1st grow. BUNCH of questions

I will be attempting my first outdoor outdoor grow this year. I have alot of questions even though i have read all the stickies. Im sick of dealing with sleazy drug dealers and wanna have enough bud to last me a long while so I have to have a good yield and the dankest nugs. Im located in northern Indiana.

1) Once i plant my germinated seeds in a red cup, how long should I leave them in there before transferring to the ground ? and will i be abel to tell if there male or female before i move them ?

2) Im planning on planting 50 seeds ( so ill have 25 female ) is this to much for a first timer ? ( im doing 25 no matter what just want your opinion )

3) if i have 25 plants how man should I plant together ? I know not to plant em all in one spot.

4) how bad do plants smell when flowering ? could you smell them from 100 yards away ?

5) if i plant late april and harvest sept-oct how much yield should i expect per plant ?

6) im planning on digging a big hole for each plant and filling it with store bought soil and planting them in that. good or bad idea ?

7) if i do the above plan how big should each hole be ?

8 ) whats a good cheap soil than can be found at menardes/lows/home depot ?

9) does liquid fence work well ?

10 ) theres a creek with about 2-3 inches of moving water in it by my spot. it has more water in it usually. will this water be okay to feed my plants with ?

11) how much water does each plant need ? a gallon ? half gallon ?

12) how far apart from eachother should i plant my babies ?

hey there its my first time growing too, and ive been doing a lot of research, ill try to help you with some of the info ive gathered
1. when the sprouts get around 3 or 4 inches tall their root structure should have a hold on the soil thats in the cup and you can pretty much hold your hand on the top of the cup and dump it out.. the roots will hold the soil. you will not be able to tell weather they are male or female till later in the season

2. you can never be sure that all of your seeds will take. if youre looking for around 25 females and you dont have feminized seeds, you should plant probably more than 50

3. plant as many as youre comfortable planting togeather,

4. im not too sure about that one sorry

5. late august is too late to plant, by then most plants are entering the flouring process and yours will not spend long enough in the veg stage, instead try to plant around 420, its a great day for it

6. thats a great idea, soil is one of the most important components to growing dank weed

7. to my understanding 2x2x2 will do you well, if youre in an area worried about drainage, go down a few more inches and fill with some rocks to help drainage

try to find fox farm ocean forest at a local nursery, its worth it, but if you cant try to just find some nice rich ORGANIC soil

9. not really able to say about that eathier

10. any water from a running stream is really okay, the local plants are living on it right! and if it is noticably discusting water then maybe avoid it haha

11. to my understanding a 5 foot plant needs a gallon of water every 2 days

Good Luck!!!
smoke one

appreciate the reply nummies !

id like to hear more peoples answers especially those seasoned outdoor herb growers

on of my first attempts at growing was done outside without great success... maybe bc im a home body type person so i prefer just having my plants in the next room... but ill see if i can help with a few of these anyway...

1) imo id wait 2 weeks max in a solo cup so they develop a decent root system... if you flower from seed ive heard of ppl seeing sex in as early as 2 weeks, but if you are starting them outside in solo cups you cant control the light so it might be a while before you see flowers depending on the strain...
2)50 plants is a lot for someone starting so good luck... hopefully you will get 25 females as you can not predict the exact percentage you will get out of 50 (i put down 12 reg plants and i got 4 females, a herm, and 7 males)...
3)that i cant help you with lol...
4)from my experience they stink... and just from ppl always buying carbon filters and what not id assume theirs stunk as well... yea they stink pretty good lol... and in a downwind i wouldnt be surprised if you could smell it at a mile or more (especially 25 lol)
5)lat august to late october is only about 2 months... i grow mine indoors for at least 3 months sometimes longer... per plant yield probably wouldnt be that great depending on the strain, but your total yield should be fine if its for personal and you have 25 fems)
6)good idea... also make sure there are not large roots or trees near as they will take nutrients and water from your plants...
7)based on your time frame 5 gallon holes should be fine, but if you decide to plant earlier for larger plants and yield id think about 7-10 gallons...
8 ) never really liked soil...sorry cant help
9)i can say that another reason i hated growing outside were the insects and animals... nothing worked for me... NOTHING lol... might just be the area i live in though
10)i dont see local stream water being a problem... being the person that i am though id probably still ph it
11)i water my plants when they look hungry... thats kind of a you judge it thing... youll know...
12)i dont think i would plant them to close... maybe 4-6 feet apart...

yeaaa im done... if you get 25 fems going outdoors get a journal going... would def be trying to see that...

12) 3 feet at minimum

thanks to all so far keep the replies coming.

and it was a typo im planting in april not august so if that changes anything let me know.

Honestly I think you have a lot more reading and research to do before you attempt anywhere near that many plants lol

think im gana start with planting 30 plants and see how that goes. Ill just take some clones if i think i can handle more.

ok after doing some more research and reading your replies I have answears to all my questions

1) Once i plant my germinated seeds in a red cup, how long should I leave them in there before transferring to the ground ? and will i be abel to tell if there male or female before i move them ? ( 2 weeks in cups and cant tell sex yet )

2) Im planning on planting 50 seeds ( so ill have 25 female ) is this to much for a first timer ? ( im doing 25 no matter what just want your opinion ) ( ill probably end up doin around 10 plants because soil is expensive )

3) if i have 25 plants how man should I plant together ? I know not to plant em all in one spot.( 5 max )

4) how bad do plants smell when flowering ? could you smell them from 100 yards away ? ( probably not but maybe )

5) if i plant late april and harvest sept-oct how much yield should i expect per plant ? ( 2oz - 2 lbs )

6) im planning on digging a big hole for each plant and filling it with store bought soil and planting them in that. good or bad idea ? ( good)

7) if i do the above plan how big should each hole be ? ( 2x2x2 )

8 ) whats a good cheap soil than can be found at menardes/lows/home depot ? ( HELP ON THIS ONE ! )

9) does liquid fence work well ? ( no not rely )

10 ) theres a creek with about 2-3 inches of moving water in it by my spot. it has more water in it usually. will this water be okay to feed my plants with ? ( good )

11) how much water does each plant need ? a gallon ? half gallon ? ( about a gallon/plant in full veg )

12) how far apart from eachother should i plant my babies ? ( 5 feet min )







ok not that i have those answered i have another question. Heres the SOIL and FERTS im planing on using. Do they look ok ?

and is my math right ? dig a 2x2x2 hole = 8cu ft = 60 gallons. so ill need 4x bags of soil per plant right ? which is 21$ per plant ( 7$ soil )

300+ views and 3 helpfull replies ?

1: if youre using a 16oz cup generaly takes a week to get a few inches tall and have a strong enough roots system to hold the soil together. youll have to wait a bit to tell the sex, i recomend using jiffy pots for germination as they make it a breeze to transplant and basicly get zero stress.
2: if its bag seed i recomend a lot more, if they are fem do a few more in case a few dont make it.
3: depends on the area you are planting them and the room that you have and strain of the plant.
4: again depends on the strain, some are smellier than others. i have smelled plants from well over 100yrds away.
5: yield depends on strain and how happy you make your girls, in ground you can easily get 1 lb or more off of one girl. i recomend getting a 30x magnifying loop to check trichs and not rely on a time frame.
6: a good idea as it will give them plenty of nutrients that your current soil may not have.
7: really depends on the soil conditions of your area. 2ft sq or larger if you have really hard clay.
8: i dont buy my soil from these places due to the nasty bugs that come with them. you would be better off going to a hydro store or ordering online.
9: have never used it
10: check the plants surrounding the creek, if they are all healthy and look good, go for it.
11: as they get bigger they will need more water to keep going, watch your girls, youll learn to see when they look hungry.
12: around 5ft or more if its a large growing strain, if we knew what strain youre working with would give a better idea as spacing needed

I know I'll probably get in trouble for this but good ole miracle gro will work just fine. Mix in a coupla cups of lime and some bone meal even better. Fancy mixes are fine for those who can get it but MG will work pretty good in a pinch, especially the kind with the moisture control.

I have a question for you. Have you grown any to maturity indoors? If not, you might want to try it. You can learn a lot about what the plant needs by growing it wheserve it close up on a daily basis. Even if you can only afford to do a small cfl grow, it is a real learning experience. I am not saying that you shouldn't do the outdoor, but growing a couple of plants indoors at the same time can be an eye opener. I have been growing outdoors for years and I have had many failures and a few successes but nothing extraordinary yet. I do good to keep myself supplied with the meds that my husband and I need, and I am probably a little too generous with my friends. I have lost whole crops to thieves, cops, bugs, drought, and bad judgement. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Remember that one good healthy plant can supply more than a field of failure. Also, I don't know what the laws are in your state, but don't get yourself in trouble that you can't get out of, or that cost you much more than you can ever afford to pay. I love the plant and I love growing it, but there are dues to be paid. I am still paying them.

thanks cindysid

indoor is not an option as I still live with the folks

and if a more expensive soil will give me a better yield and flamer nugs I would rather spend a few extra bucks.

dude idk where u r but u can get a 50lb bag of happy frog soil for $15 bucks. its the best bang for ur buck..idk how big those bags were ur looking at but i bet a menards they donit have soil ment for cannabis.GOOD LUCK

i plant them in a red cup. on a 12 12 light cycle. in two weeks i start watching for males. at 3 weeks you should just about have them all. and they should be ready to go right out. as soon as you see a hair. o and i always put them in a window or under hps light for a few days first the sun cooks them. if you dont.

Miracle grow will solve your problems cheap n simple

remember when using ANY home depot/walmart/etc soil ALWAYS decrease feeding schedule by 50%

Any soil that says premium organic potting soil...dont get the cheapest thing they have though..I can't really tell you, because I use Roots Organic soil, or Fox Farms Ocean Forest...I have just started trying roots for the first time..so Far all I can say is that it has way more perlite than the Fox Farms, but I always added it...so no need for perlite...I tried Fox Farms many grows ago when I got fed up with failing at hydro...lol.