First time grower

alright well ive decided to start growing as you can probably tell. But I'm lost. If anyone could help me answer the following it would be much appreciated.

1. When looking at strains some of them say 9 week or 12 week flowering periods. Does this mean you can harvest every 9 or 12 or whatever it says weeks? Or can you only harvest once around September-October?
2. I live in Seattle, WA and I'm trying to find a good strain. I want something with massive yields, good potency, something maybe resistant to cold, something relatively easy to grow. Ive looked at super skunk, big bud, crystal, ice, northern lights, afghan, and several others but I don't know what to pick. What would be good for my area?
3. Now if the answer to number one is only one harvest per year I think I might get autoflowering plants too. I was thinking maybe a combination of autoflowering and then normal plants with their bigger yields as well. This way i have a steady stream all season and then before winter a big harvest. What is a good autoflowering plant that also hasmassive yields, good potency, something maybe resistant to cold, something relatively easy to grow?
4. Should I spend the extra money on feminized plants?
5. Do marijuana plants spread on their own, like lets say bamboo shoots? As in if I planted a plant in the ground would I come back to find several plants off shooting from the original? Basically do I have to worry about containing them?

Ok umm let see, im taking u wanna grow outside correct?well plants have 2 periods of growth, vegatative and flowering, depending on what you want you can veg your plant however long you want Northern lights haze and white widow are generally resistant to haze along with somne blueberry strains, but ya if it says flowering 9-12 weeks its how long it takes for the buds to mature after you put her into flowering, fem seeds are a good investmen considering you get a more potent crop if oyur growing indoors you can grow all year tho, and no cannabis doesnt spread on its own you have to plant it

sounds like your have alot of studying to do my friend ... i would toss out the extra bucks to get fem seeds. unless u are going to be able to alaways keep a close eye on them .. as for auto i dot know much as im stil studying them myself ive herd of irainen short season that is a big yeilder and auto ak 47 is to .. and for regs look into something indica they should it your climate the best .. try to stay away from sativia as they will take the longesti hope my few words of advice will help .. this is a non stop learning adventure .. have fun and be safe .. have u found your spot or spots yet?

Okay well I guess i am going to go with my plan of doing both autoflowering and regular strains.

I checked out the Iranian Short Season but its 150 and i don't know how seeds that is. The auto Ak47 came out to 62 US dollars from dr.chronic seeds but it looks like alot less yield...

Do you know any other high yielding autoflowering strains?

Also, since I am going to grow both autoflowering and regular strains what is a good regular strain? I prefer the sativa high and am looking for something with high yields ,good potentcy, and resistant to cold somewhat if possible.

I haven't scouted them yet but I have a pretty good idea. The autoflowering ones will be easier to access since I have to harvest them several times and they arent as big.

The big ones will be grown semi-remotely and will leave them all summer to get huge then harvest in september-december.

Remember only female plants give you bud so dont waste your time and money on male seeds and stick to feminised.

Your plants are only going to harvest once so baby the hell out of them or else they will die and you will be starting over with shorter time to grow. When it says the flowering period is 9 weeks that means that it will take the bud 9 weeks to grow and mature. However, the plant will stay in vegitative and grow without bud aslong as it is getting enough daylight.

Auto-flowering i have not tried yet but i have done some research and it sounds like a good idea. I have already ordered some Auto AK-47 and plan to give it a try next season.

autoflowering will not give you a very plentiful crop. I've got a bud who has been growing personal autoflowering strains for a few years. He was pumped when he managed 45 grams on one of his lady this past fall. If you want some danke yeilds wait the extra two-ish months for plenty more buds on a feminized 9-12 weeks flowering cycle.

thats why we were gonna go with both. Small amounts now then a big yield at the end of the season.

I do have a question though.

As far as soil goes what is desirable? The soil in the forest where I plan to grow in very dense with a lot of decaying plant matter. I know marijuana needs good drainage but what should I do specifically?

Should i completely haul out the soil and replace it?

Mix something in to give it drainage?

Is this nutrient rich soil?

just get a bag of foxfarm and dump it in some holes you dig XD