A loosely guided documentation of growing cannabis at home by a first-time grower, avid smoker.

I've never grown weed before but I've always had it in my life for its undeniable and endless healing, spiritual, and creative-driving properties. After moving to California and dipping my toes into the cannabis industry there's been no better time to grow my own... and why not?

Germinate the Best Seeds

The best cannabis seeds to germinate (I've been told) are the darker ones with lighter markings; simply put, the darker the color of the seed, the more time it has had to fully mature into a perfect bud-bearing specimen. I've been hoarding a seed stash from some of my favorite strains that I spent time with on a recent residency up in northern California.

In the lineup are: CBD, Blue Dream, and Cherry Pie (for now).

I germinated the seeds the tried and tested pre-schooler safe way: sandwiched between paper towel dampened with distilled water and left in the dark to do their thing. I used separate paper towels for each seed strain and labelled each accordingly, because they all look the same and I want to know what's what.

After two days the CBD was the first to shoot a root out. The Blue Dream followed the next day as did the Cherry Pie. That couldn't have been easier and they were ready to plant.

Get the Seeds in Soil

It's still winter in LA, and so it's not the ideal time to cultivate outdoor cannabis. So I decided to start the plants indoor and go from there.

The seeds and the sprouted roots were ready to be transferred into pots and soil. Both the pots and soil I got for free (score) from a nursery around the corner. Based on common sense and my fairly limited grow knowledge, the size of the pot will ultimately determine the size of your plant. I opted for smaller pots to start with and as they grow I'll adjust the pot size accordingly.

For ease of identification, the CBD got the green pot, the others the terracotta. I bought side plates from the 99 Cents Store (and found one buried in the backyard). They make for the perfect drain trays for the water run off. That said, don't go overboard with the water and don't drown your seeds.

I filled the pots about 3/4s full with soil, made a 10mm indent for the seed and root, and placed it in the center. I covered each with a just sprinkling of soil so that the sprouting plant doesn't have to work too hard to breach the surface. Each was doused with a humble pouring of distilled water and I drained whatever excess water runoff there was from the dish.