What it is
The stage where the plant builds its structure: stem, branches, leaves and root. It doesn't make flowers yet. The bigger and healthier it is at the end, the more buds it will be able to carry.
How long it lasts
In autoflowers, 2 to 4 weeks: then they flower on their own. In photoperiod plants the grower decides: as long as they get 18 hours of light they keep vegging (indoors you usually leave them 4 to 8 weeks; outdoors, the whole spring and summer).
What it needs
Lots of light: 18 hours a day indoors.
Nitrogen (the "n" in fertilizer): it's what it uses to make green leaves.
Temperature of 22 to 28 °C and humidity of 50 to 65 %.
Water: more and more as it grows. Water deeply and wait until it dries out quite a bit before watering again, so the root breathes and goes looking for water.
Time to train
Pruning (topping, FIM) and tying (LST) are done here, when the plant grows fast and recovers in a few days. Not in flowering. This is also when you take clones from a mother plant.
Signs it's doing well
Deep green leaves, nodes close to each other (not stretched) and a thick stem. If the lower leaves turn yellow and the color creeps up, it lacks nitrogen.
🎮 Practice it in UnderGrow
Autoflowers veg on their own for a few weeks. Photoperiod plants stay in veg as long as the timer is on 18/6: the more days they veg, the bigger they get and the more they yield, up to day 58 of life (double what they give if you switch them to 12/12 as early as possible); after that they don't grow any more. The techniques are under prune.
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