Just watered these seedlings last night and left a bit drainage at the bottom. I noticed this morning a couple of roots forming at the bottom of all the solo cups. Especially some roots are exposed, i am wondering if it is a good time to transplant? These are feminized seeds, and it has been 13 days of initial sprouting from soil. Also should i always remove the drainage from the trays? I usually test it and put it back in the bottom. RH : 65% TEMPS: 26° constant aswell. Please let me know what i should do, this is my first grow and i plan to transfer from; Solo Cup ----> 1 Gal ----> 5 gal Thanks!
Nope. Don’t transfer yet. Wait for some more vertical grow. Also imo don’t transfer to 1 gal then 5 gal. Just go with the 5 gal. Water a diameter just bigger than a solo cup near stem area for a few days after transplanting. Then slowly increase your watering, and after a week or two, you should be watering the whole pot. One more thing...remove the water drainage. Never let it sit. Good luck
You should do solo cup> 32 oz > half gal > 1 gal > 3 gal > 5 gal Never transfer from a cup to 5 gal. Same reason why you dont move from an apartment to a beverly hills mansion. Otherwise they think they made it and stop giving buds
I have to disagree with the above posters. It's not necessary to transplant 5 times and you can go to a 5 gallon from a solo cup as long as you're careful with your watering. I never heard of a plant that stopped making buds because it was in a large container. What about the plants grown in the earth? What medium are you using? When I grew in coco and before I used airpots I started in solo cups, 2 weeks from sprout I transplanted to 80oz. containers, then to a 3-1/2 gal. pot. Good luck.
I time mine more now than watch them - but when I was in dirt and cups I transplanted as soon as I saw roots - and went straight to 5gal (no need for 1gal unless you have space issues ) I feed 1liter every 3 days so feed monday then again thursday through veg then up it to 2 liters when in bloom (some strains take more feed have had some that needed 1 liter every other day and still came up dry sometimes)
Every grower has their own style and that's what makes this fun. I usually transplant out of the solo cups when the leaves go past the edge of the cup and has some vertical growth to it. By that time when you transplant you have some good roots to help keep the soil together during transplant but not too many roots to where the plant is starting to root bound. Also next time bring the soil level up a little more in those solo cups. For me i go solo cup to 1 gallon, then to a 5 gallon pot if doing photoperiods. If doing autos i go from solo cups to its final 3 gallon pot. For me and some other growers, up potting helps to have better watering control. For different grows try different methods and see what works best for you.
Hey thanks for the response. Awesome, i will try the 1 gal to 5 gal method. Also how long should i wait or what to look for to make the transplant from 1 gal to 5 gal? The strain is Sensi Star(feminized), but it says it has (24 day vegetation) and (56 -63 day flowering stage). For the seedling stage i have just been running 24 hours of light. Watering usually every 3-4 days. Im not sure if i should add more soil to the solo cup? because it seems i might have overwatered a bit. This is a picture from this morning of how they look. The top left seems to have alot more vertical growth compared to the others. Should i wait until they grow a bit taller, and let then dry out before i make the transplant?
Stop watering your seedlings. I would recommend adding quite a bit of perlite to your soil mix in your 1 gal container. You can transplant wet or dry. Some prefer transplanting wet, some prefer dry. I would recommend you transplant dry.
What does perlite do ? Also can anyone let me know if i should start feeding. It looks like nitrogen deficiency at the bottom, and possibly a start a calcium deficiency aswell on the top of leaves. Could someone give me a proper diagnosis? Thanks
I think its starting to get root bound. Not enough soil in the cup. Roots are having a problem getting nutes. Put her in a bigger pot and it should come back around. Perlite lightens the soil. Hydro shops will have soil with perlite
Awesome! Right when i get home ill get ready to transplant. Should i mix perlite in soil? Or but a bunch at the top of medium ? I hear that helps to avoid pests. Also should i use mycorrhizae? I have nutristart plus and says to use for root development after transplant, but mycorrhizae seems to be pretty bigm Thanks agajn
I bought soil with perlite and mycorrhizae already in it. The perlite should be mixed all through the soil tho.
For your first grow, I would suggest getting a commercial reefer soil. (I am familiar with Fox Farm Ocean Mix.)
The perlite that comes mixed in the soil is not enough. Especially for beginner growers. I would suggest using HP ProMix soil w/mycorrhizae. Also add some more perlite to reduce your chances of overwatering. Mix in with soil before transplanting. You can add some to the top as well. If you do prefer to, you can use a rooting powder for better rooting and less transplant shock even though the soil has mycorrhizae, it is safe to add your preferred rooting powder.
Yeah i found out my soil already contained mycorrhizae, thats some good news. Just transplanted the plants to 1 gal containers. Watered with distilled PH'D 6.10 RUNOFF: For each one was 5.15 I was surprised to see the run off very low, is that okay for now until next watering? The first true leaves really look like they're dying. I suppose i just have to wait and see how they turn out in the 1 gal. (Day 14 of sprout)
Stop watering with distilled water now. Time to move on. Next time you water, water with ph’d water - 7, then check run-off and let us know. For the first true leaves.. they generally die off, but it might be a nitrogen deficiency too, so if they are yellow, test your nitrogen levels in the medium.
You should fill your solo cup 80-90% full or else the plant will get rootbound... you can transfer from cup to 1-3-5gal doesnt matter just transfer BEFORE it gets rootbound or else the plant will be shocked and now grow for about a week... happened to me a few times... but transfer early and you risk breaking off roots with will also cause shock and a delay in growth... i normally put a few holes around the side of the cup... when i see roots means its time to transfer... hope this helps