Grow weed easy – how to germinate marijuana seeds

We’ve gotten a lot of emails from frustrated cannabis fans on how to germinate seeds. We hear and feel your pain! As a public service to all, we’re going to give you the must-have step-by-step guide on how to easily germinate your cannabis seeds. Before we start, our first piece of advice is: DO NOT USE THE “Paper Towel Method!” There is too much that can go wrong and not enough to go right. Follow the steps below to start your seeds and grow weed easily.

1. If your tap water is safe to drink, put your seed in a glass of tap water. Otherwise, you can use bottled water.
2. Put your cup with seeds in a cool, dark place for 24-72 hours.
3. The seed will then crack and the tap root begins to show.
4. After the tap root shows add your medium of choice. Our’s is the Rockwool cubes.
5. Make sure the medium is damp but not over-saturated. You can leave on the window sill but make sure there is a moderate light source with the desired temperature range between 22-24°c.
6. Soon the first set of true leaves appear.
7. At this point, only use tap water for the next 20 days…most importantly NO NUTRIENTS. The light schedule should be 18/6 (18 hours on light, 6 hours off).
8. After 20 days, transplant the seedling to a larger container. The larger the root mass, the bigger the bud.
9. Next, top the plant by removing the top 4-6 inches (10-15 centimeters). Topping the plant allows you to sex your plant early.
10. After removing the top place the top of the plant in a glass of water. Use a 12/12 schedule (12 hours of light on, 12 hours off). Put in a normal window sill (if you’re still not using lights), for 2 weeks.
11. After the 2 weeks, you’ll know the sex of the plant, aka “pre-sex”. Cull the males, if desired, while removing any and all hermaphrodites (AKA hermies).
12. Grow the plant to half the height of your maximum growth and room height availability.
13. After 3 weeks of the plant’s life, add nutrients at 25% strength. We highly recommend Advanced Nutrients, but if not available it’s ok to use your own homemade organics.
14. Once the plant reaches 18¨ or your preferred capable flowering height, flip the light schedule to 12/12 (12 hours of light on/12 hours off) to initiate flowering of the plant.
15. Cleanup the lower foliage of the plant and use four clones for continuation of the actual phenotype.
16. Now in the flowering stage, the first 2 weeks, the plant “stretches” usually 1.5-2x its start height. Use this period to train and control plant’s height within your trellis to create your canopy.
17. Remove any and all large fan leaves that block bud sites so buds can expand from the light source.
18. After your first 3 weeks of flowering, increase the bloom nutrients to ¾ strength. Refer to your nutrient package for suggested use. Remember: it’s better to use too little nutrients than too much.
19. The plant’s flowering is now automated and for best results, maintain an ambient temperature range of 20-23°c with a relative humidity of 45%.
20. At this time, it’s crucial to remove any causes of plant stress. This can include the following: over fertilizing; over nutrients; room heat too hot; stronger winds as opposed to a gentle fan; with the biggest being light leaks.
21. When it’s dark DO NOT go into the room. Watch for any pinhole light leaks or leaks from door frames or from windows. Also, lights from digital clocks are a big problem. Any lights from air conditioning or pipes as well. You can use green lighting but not red. With all this done you shouldn’t see any hermies. The majority of hermies are caused by light leaks or over use of nutrients.
22. With 5-6 weeks into the flowering stage, increase the flower nutrients P (Phosphorus) & K (Potassium) while decreasing N (Nitrogen) to maintain stability.
23. Add a bloom booster of choice from weeks 6-8.
24. When week 8 begins, do a nutrient flush by adding tap water (if you use a cleaning agent, we recommend Clearex to remove all the salts and nutrient buildup on roots).
25. Now begin the harvest by defoliating larger fan leaves. Cut the plant down to fit your drying capabilities and hang upside down to dry in a cold, dark area with 40% relative humidity and lots of air circulation. If you can temper the humidity, use a basement. If in a garage, cover the windows and get the area as cold as possible. Cold conditions are ideal for drying purposes. The colder it is the tighter the nug, the warmer it is, the looser the nug.
26. After 10 days, begin the snap test by breaking the branch. If the branch snaps, begin to remove buds and place on a net or screen for 3-5 days to finalize drying. If the branch bends there’s still too much moisture and the buds need more drying time.
27. Now we’re at the cure stage, which will make or break all your hard work either as a treasure or moldy trash. Use Rubbermaid tubs or gallon size Mason jars with a rubber gasket. You’ll want something with an airtight seal, which is vital.
28. Put your bud in a container so that it is lose enough to move around, but not over packed. Burp for 1-2 hours a day, (depending on bud moisture and amount in container) 2x/day for the first 10 days. Then, burp once a day every 10 days after. Make sure to move the amounts in your container around to circulate the air inside as evenly as possible. A lack of burping and movement will cause mold and destroy what you’d worked to build in the first place.

After all this there’s one last crucial thing to remember: LIGHT UP AND ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR!!!! Congrats on now being able to turn your seed to weed!