Im new to this forum, but far from new to growing MJ. Through ten years of consulting many growers both locally and abroad I have learned a lot. Please feel free to message directly if you have any further questions. Growing outdoors though very low maintenance comparatively to indoor rarely if ever can achieve the same results as a climate controled environment. I would only recommend growing outdoors in the most tropical and suited climates. I would sprout in an incubation tray (either store bought or makeshift). and vegitate them under 24/7 lighting until you achieve a desirable size. Be careful for overgrowing in vegatative stage as they will grow larger (vegatatively) whilst in flowering cycle. When growing indoors be sure not to allow ANY light to enter the room during the crops sleeping hours. (I learned this the hard way in my beginner days). Even the smallest amount of light can severely slow and almost stop your crops flowering. I recommend rockwool (I prefer shreaded) as it has fantastic air and water retention that will keep your plants alive for longer then any other medium in the event of a power outage, and if you are unable to attend to your crop for several days.I have read from reliable sources that rockwool has been scientifically studied and is superior in terms of water retention and airation over all other common mediums (perlite, compressed clay etc) I would use preferably Metal Halide for vegatative periods, and HPS (high pressure sodium) for floweing cyles. If you (as many) cannot or would not invest such moneys in purchasing both I would suggest Metal Halide. I have grown using both on their own and in conjunction, and I have found Halide will almost definately produce a meatier yield. HPS (INHO) will produce a more spectacular flower/bud, but weight will suffer. By reducing a lighting cycle to budding mode the plants will definately flower better then the average man can hope for. Using both HPS and halide is ideal, but by no means nessisary. If you do choose to grow outdoors as many prefer too, I would suggest you use a greenhouse method to reduce the risk of damage from frost, wind, and or pest damage. You can simply make a appropriately sized tube of chicken wire and wrap it with clear plastic. It should obviously allow ample air flow (perhaps cut some small holes in the plastic) more often then not, a homemade method such as this will not be 'airtight' anyway, so I would'nt worry too much. If you are growing quantitys, you can always build a frame (skeleton) of a green house and cover/wrap the entire structure with clear plastic. this method obviously will be more expensive, more time consuming, and will need to be far sturdier then the wire method. If you prefer to, and would like to eliminate the chicken wire it is also effective to place any number of stakes greater then 3 (I suggest at least 4-5) posts evenly around the circumference of the plant and wrap plastic around the stakes. Be aware though that this method means greater inconvenience if you wish to (or need to) move the plant in a hurry as the stakes will be driven into the ground.
I could go on and on and on, but I think I'll cut it short here. If you (or anyone else) would like to know any more about growing, curing, taking cuttings, or almost any methods used in MJ growing, please feel free to ask me via a personal message or in a thread (please draw my attention to the thread via a private message though of course 
I dont want to come across as 'the new guy who thinks he knows it all' but I did in fact moderate a growers site for some time devoted entirely to growing mary J. I enjoy sharing the information I aquired, and were it not for the kindness of growers FARRRRR more advanced and knowledgeble then I my own experiences growing would have been far less pleasant and fruitful then they actually were.
(I seriously doubt he'll ever see this, but 'a huge thankyou to my mentor, Canada's own 'Magicman'. The best grower I have ever known, and a true expert and intellectual. Sound like Im accepting an award kinda huh? :p lol sorry, dont mean to sound arrogant. If it were'nt for his help and teaching I wouldnt know a half of what I now know. (which is still about a third what he does! 
Take care,
Paradoks (I can be emailed direct on:
alxan76@hotmail.com
-------------------- rehab is for quitters
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