Soil?

Soil in my opinion is actually one of the hardest ways to germinate your plant.

I personally use the paper towel method and it works like a champ. I take a moist paper towel, fold it in half, then put the seeds in it and fold it again. I then put the paper towel into a tuperware container and seal it up. I then put it on top of a computer monitor for a little heat. And, a few days later the viable seeds have sprouted. There are many variations to this method. Read the stickies. I am pretty sure there is one about germination in there.

It can be done in the soil, but in my opinion it rarely works.

 

Oh, and you won't need ferts for the first couple weeks of your grow. Not until the second or third node. After that, start off with light nutes and work your way up from there.

 

germinate until the root shows, put in soil about 1-1.5 inches down, lightly cover. when it pops up out of the soil, turn on the lights. do not feed nutrients for the first 3 or so weeks. after that, start in with the nutes and at lighter than recommended levels. it is pretty easy once you get the steps down, good luck!

 

Sorry for the misunderstanding. You said germinate in your first post, so i thought that's what you were talking about.

 

I use diluted nutes from day one. You know in those seed trays with the dome on it and you put water in the bottom to keep the humidity up and the roots kinda touch it? Well i even put a diluted solution in there. I use all organic nutes though, so thats one reason i can get away with it. Dont get me wrong, im not saying this is the best way and im not telling you to try it. Im just saying i did it and you dont have to wait 2 or 3 weeks if you dont want to. As long as its diluted pretty good. Now i dont know about chemical nutes but i wouldnt try that i dont think.

 

it has been shown time and time again that soil that is pre-loaded with time release fertilizer will burn young plants, and i see new people constantly coming here and wondering what has happened. most of the replies agree that it is the nutrient loaded soil that is burning the plant. go ahead and try if you want, but you are better off getting some plain soil to start it in, then transplant into the nutrient-loaded soil. the plant in my signature (future scrog...) was done just as i have said here. basic soil to start, the approriate nutrient-rich soil for the transplant. it is green and growing nicely at this point.

when someone says to flush your plant, they want you to flush whatever nutrients that are in the soil, out of the soil. when you use soil that has ferts loaded into it like you are planning to do, you will be come here wondering why the plant is struggling, and the responses will include doing a flush to clear out the nutrients that are too much for the plant at its young age.

just info that i have gathered from reading on this site...jim sure most others will have similar info.

 

Flushing is usually in the last week or 2 weeks of growth, you only give the plant straight water so the nutrients can be flushed out of the soil. I'm not exactly sure, but I think this helps the overall flavor and reduces harshness of the bud. Correct me if i'm wrong, anybody.

Peace

-Grow

 

i would use plain soil then transplant to any of those fert-loaded soils, providing they are the right NPK ratio for vegging (high N, lower P & K)

 

the soil i transplanted to after a few weeks in the regular soil was 15-10-10 i believe

 

Scotts; I will get the NPK ratio off the bag tonight when i venture over to where the plant is growing.

 

^ Scotts Premium Potting Soil 0.07-0.01-0.03 is the NPK ratio.

 

you can probably use anything you deem good, just match up the ratios and have higher first number than the others...