First, if you can, start with some bag seed. That way if anything goes wrong, it doesn't cost you much more than time. If the bag was decent pot, the offspring should be at least as good, if not better!

Downside of using bag seed is a somewhat greater chance of "hermies"- plants that are females, but have some male flowers. If you watch your plants closely, this shouldn't be a problem- you either pick off the male flowers or cull the plant. Another "problem" is you could get a Mexican sativa that will take forever to mature, but most pot is hybrid indica/sativa, now-a-days. So unless you are on the border, this shouldn't be a problem.

Second, grow organically in good dirt (NOT Miracle Grow- it sucks for pot). Soil is far simpler than hydro. I just bought some Rubber Maid tubs, drilled a few good sized holes in the bottom and used the lid as a drain pan! $4 per 19 gallon tub (OK, I like big tubs- anything between 5 and 10 gallons will do very well). Search the Organic soil section for how to make your own potting mix.

Start your seedlings in small cups, let them get a tiny bit root bound, then transplant to a larger cup. I do 12 oz -> 32 oz -> 1 gallon -> 19 gallon tub. The slightly crowded roots go into high gear growing when a barrier (pot wall) is removed. Bigger roots means bigger plants.

Lights- Depends on your budget. If you're broke, those curly CFLs will do reasonably well to grow your plants. Check your local power company- sometimes they sell them very cheaply. Get cool whites for veg and warm whites ("kitchen and bath" types are usually warm) for flowering. Keep them close to the plants- a couple of inches away at most. Tube fluorescents will work as well. Do a search on lighting- it will fill you in on HPS and all that jazz. .

Read EVERYTHING stinkyattic says! She is the "Queen Bee" of growers around here! :thumbsup:

Start reading all the stickies in the growing section and the link in stinkyattic's sig.

Don't be afraid to ask "dumb questions"! We were all noobies once. None of us were born knowing how to grow pot! What is "dumb", is making a big, avoidable, mistake, because you were afraid to ask!

Get a vaporizer as soon as you can afford one!

ENJOY!

-Granny:hippy: