Hey, DW, I commiserate! I'm also new at this, but thanks to the good folk here at RIU and a copy of The Cannabis Grow Bible, I seem to be doing okay. The only advice I can stand behind is to read all the stickies here to start. Those were turned into stickies because the original poster did such a good job explaining the basics (and that's all you need for a successful first grow, really!) that the site recognized that work as a worthy authority. That said, if the sticky is 100 pages long, what you also have is a lot of lame, pulled-from-the-ass advice and commentary on top of that worthy work.
Another thing I suggest is start really paying attention to who elevates the discussions -- you'll see the same 5 or 6 screen names pop up as voices of moderation and reason. Listen to them. Also look for consensus. If three of those people you consider experts agree on something, pay attention!
And remember -- some people post here when they're high. Makes for a great read but shouldn't be info that you act on.
I've got a hydro set up, so I can't tell you what I've been doing that's been successful so far because it won't translate to soil. But one last thing that was helpful is that I used the HTG Supply web site for information -- go in there, look at their descriptions of soil and nutes, compare those with reliable sources, like the veterans here and the Grow Bible, and see what looks like it makes sense to you.
And finally, when you start your first grow, your goal should be getting your plants to harvest without them dying. Period. So you don't have to go crazy with 50,000 specialized nutes and supplements! Just stick with the basics the first time out -- a micro, grow and bloom system is all you need. Raise those first girls to maturity. Harvest. Enjoy. Then take everything you learned and start again, this time at a higher level.
