I am a recent empty nester and I need a new hobby and growing cannabis is what I landed on. I look at the newbie questions in the forums and I realize I’m not even anywhere near ready to order seeds! I thought autoflowers were fool proof I am learning that is not the case at all. I am located in central California and can legally grow up to 6 plants inside or outside. I want to start now and have as little “equipment” as possible. What seeds are best to buy & what basic starter supplies are a must? Do I need tents, lights and fans? That may be more than I can commit to with my limited knowledge. I really want to be successful but I’m feeling intimidated at the moment. I don’t know if it’s relevant in the least but I am very good with houseplants 
I grow in my closet, it has its problems but can be done, I advise good quality light about 150 buck per plant, I use Horticulture lighting group 100 watt boards and a couple fans. 3 plants in a 2x6 
I also agree start with photos not autos. Oh welcome to the forum, check out other grows and follow those who are successful
happy growing @Sweetdish
Oh gosh, I may have to go back to hobby plan A- convincing my husband to foster elderly, frail dogs and cats 
no chance of growing outside? I am an incurable optimist, and per usual I underestimated the difficulty of the actual logistics… I truly appreciate you taking the time to reply. Growing lights are next on my
list to research!
A lot of Amazon deals to avoid, newer led have Samsung LM 301B diodes are good, come back here and ask if you have any questions, before buying lol Outside is good for next year, I’m indoors only 
you’ll need a tent or a place where plants have dark period during flower, but absolute darkness is not necessarily during veg and good to be an optimist
Don’t fret. I’m an old head that just got back into it after a 30 yr absence. No auto flowers last time that I grew. So I just ordered some and put them in good topsoil. About 5 or 6 weeks later, I got nice buds starting to form. I grew pineapple Express Auto from fast buds, and green crack from seedsman. Good germination and so far everything as advertised. I’m not doing anything special. Go ahead and get some in the dirt. All you gotta do is not kill them. They are weeds after all. 
You can definitely grow outside. I live in Mn, I can only wish that I had your climate.
I’m a noobie second class. Meaning that I have almost managed to complete my first grow.
Minnesota legalized recreational cannabis…coinciding with the receding of the most recent glaciers in May. What I did was I ordered a mix of seeds from ILGM. I like baked goods and ended up with Girl Scout Cookies, Wedding Cake, and Cherry Pie. I started the seed under a cheap led grow light in peat pots. I nursed them along for a month, repotting to larger pots midway. By the beginning of June, I was brave and repotted a final into 5 gal fabric pots filled with the finest California doper soil. I fertilized weakly weekly and kept the soil moist until today. The plants are on the cusp of being harvested.
When I started my plants, I also started some for a friend as a test. He planted his directly in the prairie soil behind his house, they are watered when his lawn irrigation is triggered, and they were fertilized with decomposed fish guts sold at Home Depot. I’m told the smell was delightful. I topped mine twice, his were topped once. Mine grew to about 2 1/2 feet and very bushy with multiple colas, his grew to about 5 feet and had massive central cola. He has already harvested, I’m hanging on til the last minute. The court is out as to who had greatest success, but we both have learned a great deal.
This is exactly my jam, just plant and have faith! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this information! My confidence is starting to return.
This is perfect for outdoor growing. Welcome to the grofam. I grow inside but have learned from others about other methods. The search bar is your friend. And to tag a specific person @Sweetdish like so and it will ping them. My plants are my children so here is my latest. Acapulco Gold from “our” day.
Good luck and it is totally worth it.
Hey @Sweetdish yes you can grow outside in your climate during winter, but with photos they will go into flower around 4 to 6 weeks old when they are of age to show sex. You are still controlled sun light hours, we are less than 14 hours of sunlight, until spring and longer sunlight photos will flower like a auto. You can probably grow some fair sized in your climate though, it’s worth a try my friend hope this is helpful 
Welcome to the Grow Fam! Empty nester….Empty grow room . Personally I would recommend a tent in the 2 x 4 range and starting with 2 plants. If you can grow in a room in Your house controlling the environmental conditions will be easier and 1 less variable to stress about. Look into AC Infinity, their putting out some great grow equipment and reasonably priced. Lighting will be critical and suggest making a one time purchase of a reputable fixture….I have several cheapies collecting dust. A good TDS and PH pen will be needed as well as a growing medium. I’ll stop for now so as not to info overload you, tag us and post all questions 
Remember to have fun while doing it! Northern Maine grower here outdoor in ground. You’re in a far better location than I to grow outdoor!
For me I think the growing is the easy part.
The drying is the stressful part.
Getting the temps and 50 - 60rh is tough here in NY.
All the hard work can go to hell if you don’t dry and cure properly.
Good luck.
I did start with autos, if you have ever grown a plant (outside of weed)you are likely to get it to harvest and achieve good results
Obviously it’s up to you but don’t get scared by autos they are not that difficult to grow
Welcome aboard! Growing can be overwhelming, at first, but it is incredible therapy. The initial start up is a little costly, but over time, well worth it. My wife and I spent 5k a year on pot, and now it only costs whatever I run out of (nutrients, microbes) and 20 bucks a month on electricity.
Here’s a short list…
Tent… 2’x4’ is a great starter size.
Lighting… HLG, Spider Farmer, Mars Hydro, are great brands. Most with Samsung lm301h diodes are primo.
Exhaust Fan and filter… A/C Infinity is pretty much top of the line. This will pull heat and help immensely with smell.
Nutrients… Jacks 321 is about the easiest, cheapest, and most gentle on the plants. Same mixing ratio, start to finish.
Medium… Soil is less work. Fox Farms, Roots Organics, Coast Of Maine, all make soils that need only distilled or pH’ed tap water for up to 6wks. Coco is a little more work and requires a different pH range, but gives the plants, in my opinion, much better growth rate. I use CannaCoco expandable bricks.
PH/TDS pen(s)… I highly recommend looking into Apera and BlueLab models. Not very cheap, but very reliable. Cannabis requires certian pH ranges in certain mediums, so these, or a combo pen that does both, are a must.
And Seeds!!! ILGM has good, strong genetics, and have an excellent germination guarentee. Customer service is top notch. Other sites have all kinds of freebies also, from other breeders that aren’t quite as expensive.
There is more, but this is just the basics. You’re gonna get a ton of great info here. Incredible growers. It’s a wonderful hobby, and there is nothing like rolling your own. Have fun and happy growing!!!
Welcome to the community.
Welcome! Solid advice from the above members. Tag me if you have any questions. @Sweetdish
Welcome to the forum @Sweetdish
Lots of good advice already. I will add, while you’re reading the forum, find a grower or two whose style you like for whatever reason and start asking questions. Everyone here is very helpful and wanting you to succeed/