Alright so im germinating seeds right now, and i have fox farms ocean forest soil and i plan on mixed in with 25 % perlite and adding some dolomite lime to it. Heres a few questions i have: When my seeds are done germinating, should i flush the soil out a little before putting the seeds in the soil (i heard of FFOF burning seedlings) and if so how much water should i use to flush it. I will be starting them in a red solo cup with some holes poked in the bottom. Im growing outside so while im waiting for the seeds to sprout out of the soil would it be fine to set them outside in the shade until then? also after the sprout is it fine to set them in direct sunlight? Another question i have is once i transplant it after 2-4 weeks to the 5 gallon pot will it be fine in that soil for another 2-4 weeks without nutrients since its a fresh batch of soil? or should i add small amounts of nutrients(i will probably be using the fox farm trio)? Thanks GC community, this is my first grow, sorry about the newbie quesions.
No need to flush the soil. I haven't had any issues with OF burning seedlings. Once the seeds sprout, you should be able to put them in direct sunlight. Just make sure to keep an eye on the party cups, because the sun can dry such a small container out pretty quickly. I'd suggest starting them in 1 gallon pots if you have them, it'll hold water longer with the heat of the sun. After you transplant 2-4 weeks without nutrients should be doable. Only add nutrients when your plants get hungry. Keep an eye on lower leaves for slight yellowing, as a nitrogen deficiency seems to be the first to come up in vegging plants. At that point, I'd suggest start feeding.
if youre unsure when to start feeding, just wait until you see a deficiency (nitrogen if everything goes normal), check that its not a pH problem, and then feed lightly. overfeeding is much worse than not feeding enough - nute burn can kill a plant several times faster than it would starve. usually the recommendations on the bottle are too high, many people start with 1/4 of the recommended dose of nutrients and then slowly increase the dosage. keep in mind that overfeeding takes time to show, especially if youre using organic nutrients - on the other hand with organic ones you got a wider range thats ok. the easiest thing actually is to mix a good organic soil with various natural fertilizers, as described in the organics section of this forum, and then just water until harvest. you can still add some stuff when watering like aerated compost teas to boost the microbes, but you dont need to - they will do all the work for you either way. if you ask me, organic is the way to go with soil. its easier, growth rates are just as good, harvests are just as big and almost always tastier. if you really want all that extra hassle, go all out hydro or coco cuz then you got some actual increase in growth rate and yield. but thats much trickier and shouldnt be attempted as the first grow.
I'm new to growing too, and I'm always confused on the lower amounts building up nutes. What I'm thinking is mix up the Gallon of it, then pour that into a cup halfway, then dilute the rest of that cup. Is that the best way to do it while knowing I got the ratio correct in the gallon? Or is there a better way that growers do it? lol