Hey guys, I need some assistance. So I'm planning to do my first grow and despite all the research I have done, I've got no experience of course. The seedling and veg stage is where I need help. I picked up a 12 quart bag of Jiffy Natural & Organic Seed Starting Mix. What else do I need? I was planning to start them out in a Jiffy Self Watering Greenhouse I also picked up at Walmart, then transplant them to plastic cups leaving them by a window until they're ready to be taken outdoors. Please tell me any flaws I have in my plan and/or things I can add to help my first grow successful. Oh I have a 5 pack of Master Kush from Nirvana on the way. Any help is much appreciated!
Assuming you've bought photoperiod plants ( not auto flowers ) You need to understand the photoperiod nature of the plant we all grow.. Long days and short nights are veg stage.. Over 14.5 hours light per for most strains.. Short days and long nights cause it to flower.. Under 14.5 hours light per day . What that translates to in the real world is seeds outside about May 1st.. Clones outside no sooner then June 1st.. Seeds can go out early as the young plants take about a month to become sexually mature enough to flower and by the time they are old enough the day hours has lengthened enough they don't flower.. . June and July are really the only two dependable veg months outside.. Everything else is flower lighting even if it may be warm enough like it is here in Southern California.. I DO put plants out off season but I expect and plan on them going into flower.. . To successfully start this early you'll need supplemental lighting to hold them in veg.. What is coming in the window is not enough hours to keep them vegging and they'll flower at about 12 inches tall and net you a joints worth of bud.. . Your other stumbling block to starting early is correct time matching to prevent early flowering-light shock caused by to great a mismatch between the lighting the plant grew up on and what it's set out and exposed to.. . 16-8 or 17-7 seems to be the best match but the slowest veg cycle for inside starts for outside setout.. I veg all my plants in a garden shed under 24-0 light with T5 high output 6500k color lamps.. Despite the trouble it causes me for summer but that's just the oddball grow style I've developed to run year round outside here.. BNW
Thank You for your help! It may have helped to let you know I live in western Pennsylvania. I didn't plan on starting them until April. So you're saying I'm going to have to keep them under a light cycle. Alright I can do that. They are photoperiod. I believe I read that you can transplant them outdoors once they've grown about 6 inches? I'd like to get them outside as soon as I can. Thanks again!
Same rules will apply.. It's all about the light.. Your latitude plays a small part in it but for most of the Northern Hemisphere the same dates apply.. If you start your plants in April they will be to old to set out with out flowering until June 1st that free seedling immaturity month having expired.. . Like most rules this one does have exceptions like greenhouses where the plant is kept warm enough.. Even in Pa you could get a spring crop in if you fired now and vegged a month.. Flower for 2 and harvest on June 1st.. . It never freezes here so I can play games outside in the winter sun and flower all year long.. I've pushed out enough plants at off times to know exactly what will happen given the same set of conditions.. BNW
So it So I ordered the seeds a few days ago. They'll take 2 weeks tops to get here. Should I start the germination process as soon as I get them? I couldn't start them in april and plant transplant them outdoors may 1st? There's still a few snowy days left here in PA
I'm not far from you. T5 lamps are great for seedlings and are worthwhile investment. Healthy seedlings lead to a healthy harvest. Placing the seedlings next to window.... it never worked for me. I crack the seeds in wet paper towels, inoculate the seeds with fungi, initially plant the seeds directly in plastic solo cups, transplant from the solo cups to ground in May.
You live in western PA as well? Sweet man! Thanks for the help I need all I can get! I wish I knew someone in person I could ask all of these questions but the forums are good enough ahaha I don't think I've heard of the fungi thing you're talking about
Not trying to shill for this company, but I use VAM Endo-mix from BioAg to inoculate the plants. By doing this, I found my plants to be healthier with better root structure and much more resistant to insect attacks and disease. I just sprinkle a bit VAM about the seed when it gets planted. Get plenty of sunshine to those girls and you can grow monsters some in western PA. Keep a journal so you can keep track of your progress and find out what works and what does not. I'm in north east Ohio. Enjoy the season!
Thanks for the tip man, I'll have to try that if I can get my hands on the stuff! But yea I may even keep a virtual grow journal on here as well as a physical one. I'm pumped haha thanks again! Happy harvest!
It's your basic root inoculant and I usually use it at the rock wool to 3 inch cup stage but if not then no later then the 3 to 5 inch transplant..
