Beginning your green pets indoors is recommended, as Cannabis seedlings do tend to be quite sensitive to early spring weather. Also, by starting them indoors earlier (than direct outdoor planting allows) you can lengthen theirtime in vegetative growth, which results in bigger plants, almost trees in some cases. This in turn, leads to greater bud yields. Cannabis flowers (developing “buds”) attract pollinators such a honey bees and natural insect predators. As long as you routinely inspect your plants and take steps to maintain a healthy insect balance, you should not have to intervene with chemical sprays. Proper aeration of the Cannabis foliage can be achieved by thinning out overly crowded branches or leafy areas and this reduces your risk of fungal infections such as powdery mildew. Introduction of predatory beetles such as ladybugs will prevent your beloved Cannabis plants from being overtaken by certain pests, for example, aphids.

1. Place seeds, 1-2 cm apart, between sheets of damp (not soaking) paper towel and insideaTupperware container
   • Dampen a sheet of paper towel with room temperature tap water by scrunching in wet hands until it is damp throughout. It should not be dripping.
   • Fold damp paper towel in half, then again, and again.
   • Lift fold of paper towel and place seeds inside, so they will be completely covered, top and bottom, by damp paper towel
   • By placing the seeds 1-2 cm apart you can keep any fungal contamination from spreading to all the seeds, should one develop any fungal growth
2. Store Tupperware container in a dark, room temperature place (e.g., kitchen cupboard
3. Check seeds daily:
   • Look for seed split and root tip poking out (germination).
   • Replace damp paper towel every 2-3 days to prevent fungal spores from growing.
   • If any fungal growth is observed, immediately remove and discard the affected seed(s). Also, replace the paper towel with fresh clean paper towel, dampened as described above. Once you have touched anything affected by fungal contamination, wash your hands before handling uncontaminated seeds and clean paper towel to help keep fungal spread minimized. Once the seedlings have germinated and begin growing in soil,they will develop their own immunity to these fungal contaminants, but during this early germination stage they are delicate, so regular monitoring is required.
4. Once seeds have opened/germinated, plant 1-2 cm deep in a small pot in damp all-purpose soil.
5. Pat down soil gently and place in an area with lots of natural light. If your seedlings are growing very tall and/or leaning heavily this means they do not have sufficient access to natural light and they are trying to grow towards this light. You want to prevent too much stretching or leaning so if this is happening, move your seedlings to an area with better natural light.
6. Water every 1-3 days to maintain soil damp (not soaking).
7. Once seedlings have several leaves and are roughly 5-6 inches in height, begin the hardening process:
   • Move the pots outside to area with indirect sunlight for 1-2 hours per day for a few days. This allows the seedlings to begin building their “wind muscles”. Avoid taking the seedlings outside on excessively windy days.
   • After a few days of wind hardening, move the seedlings into areas with direct sunlight for 2-4 hours per day for a week. This allows the seedlings to develop their own sun tolerance. If you see any leaf discolouration, reduce the time in direct light per day.
8. Once plants have been hardened and appear to tolerate wind and sun well, plant in sunny area directly in the ground or in a garden bed.
9. Cannabis loves tons of water so ensure proper irrigation (and drainage) on a daily basis, especially in the Okanagan.

Good Luck and Enjoy!