I will be planting on a mountain (mentioned in a previous thread) but this thread is about the preparation. So, I have my 5 seeds and... 1: I will germinate the seeds at home (probably using the wet paper towel method). 2: Then, plant in pots and allow them to sprout... ...and this is where I have a question, because ultimately I will be transferring these plants to the mountain. I have a private balcony which gets around 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. Temperatures are beginning to hit 17-24 during the day and 2-9 at night. So, my options are: A) Allow them to sprout indoors, and transfer to the mountain after a few weeks / when they are ready B) Allow them to sprout on the balcony (and then transfer to mountain) My thinking is that if I do the sprout on the balcony, they will be getting used to the outdoor environment and therefore will be less stress placed on the plants adjusting to the conditions when I move them to the mountain. So, what do you think? What timescale / environment / process do you recommend for my situation? Bring the plants in at night? Do it all indoors? Do it all out on the balcony? Thanks in advance
Celsius bro. 2-9 is about 35-50 in Fahrenheit. I too have started a small grow (1 plant; praying it's female) and I believe my temperature is around yours. I used the towel method and let the root sprout about 3-5mm. Took backyard soil in a styrofoam cup, and put the seed 3/16" into the dirt (approx a fingernail deep) root downwards. I had it out in the sun from 8am - 7pm(sunset) and brought it inside. It just sprouted from the dirt and I'm very excited
BEFORE germinating you should have read the stickies. First you Should Have checked out your latest Frost Date. You can Google this. Next you Should pick out a soil mix. What is most suitable is keeping the plants on the deck for 6hrs direct sunlight, then bring them indoors under grow lights for 8+ hours. Let the temperatures heat up and allow your plants to grow, making them more resistant to the elements. Keep reading the Forums, figure out your game plan and go from there.
If it goes under 4C with the sun down, i would bring them inside at night. besides that leave em outside, will do them good and get them ready for the harshness of outside! Me personally im giving mine all the outside light i can, when its above 4-5 just to get them ready. They've been outside everyday since sprouted and i will continue to do so as long as i can. Only time i bring them in is extreme cold or super high winds/rain since solo cups cant withstand 50kph winds!!!
the metric system is the tool of the devil! My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it. anyway... Yeah, I have been doing a fair amount of research on the forums, and as you can imagine, there will always be conflicting opinions - sometimes hard to sift out things completely relevant to yourself. This is what I think I will do (unless y'all think I'm making a huge error). Germinate, the plant into small pots which will have a mixture of the mountain soil, potting soil and coco noir. I might also throw a few water crystals in there. Once they sprout, I'll keep em on the balcony during the day, bring them in at night (indoor bulbs not an option). Then, when the time is right, I'll move them to the mountain (by which time I will have dug the holes and filled them with the same soil mixture). I think water crystals might be key for a few months yet because its about to get very arid before rainy season. The thinking behind the mountain soil in the mixture is simply that I want the roots to feel as little change as possible when I move them to the mountain, and lugging huge bags of primo soil mix out there just isn't feasible. I'll get suspicious looks. At the moment, that's my game plan, but I'll keep reading the forum.. Thanks again