I have a few questions that I cannot seem to find the answer to. I have the popular Marijuana Horticulture book by that Cervantes fellow, and I can't find the answers there either. 1) I have 8 or so seeds germinating, and one of them has sprouted its root tip. The other ones have not. Do I plant the one right away and just plant them as they come, or do I wait for more of them to catch up to the first one? 2) I read that I shouldn't add light until the seedlings sprout above ground, is this true?
wait for the tap root to be a good length when you go to plant it in the soil, i usually wait til the root itself is about a quarter inch to a half inch. and yea they dont need light until they break the surface of the dirt, just make sure the soil stays moist, i wouldnt water the soil directly but instead use a spray bottle and gently mist the soil. also it helps cover the tops of the pots to help retain moisture and improve humidity. so wrap it with plastic wrap or use a humidity dome of some sort
Thanks a lot. One more thing I cannot find the answer to. I have a seed starter mix given to me to start the seedlings in. It's got peat moss, vermeculite, perlite, and other things in it. I also have a huge bag of Fox Farm's Ocean Forest that I plan on using. Should I start the plants in the FF, or in the starter mix that I was given?
no problem well generally speaking the seeds really dont need any fancy sort of soil to start off in, just some regular pro-mix soil with vermiculite and peat moss mixed in is all the seeds really need, that and a little bit of water to help nurture the roots, but hey its your plant so you choose what you want to do my friend i personally started off with just the regular soil like i said earlier and that worked out fine for me, but its ultimately up to you
Ok I have another question if someone wouldn't mind helping me. I've searched the forum, and read all over, etc. How do I handle drainage? I see some people using trays under their pots. Doesn't that mean the water is just sitting there? I thought that standing water led to root rot. Right now I'm using a seedling tray with a drain tray, so I don't have to worry about it. Once they pop out of the soil I plan on putting them into party cups (the red ones used at keggers) with my FF Ocean Forest. I know I have to poke holes in the bottom, but how do I set something up to catch all the water? It's kind of impractical to put each little cup on blocks, wouldn't you say? The answer may be obvious, but this is really eating at me. Also if there's ever a problem with any of the plans I lay out, someone please tell me.
well normally the drainage trays are there to catch the draining water, and you use that water to check runoff ph. as for the party cups idea, i say go a head and make it happen cap'n just poke some drainage holes in the bottom of the cups and then stack them in cups without holes in the bottom and that will catch your runofff water. but with your seedlings i really wouldnt worry about watering them. jsut water the soil before you plant the seed in it to keep it moist, then just mist the surface of the soil with a spray bottle. once you complete the transplant to your party cups, put some seran wrap over the top of the cup to keep humidity in and just set the cups under a light source and your good to go
Okay, this is probably my last question for a bit. I've got a few seedlings in the trays poking out of the dirt now. They're under light (not enough, but I'm taking care of that soon) and I've got a fan going. I started the tray under 18/6 yesterday with only one seedling sprouted. Since then I'm getting more sprouts and things are looking okay so far. How long can I wait before putting them in larger containers? How do I tell? I've never grown anything before, but I'm having a lot of fun so far.
lol glad to hear that your having a good time bro yea give em some time to poke up thru the dirt. and wait till theyre root bound in the cup before transplanting. so pretty much when the roots are all matted and tangled up at the bottom at that point your gonna wanna change the containers, but for now until they get a wee bit bigger i would just leave em in the party cups, you dont wanna damage they roots
I wouldn't wait until you are root bound. If you're watering and getting runoff (as you should be) and letting your soil dry out between waterings (as you should be when you have your true leaves) then you will see roots coming out of the bottom of your cup. That's when I transplant. For now, you want your seedling's soil to stay moist but as soon as you have your first true leaves, your roots will be developed enough to let the soil start drying out between watering.s
Alright so they've been growing pretty well. One or two roots are beginning to show through the bottom of the party cups. Should I transplant right this second, or should I wait until more start showing through?
You're going to have to do it eventually. Might as well not wait until it becomes a problem and transplant. When you do, try to bury as much stalk as you can if your plants were stretching.