Ready to jump into the exciting world of cannabis cultivation? Whether you’re a newbie or are looking to sharpen your skills, growing cannabis from seed has never been more popular or easier! 

With the right techniques and a little patience, you can grow top-notch marijuana plants at home. Liberty Seed Bank has quickly become a trusted top choice amongst cannabis cultivators for quality marijuana seeds. In this guide, we’ll walk you through all the essential stages—from germination to harvest—so you can cultivate like a pro and enjoy a successful harvest every time. Let’s start growing!

Three cannabis plants in brown pots in a simple indoor grow setup with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).
Learning how to grow marijuana indoors like a pro today!

The Vegetative Stage

Once you’ve germinated your seeds, the initial stage of growth is the vegetative stage where your seedling develops into a full plant, complete with roots, stems, leaves with branches and nodes. This phase of vegetative growth usually lasts from 3 to 16 weeks, depending on the strain and environmental conditions.

During this time, your plant will grow rapidly, so you will need to monitor its growth and development regularly to ensure it hasthe best chance of successfully developing into a strong plant.

Within the first 2-3 weeks, it will start to sprout the signature fan-shaped leaves known by cannabis lovers the world over. And will eventually develop into lush bushes.

During this time, the plant will grow taller as it absorbs more water, but it also needs to have healthy cell growth so the main stems and branches can support its own weight as well as the weight of new additional leaves. As it grows taller, you may need to adjust the light source otherwise the plant can suffer light burn from the light and heat of your light source. Your light source should be positioned at least 30cm away from the top of the plant. If any yellowing occurs on your leaves, it will need to be positioned even further away.

As your plant becomes larger, you may need to transplant your plant into larger containers to allow the roots to expand. At the same time, make sure the main stem has enough strength and rigidity to stay upright. Otherwise you can use supports to help prevent it from toppling over.

Indica cultivars are generally shorter than Sativa plants, but they are known to grow laterally so you will have to make sure there is enough room for  airflow to move through their dense foliage.

Choosing the right growing medium

The growing medium allows the plant something to latch onto and develop its roots so it can begin absorbing nutrients. You can choose from a variety of media, which includes soil, water (hydroponics), or foam. Soil is the most easily accessible and readily available, but it has inherent risks to microorganisms such as fungi, mold, or pests. Whereas hydroponics and aeroponics provide a more controlled growing environment with less ongoing maintenance, but is more costly to setup initially.
 

Watering

Start by watering your plants when the top 3cm of soil or medium is dried out. Overwatering can starve the roots of air and cause root rot or other issues such as mildew or mould in the soil.

Plants grown in hydroponic setups or aeroponic setups will receive water from the setups themselves. These types of setups allow for more refined control and management, and will further improve the quality of your plants, and in turn maximize your yields.

When watering, make sure to use good-quality, filtered water. Tap water may contain excess chlorine and other substances that may be harmful to your plants.

Recommended Nutrients

During the vegetative stage, your marijuana plant needs high levels of nitrogen to help it develop strong stems and leaves. Because generally the larger the plant, the more buds it will produce. An adequate supply of potassium will also help regulate the opening and closing of stomata and to produce energy. We also recommend providing an adequate amount of Magnesium to improve the plant’s photosynthesis, as well as Calcium for stronger cell walls.

There are readily available nutrient formulas to help make things simple from most garden centers, and they will be able to provide your plants with the nutrition it needs during the vegetative stage.

Lighting 

Other than water, nutrients, and CO2, lighting is what allows the plant to achieve photosynthesis. We recommend LED lights for the most energy efficiency and lowest heat emissions.

During the vegetative stage, photoperiod strains need 18-24 hours of light per day. The more light exposure it receives, the faster it will grow. And when you are ready for the plant to begin it’s flowering stage, reduce the to 12 hours of light or less to initiate flowering.

Please keep in mind that autoflowering cultivars flower on their own and do not require any changes in light cycles. They will benefit from 18-24 hours of light and will develop throughout the vegetative stage and flowering stage rapidly with profound effects in growth and bud development.

The Best Humidity and Temperature Setting

High humidity (+50%) during the vegetative will help your marijuana plants grow quickly. Because the high moisture content in the air will boost plant health and help with cell regeneration as plant cells rapidly develop during this time.

Cannabis plants during the vegetative stage benefit from higher temperatures of around 70-90°F (20-30°C) because the elevated heat helps stimulate cell growth, but make sure not to overheat your plants.

Cannabis seed flowering stages