So I successfully germinated two seeds using the soak and plant method and have them sitting in their little pots now under lights. Within the last 24 hours both of them have sprouted to the surface. Right now they are still bent over and not yet sticking straight up. The soil in both little pots looks/feels dry, but I'm worried about overwatering at this delicate stage. All I did was a little light spritzing with a spray bottle. When should I first give these little babies a good watering? Should I wait until the first true leaves pop out? Should I just continue light misting? Thanks in advance.
you should spritz them frequently as you don't want them to dry out....the plants will grow towards the light so if the light is overhead it will stand up tall and straight. are you sprouts in jiffy pellets, rockwool, solo cups, or a grow bag/pot? the container will help with deciding the frequency you will need to water it. with a jiffy pellet you will need to water more often then with rockwool....
Thanks for the reply. They are in (keg-cup sized) peat moss cups, so I assume they need to be watered a little more frequently. I will continue some light misting. At what point will my little babies be strong enough to endure the normal cycle (as I understand it) of watering until drain out followed by waiting until soil is dry again?
Ok, things are suddenly not going so well... same setup: - 2 seedings, one true set of leaves on each. - 7th day under lights (2 and then 4 100w equiv CFLS) - No nute topsoil mixed with other soil which contains Peat Moss, Vermiculite and Limestone. - keg-cup sized peat moss starter cups I have very sparsely watered, a few mists and a few pumps into the soil a couple times a day. The soil seemed dry when I did it, even an inch or more down. Haven't watered to the point where it comes out the bottom. When I turned on two extra CFLs to the side a couple days ago, the plants developed a severe bending problem (I thereafter rotated them), but otherwise have looked very healthy. The plants were doing great until last night. When I woke this morning one had drooped quite a bit and the leaves have curled under. The other blant still had it bending, and appears to have curved a little, but not nearly so bad. Both of their color is a somewhat dark uniform green. I'm sorry, I don't have a working camera right now to provide pics. My main question, if someone would be so kind as to take a stab at it is this: If plants are suffering from underwatering, will a good watering perk them up in the next few hours? In other words, I watered the plants this morning with a good dose (still not coming out the bottom), but they didn't really improve over the day... if anything they look worse. Still curled leaves, droopy stem. I'm trying to figure out whether this could be under or overwatering. Thanks in advance!!!
Well I'm a newbie on my first grow as well, but if your leaves are curling it sounds like it might be too much heat? Do you have a thermometer so you can check how much heat is building? My plants have been sprouted for a week and a half now, and they seem to be doing very well, and I have only watered twice, and ONLY a tiny little bit. Hope this gives you some things to look at, and good luck!!
The most important thing is to keep the growing medium moist. At all times. Get a moisture meter($10) from the hydro store and check them daily. It will come back in a few hours. If there is no nutrients in your medium that could also become an issue. Cannabis plants can support themselves for about a week after sprouting in nutrient free medium. Then you should give them small amounts of nutes mixed with your H2O (every two waterings or so gradually increasing the nutrient amount). The nutrients should be richer on the Nitrogen side of the N-P-K scale, which can be found on the label. The one I have is 12-6-6 which means 12% nitrogen 6% phosphorous and 6% potassium. This type of nute is needed to support the vegetative stage of the plant. Flowering nutes are different they contain more phosphorous and potassium to help the buds flourish. But keep your medium moist at such an early stage, you want about 10% runoff when you water that ensures all the medium gets wet. The mix you have should drain fairly good so you may have to check them more often.