Growing marijuana is a delicate art, and there are a variety of ways that first-time growers can make mistakes. Fortunately, the mistakes that are made are pretty common and very predictable. Learn from the mistakes of others by following these simple tips and guidelines.

10. Do not over saturate your plants. Yes, marijuana plants do need a thorough watering. However, your plants should not need to be watered again until they are nearly entirely dry. The best way to judge this is to weigh the pot when the seed is first planted, then weigh it again when you think it needs watering again. If it is close to the dry weight, it’s ready for another watering.

9. Do not over feed your plants. High-quality soils are a good investment and will make your plants very happy. However, it’s easy to want to buy a lot of nutrient additives to load the soil with growing goodness; there is such thing as too much of a good thing. Keep it simple. Buy quality soil tested for cannabis, and don’t pile on excess additions.

8. Do not TOUCH a germinating seed. A cannabis seed’s germination period can last as long as 10 days. Any touching of the seeds can damage or disrupt the process. Leave the seeds alone to progress as nature intended. They are more delicate than they may appear.

7. Watch the pH levels carefully. This is a very precise part of the growth procedure, and it takes accurate measurements to be able to fix any problems that may arise. Do not skimp on cheap testing kits. Digital pH meters are well worth the investment.

6. Do not plant early. Planting early does not make the plant will grow faster and produce larger harvests. What it does is confuse the plant by the amount of light it is taking in. The plants will not sense that it is flowering time early enough, and by the time it does start flowering, there will not be enough light. Planting later, the plant will sense it has less time and will flower quickly and heavily.

5. Do not grow unknown seeds. If someone handed you a piece of candy with no wrapper, would you eat it? No. And the same holds true for seeds. If seeds are given to you for free or you aren’t sure of the exact origin or quality of the seeds, most likely they are pretty low quality. If you are going to spend the time and energy to grow a plant, it’s important to spend time and energy in buying quality seeds. Even the greatest grower in the world cannot produce a good harvest from bad seeds.

4. Give your plants a good home. Make sure the air circulation is well-controlled and the air in the room is frequently replaced. Also, humidity should stay right between 40 and 70 percent.

3. Don’t disrupt their sleep! Plants need total darkness at night. Go into your grow room at night, close the door, and check to see if light is leaking in from anywhere–and if so, fix that issue immediately.

2. Update your lamps. Old lamps will gradually put out fewer and fewer lumens over time. Your plants will suffer if you’re using old equipment, but your electricity bill will be as high as with new lamps.

1. Don’t harvest your plants too early. As your buds really start to grow like crazy, it can be very hard to be patient. But that is the mark of an expert grower. Wait until growth comes to a complete halt to harvest, or you’ll be sacrificing some good growth that comes in the last week or two.

All these tips will save you from a lot of simple mistakes that are fatal for your plants. New growers have a tendency to be overzealous, but the trick to growing good plants is a lot of patience and a lot of careful research. Know your plant, understand how it grows, and you’ll be able to produce great harvests.