say fella i need help with my baby plant
- Thread starter ronezz
- Start date
northerntights
Well-Known Member
You shouldn't water every day, thats almost always too much, especially for young plants. Also, don't underestimate how quickly marijuana seedlings root system expands. In less then a week I always have my seedlings in their final pots.
Also, using rapid-rooters to start the seeds will help develop a healthy, fibrous root system quickly. I find it makes for a MUCH stronger, more resilient seedling.
Make sure your soil drains well enough, almost all commercial potting soils need some sand and perlite added to it in order to make it MJ friendly but you can help your current grow by adding gravel to the bottom of the pot, just enough to cover the drain holes. Your soil should get somewhat dry between waterings. If you are using large pots, a simple moisture meter from a gardening store is a great and inexpensive tool, makes it much easier.
A simple soil recipe is as follows for your next grow:
Pro-Mix or similar NON-fertilized potting soil. NEVER PRE-FERTILIZED!
10% by volume Washed builders Sand (home depot)
10% by volume horticultural Perlite
Fox Farm, "Piece of Mind" Starter Fertilizer ( Plant Starter Fertilizers from Home Harvest Garden Supply ) 2Tsp Per Gallon of soil.
The fox farm starter fertilizer is amazing stuff! Puts lots of microbes into the soil and fertilizes for the first month or so in a way that won't burn your seedlings (unlike most chemical ferts). Plus it's cost effective. I like to buy it from HomeHarvest.com, it's a good reliable small company that doesn't sell it's customer information and has great support.
Remember to add gravel to the bottom, even with a good soil mix it really helps... plus that way you don't have soil pouring out every time you water.
I had 8" seedlings with tones of branches in 7 days with this mix! Hope this helps!
Also, using rapid-rooters to start the seeds will help develop a healthy, fibrous root system quickly. I find it makes for a MUCH stronger, more resilient seedling.
Make sure your soil drains well enough, almost all commercial potting soils need some sand and perlite added to it in order to make it MJ friendly but you can help your current grow by adding gravel to the bottom of the pot, just enough to cover the drain holes. Your soil should get somewhat dry between waterings. If you are using large pots, a simple moisture meter from a gardening store is a great and inexpensive tool, makes it much easier.
A simple soil recipe is as follows for your next grow:
Pro-Mix or similar NON-fertilized potting soil. NEVER PRE-FERTILIZED!
10% by volume Washed builders Sand (home depot)
10% by volume horticultural Perlite
Fox Farm, "Piece of Mind" Starter Fertilizer ( Plant Starter Fertilizers from Home Harvest Garden Supply ) 2Tsp Per Gallon of soil.
The fox farm starter fertilizer is amazing stuff! Puts lots of microbes into the soil and fertilizes for the first month or so in a way that won't burn your seedlings (unlike most chemical ferts). Plus it's cost effective. I like to buy it from HomeHarvest.com, it's a good reliable small company that doesn't sell it's customer information and has great support.
Remember to add gravel to the bottom, even with a good soil mix it really helps... plus that way you don't have soil pouring out every time you water.
I had 8" seedlings with tones of branches in 7 days with this mix! Hope this helps!
green_nobody
Well-Known Member
well, it is right that freshly spruced plants won't use up to much water so don't need to be watered daily and it is also right that the root system expands fast. but to start in the final pot is always a bad idea due to water pockets which can build up then even easier then with small pots.
there is nothing wrong with treating the seed with a root/cloning hormone but if the spruce is grown in soil fertilizer shouldn't be introduced for the first 3-4 weeks depending on soil volume and plant grows.
that idea with the gravel isn't a bad one by the way, i use expanded clay for that job with larger pots. but gravel won't soak up that much water
northerntights
Well-Known Member
Your right, water pockets can develop in the soil but I prefer to have the roots grow completely unencumbered, I get better growth that way. The rapid rooters help the roots spread outward more quickly and not just form a single tap root. As a result the roots are more uniformly spaced within the soil. The added sand to the soil helps prevent pockets of water, but if you worried you can always make it 20% sand, works pretty well but you need to water more often.
Your also right about the soil, under most circumstances its best not to add fertilizer till they are several weeks old. However, the nice thing about the Fox Farm Starter fert is that it isn't not very powerful and releases slowly in a manner where the plant uses only what it needs. Hence the lack of burning and lightening fast growth. Also, the organics in it take time to break down, a week or so AT LEAST before any is available to the plant.
Your also right about the soil, under most circumstances its best not to add fertilizer till they are several weeks old. However, the nice thing about the Fox Farm Starter fert is that it isn't not very powerful and releases slowly in a manner where the plant uses only what it needs. Hence the lack of burning and lightening fast growth. Also, the organics in it take time to break down, a week or so AT LEAST before any is available to the plant.
green_nobody
Well-Known Member
i used to mix in sand back in the days where no perlite was on the market nor was it heard off back then and even 25+% sand and pebbles on the bottom of the 3-5gal container could always prevent root rot due to water pockets. that is way i went away on bucket/soil grow for a long time till i returned now with perlite on my hands
and in addition i would say it never harmed to move gradually up in size/volume over the time of a complete grow. if this would harm roots no-one would be doing it and in the first week a spruce is nursed by it reserves and seed shell and can't use nutes around it do to the lack of side-roots which can't develop in a over-nuted medium. you can even grow seeds in rockwool for a week only on demi water, done that to bagseeds just to experiment with it.
and in addition i would say it never harmed to move gradually up in size/volume over the time of a complete grow. if this would harm roots no-one would be doing it and in the first week a spruce is nursed by it reserves and seed shell and can't use nutes around it do to the lack of side-roots which can't develop in a over-nuted medium. you can even grow seeds in rockwool for a week only on demi water, done that to bagseeds just to experiment with it.
northerntights
Well-Known Member
different people have different results, I got lightning fast growth from my methods...
green_nobody
Well-Known Member
well if it works with you, stick to it for sure
but don't forget, there are some people new to this out there which may not handle you methods as well as you do which is why i would advocated on standard methods first since they proved to be reliable even with unseasoned growers. okay
northerntights
Well-Known Member
I see your point
jackinthebox
Well-Known Member
Wow I love the mutual respect you guys just showed each other : )
No " Im right your wrong "
+ rep, for not turning this thread into an argument, instead you guys just respected each others way of growing. : )
Goodluck on ur grow ronezz, I woudl suggest reading FAQS: )
No " Im right your wrong "
+ rep, for not turning this thread into an argument, instead you guys just respected each others way of growing. : )
Goodluck on ur grow ronezz, I woudl suggest reading FAQS: )
jackinthebox
Well-Known Member
errr, green I already gave you some rep recently so I cant give you more for this one, even though I wish I could : (
Respect : )
Respect : )