how long does the veg stage usually take? i want to know about how long until my plants will start to bud and for me to notice some kind of difference to sex them

( first time growing )

2-12 weeks, depends how you grow it.

average around 1-2 months depending on lights, strain, heat. I vegged for 2 months using tubed cool blue flourescents, but w/ cfl's the time is shortened considerably (so I'm keep being informed by 'well-wishers')

woops forgot, my plants started to show sex 10 days into flowering. by the end of 2 weeks all of them were showing, (16 males out of 20 baggie seeds, sigh...)