The Marijuana Cultivation Bible
Chosing Your Desired Strain
It's very important to start with good genetics. What are good genetics? You tell us. Do you enjoy that hard hitting, sedative stone that puts you to sleep? Maybe you like the soaring euphoric cerebral qualities that will leave you in a hazed fluster? Or perhaps a little of both?
There are three distinguished variations of the marijuana plant. These three variations include Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica, and Cannabis Ruderalis.
Cannabis Sativa
Cannabis Sativa is a hard plant to grow indoors due to high lighting requirements, tall stature, and late flowering traits. Sativas come from equatorial regions, thus the neccesity for high ammounts of lighting and a warmer tropic-subtropic climate. You can identify a Sativa by its long, slender, finger-like leaves. A Sativa will typically produce a euphoric, energetic, cerebral high. Despite the Sativa's climatic limitations, they are truly a reward to obtain, grow, and smoke. A pure Sativa will take 2 to 4 months to finish flowering.
Cannabis Indica
Cannabis Indica is a great plant to grow indoors as well as outdoors due to its low lighting requirements and tight internode spacing, also offering resistance to fungus and pests, early maturation tendencies, and dense flower production. Indica's come from colder climates exhibiting the traits described above by acclimating to the environment from whence they came. Their stout stature and extremely wide leaflets make them easy to identify. An Indica generally produces a hard hitting, tiresome, sedative stone, and will take around 45 to 60 days to finish flowering.
Cannabis Ruderalis
Cannabis Ruderalis is not a very good choice for flower production, indoors or out. Despite maintaining a short stature, growing only one to five feet tall, and maturing rather quickly, Ruderalis just doesn't produce the yield or quality one looks for in their flowers. A slight light cycle reduction can trigger a sprout with as little as 2 to 3 leaf sets to flower. Ruderalis spontaneously initiates flowering a few weeks after sprouting, and will not produce decent flowers unless the photoperiod provides around 18 to 19 hours of light. Even then, the yield and quality are less than desirable, incomparable to that of the Sativa or Indica sub-species.
Hybrids
You didn't think we'd forget to mention Hybrids, did you? Hybrids can carry the best of both worlds regarding high and growth patterns in their genetic makeup, some will not. A Hybrid has potential to exhibit every good trait one looks for when breeding. A rather common Hybrid is hard hitting, euphoric, energetic, dense, and stout, making that particular hybrid the perfect all around plant for someone looking for that particular high, growing indoors, as well as out. It all comes down to your growing conditions and personal preference.
Obtaining Your Desired Strain
Attempt to find seeds from local gardeners that have been acclimated to the local climate conditions, and carry the best floral characteristics—potency, aroma, flavor, vigorous growth, early maturation, resistance to fungus and pests. Look for seeds that are dark brown or light grey. Some may have dark lines inset into these colors, like tiger stripes. White, small seeds are immature and should not be planted. All of these factors are considered by the seasoned gardener.
You will benefit enormously by finding a friend to get you started. However, some of us are not fortunate enough to find these "friends" to aid in our seed need, so we go international. Ordering your seeds from an online seedbank becomes ideal in this scenario. Seedbanks are a great place to search for specific breeds you've grown rather fond of, as well.
