By far the most important aspect of your grow is choosing a good plant strain to start with.

The best system in the world will grow crappy buds if you start with crappy seeds. Now granted they will be BIG crappy buds but crappy none the less.

I'm not going to go into detail about everything. There are books for that. I just want to cover the basics in regards to my own personnel experience.

There are two main types of plants. Indica and Sativa. Some group Afghan as a separate type but for this discussion we will group Afghan with Indica. Let's not deal with Ruderalis strains because you can't clone them.

Indicas: Plants are short and stocky. Buds are dense and covered in resin.
Smell and taste goes from sweet to hash like. Smoke is dense and will make you cough. Load small hits or be prepared for the coughing frenzy of death.
They finish in a short time compared to Sativas. Usually within 8 weeks.

The stone is heavy and physical. Think couch lock.

My favorite Indica is Mango. It looks like a classic Afghan. Warning! Too many hits and its nap time. Great for pain. I'm not into pure Indicas myself. Love the taste but not the stone.

Sativas: Plants grow tall and lanky. Buds grow light and airy indoors.

Taste is sweet and fruity. Smoke is light and tasty.

Sativas take forever to finish, sometimes longer. You will be setting around for months saying "What the fuck"? 12 weeks to finish is not uncommon.

The stone is energetic and cerebral. A real creative high. The more you smoke, the higher you get. Smoke too much and you might get paranoid.

My favorite Sativas are anything with Haze. Silver Haze is unreal! The first time I smoked it I got so fucking paranoid I just about shit myself! Think Speed Weed.

Good thing that there are mixes that gives you the best of both worlds.

Indica/Sativa mix: This is pretty much my favorite. Anyone can find a strain that suits them best.

Finish times can be between 8-10 weeks depending on the strain.

The size can vary. Cropping may have to be used on taller strains.

Some strains have more Indica in them. My favorite is Blueberry. It is 80% Indica. It is by far the tastiest weed I have ever smoked. You have to grow this strain! Trust me on this.

Strains with equal Indica/Sativa are my main day smoke. AK47, Bubblegum, Purple Silver all fall into this category. They have an energetic high like a pure Sativa buy also have a nice mild body stone like an Indica. Balance is the key.

The most Sativa I run in a strain is 80% in my Skunk #11. I love that classic skunk taste and smell. I wish I could find a quicker and shorter variety of Skunk though.

So there you go. The condensed version of Genetics. You could write a book on the subject and still never cover everything. You have to start somewhere though.

Your success is 100% dependent on finding the right plant. Don't underestimate the importance of finding good genetics to start with.

In the Navy we had a saying...
Shit in, Shit out.