strength
• Watch for male flowers — this late into veg is rare with feminized seeds, but check anyway. Look for round, ball-like structures at nodes. See our sexing guide

By end of week 10: the stretch is over. Small buds are forming at every node. The plant structure is locked in for the rest of flower.

Weeks 11–14: Peak flower

What's happening: buds are developing rapidly. Trichomes are forming (the frosty coating). Terpenes are developing (the smell is getting STRONG — your carbon filter is earning its keep).

Tasks:

• Feed bloom nutrients — this is peak demand. The plant is building bud mass
• Keep humidity below 55% — dense buds + high humidity = mold risk
• Keep temperature 72–80°F — excessive heat degrades terpenes
• Check for pests — spider mites and budworms love flowering cannabis. Inspect weekly. See our pest guide
• Support heavy colas — use bamboo stakes or plant yo-yos if branches are bending under bud weight
• Do NOT spray anything on buds — no neem, no foliar feed, nothing. It stays in the flower

By end of week 14: buds are dense and frosty. Some fan leaves are naturally yellowing and falling (the fade). The plant is approaching maturity.

Weeks 15–16: Harvest window

Checking trichomes (week 15+)

Use a jeweler's loupe (30–60x) or USB microscope to examine trichomes on the buds (not sugar leaves):

Target: 70–80% milky, 10–20% amber. This gives balanced effects. More amber = more body/sedating. All milky = more energetic/cerebral.

See our trichome guide.

Harvest day

1. Stop feeding 1–2 days before harvest (water with plain pH'd water for the final watering)
2. Cut the plant at the base — leave roots in the pot
3. Remove large fan leaves immediately (wet trim) — they contain no trichomes and slow drying
4. Hang whole plant or individual branches upside down in the drying space

See our harvest guide.

Weeks 16–18: Drying and curing

Drying (7–14 days)

Setup: a dark room at 60°F, 55–65% RH with gentle air circulation (fan on low, not pointed at the buds).

The tent works as a drying room: turn off the light, leave the exhaust fan on low, and hang the branches inside the tent.

Daily check: the buds should dry slowly. If stems snap cleanly (not bend), they're ready for trimming and jarring. This takes 7–14 days. If buds feel dry after 3 days, your environment is too warm/dry — slow it down.

See our drying guide.

Trimming

After drying, trim the remaining sugar leaves close to the bud with sharp trimming scissors. Save the trim for making edibles or hash. See our trimming guide.

Curing (2–8 weeks)

1. Place trimmed buds loosely in wide-mouth mason jars (fill 75%)
2. Add a Boveda 62% humidity pack to each jar
3. Burp daily for 2 weeks: open each jar for 5–10 minutes, then reseal. This exchanges air and releases moisture
4. After 2 weeks, burp every 2–3 days
5. Minimum cure: 2 weeks. Ideal: 4–8 weeks. The longer you cure, the smoother and more flavorful the flower becomes

See our curing guide.

The cheat sheet

Common first-grow mistakes

1. Overwatering — #1 killer. Lift the pot. Heavy = don't water
2. Not checking pH — #1 cause of nutrient problems. Check every watering
3. Light too close — causes bleaching and stress. Start high and lower gradually
4. Overfeeding — start at 25% strength and work up. Tip burn means back off
5. Harvesting too early — patience is the hardest skill. Check trichomes, not pistils
6. Skipping the cure — raw dried cannabis is harsh. Cure for at least 2 weeks
7. Opening the tent constantly — every opening changes the environment. Check once or twice daily, not every hour
8. Comparing to Instagram — professional grows with $50k setups look different than a first grow. Your first harvest will be modest. Your second will be better. Your third will surprise you

For the complete guide library, see our guides page. For AI-powered problem diagnosis, visit Plant Doctor.