Seedling transplanting questions

Im about to germinate my seeds and bought some small seedling pots made of 100% cow manure. They are 2x2x3 in tall. I will put them in seedling starting soil very loose density. Im thinking the cow pot will provide neuts when it disintergrates. My questions are

• will the cow manure pot be to hot for starting seedlings even though they will be growing in seedling starting soil.
• I want to just plant the cow pot and sprouted seedling into a larger pot without removing the plant from the cow pot. This is what they recommend. Im thinking it will minimize shock to the plant. Will the cow pot restrict the roots too much or will it just breakdown in the new soil or am I better to go the dixe cup route and remove it before planting

If the cow manure is decomposed and composted, I would think you are ok?

new seedlings don't really need any nutes.....

Well sure they do, we just don't think of them as 'nutes' because they either exist naturally in the environment\media or result from the biological processes of other organisms living in the media\environment (particularly with soil, inoculated media). Still, if this can't keep up with nutrient needs growth will slow, there may not be any apparent deficiency.

shit-can the cow pots, imo. use 4" pots with seedling mix. drop seeds in a glass of rainwater, and after they have sunk/sank/stank whatever, plant 3/4" in seedling mix. cannabis has a lot of horizontal, shallow root structure, and I think those peat or cow pots jam that structure up early on.

Thanks for all the replies. I was more interested in avoiding the plant shock when i need to disturb the seedling when it came time to transplant to a larger pot. Is there any down side to just starting the seedling in say a 2 or 3 gal pot to eliminate the need to transplant?

Stealthking said:

Thanks for all the replies. I was more interested in avoiding the plant shock when i need to disturb the seedling when it came time to transplant to a larger pot. Is there any down side to just starting the seedling in say a 2 or 3 gal pot to eliminate the need to transplant?

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I do both, if I have the space in my veg cabinet due to timing I go straight from party cups into 3 or 5gal (they look pretty funny at first in 5gal). If I don't have the space in there, I transplant into 1Gal, then into their final container. That's how decide whether to go straight into the final container or not. The plants don't care and imo they prefer the extra space and take off faster.

As far as the soil being hot. I buffer them from too hot a soil mix or nutes for the first 2 weeks by layering the cups, you could do that if you go straight into a large pot, just give them 3" or so of something like PRO-Mix which is essentially peat moss directly under the seedling/clone. That way you have a lesser chance of burning the seedlings until they've established some decent roots and can handle the hotter soil when the roots reach it.

Nullis said:

Well sure they do, we just don't think of them as 'nutes' because they either exist naturally in the environment\media or result from the biological processes of other organisms living in the media\environment (particularly with soil, inoculated media). Still, if this can't keep up with nutrient needs growth will slow, there may not be any apparent deficiency.

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added nutes...

Let me put it this way; the less naturally occurring/sequestrable and available nutrients in the medium, the sooner you would have to add something. If you were starting your seeds in rockwool or even straight coco coir, you'll need to provide something very soon after germination (not much but something).

Most potting mixes\soils have humus and thus some amount of available nutes and microbes.

cotyledon -
Seed leaf within the embryo of a seed that provides energy and nutrients for the developing seedling. After the first true leaves have formed, they wither and fall off. Flowering plants whose embryos have a single cotyledon are grouped as monocots, or monocotyledonous plants; embryos with two cotyledons are grouped as dicots, or dicotyledonous plants

i let the plant do what it's made to do, early on. after around day eleven, i start 1/4 strength nutes (250 ppm) and the transition is seamless. but others use different methods...

Stealthking said:

Thanks for all the replies. I was more interested in avoiding the plant shock when i need to disturb the seedling when it came time to transplant to a larger pot. Is there any down side to just starting the seedling in say a 2 or 3 gal pot to eliminate the need to transplant?

Click to expand...

It's almost always best to start in the pot you plan on finishing in ,avoiding all transplant shock , most people transplant to save on space and light , so they can start earlier inside , just if you do this make sure to plant the seed in a small area of seed starter in the larger pot full of regular soil/potting soil

transplanting will undoubtedly cause some discomfort for a plant. but it's not so much that you shouldn't consider it. i think putting a little seedling, in say a 5 gal. container, is a mistake. i learned to grow by following B.O.G.'s methods. he transplants a good 3x a plant. if an accomplished breeder thinks it's o.k., who am i to argue, lol. i never (usually) see any droop, or ill effects...

Again thanks for all the info. Is there any downside to starting in their final pots such as to much root growth because of the added space retarding the plant veg growth? Newbie questions for my first grow. I will have the space. Also what is the effect on the plant if I use 3 gal vs 5 gal pots. Just seems like 3 gal would be easier to manage, water etc. or will I get more yeild from a 5. I plan on growing them to around 4 ft.

starting a small plant, in a large container, isn't a bad thing necessarily. it's just (imo) easier to start small and work your way up. having to water a huge amount of medium for a small plant, just don't make sense. it would take a very long time for a seedling to drink all the water in a huge container. it's pretty important to let the medium/soil dry up between waterings. the more dirt in your pot, the more pot you should yield. rule of thumb, one gallon of medium per foot of vertical growth.