There are a lot of people who think they want to grow weed legally, but don’t have an idea of where to start or even what questions to ask. They may think that weed is weed and all they need are the seeds and they’ll be good to go. This simply isn’t the case. Not all Cannabis plants are created equal.

SIZE

Because of the way most personal growing laws are worded, the average beginning grower is going to be growing indoors. Your grow space should probably be your biggest consideration when deciding what strains to grow. If you’re cramming plants into a broom closet, they may end up growing at odd angles and misbehaving.

With so many varieties of Cannabis available it can be a bit overwhelming for the new grower (I got a little overwhelmed just researching strains for this article!) Generally speaking, your Indica-dominant hybrids or straight Indicas are shorter, bushier plants. Sativa-dominant plants grow taller and can easily outgrow a small space before they’re even ready to produce flowers. Some sativa-dominant plants can grow to be the size of small trees. Of course, these distinctions are general traits and not always true, so talking to a qualified seed vendor is a good idea.

There are also training techniques that can help keep your plants evenly spaced and equal heights. These methods are known as Sea of Green (SOG) and Screen of Green (SCROG). We will talk more about these methods in a later article.

EASE

For the beginning grower, easy is a good place to start. If you’ve done your research and feel a little nervous about the ins and outs of growing, you may want to consider autoflowering plants.

You may or not know that Cannabis strains typically flower in response to sunlight. For non-autoflowering plants, early fall days become shorter, resulting in a waning amount of sunlight. These lower sunlight levels triggers the flowering response as the plant realizes it’s time to prepare for the next generation.

Autoflowering strains are different in that they flower simply when they get to the right age, not in response to light. What does this mean to the grower? It simply means that you won’t have to control the photoperiod for your plant to flower. Just keep them healthy and make sure they’re getting enough light to grow and the plants will flower when they’re ready.

TIME

While there isn’t that much difference in flowering time amongst most strains, it’s still something to consider. Most strains are going to flower somewhere between eight and twelve weeks. It really comes down to your personal preference and your level of patience. Is your favorite strain worth waiting another four weeks to enjoy? That’s your call.

Hopefully we’ve given you a little bit to think about as you approach your new grow experience. The most important thing for you right now is to educate yourself and seek out advice from the experts. There are plenty of them out there and as Cannabis grow in popularity there are going to be more. And who knows? You may be the expert one day!

In the meantime, if you don’t know any experts, apply to join Growers Network today to meet our community of cultivators and experts.