Advice For 2ND Grow: Indoor to Outdoor 2023

Hey all, this is my second time around so I’m still learning and hoping for more advice and guidance as I prepare to begin my grow for 2023!

Last year wasn’t the best, had plants started and given to me, and they didn’t grow much so the goal this year is to have an awesome turn around.

Virginia 2023:

My seeds this year are Skywalker OG (x1), Strawberry Cough (x1), Golf Leaf (x1), and Celestial Blueberry (x5).

The Celestial Blueberry is from a company Hits Blunts & I don’t know much about it or the seeds if I’m being honest so I don’t have a clue how they’ll turn out.

The goal is to use (x1) of each for a total of 4 plants.

I will be starting my grow germinating the seeds in a cup of water and then moving them into a IDOO Hydroponics growing system using distilled water and the plant food provided with the system.
( https://a.co/d/hMytWLk )

After a few weeks, I’m not sure how many, I’ll carefully transplant them into a 5 gallon grow bag to move the grow outdoors.

  • I know I have to be extremely careful removing from the hydro systems baskets with the roots and understand a good method is to soak the roots in new water and gently agitate the roots so they release. From there I’ll cut the plastic ring and slip the basket off.

Once the plants are big enough, I’ll transplant them from the 5 gallon grow bag to the final grow bag of 20 gallons.

I will be using Coco Loco soil from FoxFarm and I have a river that runs through my property so I’ll fetch water from there and use that to feed the plants.

Things I’m still trying to understand are proper feedings and nutrients.

With Coco Loco I know the soil retains water pretty well so feedings aren’t as often. I also understand the soil is packed with nutrients so it’s recommended to wait at-least 4 weeks before slowly adding nutrients to prevent burns.

What I need to know about water feedings is how much exactly. I read 1/2 gallon per gallon is recommended so that’s 2.5 gallons of water for the 5 gallon bag per feed and 10 gallons of water for the 20 gallon bag per feed.

Is this amount accurate regardless the size of the plant and age? Or is it less water when the plant is smaller and transplanted to the 5 gallon?

Any additional thoughts or advice to contribute to the thread is appreciated!

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First set your lights to go on at dawn and off an hour after sunset. Then don’t set them outside until your area has 13 hours of Daylight.

As far as your nutrients and soil, I would follow the manufacturers recommendation. Get a TDS meter and it will tell you exactly what your soil has.

Last, never let a chart or some internet guru tell you how often or how much to water your plant. Learn to read the plant and the soil and let it tell you when and how much to water. If in doubt, under not over water.

Good luck!

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This is the first time I’ve ever heard of a TDS meter so thanks for that info! Got one the day after your post!

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Anyone else have any additional thoughts and/or advice!

I could also use guidance on topping!

BUMP Still looking for advice on topping! Plants will be grown outdoors & it’s legal here so no concerns on size.

I start topping my plants every 6 to 10 days depending on growth rate…
And that basically means that i top (every top) , when i top , hopefully im makes sense…
I should also say that i only grow in water and im also an indoor grower at the moment…
But when outdoors , i still basically treat them them same…
:v:t4: :sunglasses:

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@peachfuzz Kinda lol, how big do I need the plants to be before topping, and what node do I start the top at?

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I will start topping as soon as it has 4 or 5 node’s or branches and after about 7 to 10 day’s ill top all of the new tops and five to 10 days later , i repeat …
In a short period of time , it will be a bush…
Outside is the best place for this because the sun will reach every part of the plant…
Indoors , i control and direct all of those branches and tops into a double scrogg table , to maximize my lights footprint… :+1:t3:
:v:t4: :sunglasses:

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If your using the cheap black plastic net pots then don’t worry about removing the plant from it. Just bury it. Clay pebbles and all :metal::green_heart:

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So this is my current status with the seeds in a hydro and I noticed yesterday that the taproots were not penetrating the sponges.

Is my grow screwed and these will die/or are dying? Or will they be fine with more time?




Bump…help anyone?

Update: The taproots are withering and will soon be dead.

I’m going to start new seeds in a couple weeks and just do it directly outside.

So any experienced outdoor growers, please send advice my way for seed germination and immediately planting outdoors.

BUMP

So everything above is how I set out to start this grow lol but it didn’t work out very well.

The seeds I planted above germinated great then the taproots couldn’t penetrate the sponges & are currently withering and dying.

Next steps are planting white widows instead and I was going to wait a couple weeks and just do it all outdoors.

Here is where I definitely need help.

Do I germinate, get a sprouted taproot, then plant directly into a 5 gallon container with coco loco soil and lightly water it until its large enough for more water?

Or do I plant it in the soil itself and spray the top with water and let it do its thing?

Do I use a different soil or is coco loco fine?

& Do I immediately plant it outdoors in the sunlight?

I used a TPS meter on the river water and it was a 12. The PH sits around 7 so I have PH down to get it between 5.8-6.

Hope someone can help me out.

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I generally germinate first and put in a smaller pot , 1 liter , till the leaves reach the outer edges of the pot.
Usually good for 4 weeks then up pot to the 5 gal.

Never used the coco loco. Pro mix Sunshine 4 is what I use. Similar to coco as ph goes , 5.8-6.2 , but water less often.

I’d get it to about a ft tall first. Generally folks have to harden off seedlings to put them outside. Then introduce them a little at a time. Couple hours the first time. Bit longer the next , and so on.
Depending on your location etc.
I like to see double digit temps at night.
Anything above 10 c / 50 f will keep them from slowing growth too much.
I’ll also use a 5 gal water bottle as a dome till it gets comfy with outside temps. And during rain/ weather till they’re to big for them.

Hope this helps you a bit. :wink:
If you tag folks with @sign like this @GrowerB then they’ll see it and respond.

Happy gardening. :pray:

:v:

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@Oldguy

As to your last response about putting it outside. Does that mean I’ll need to grow it indoors after it first sprouts and then wait until its about a foot and move it outdoors?

Or am I able, once I get it first sprouted, plant it outside and let it grow from taproot to monster in the same environment without having to slowly introduce it to the outdoors?

Lol clearly I’m not very experienced with this stuff but after the shit show with the initial 4 in the hydro, I figured it would just be easier to go start the seed outdoors right away if thats possible.

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Generally that’s the way most outdoor folks do it.
They’re pretty tender the first few weeks.

These are from seed. Just at 14 days from germ. And they’ll be going outside around the 1 st of June. Weather depending.
I start in paper towel too btw. I like to see 1/4 - 1/2 in tail before I plant.

The big thing is to avoid any stressors when an auto is young. They can stunt them and give reduced yields.
With autos there’s no real recovery time if something does happen. They’re on the clock so to speak.

Depending on your location if the weather is good and warm enough then you could put them out but it’s risky when they’re that small.
Think deer , cats digging , rodents after the tender shoots etc. Just some of the obstacles we face in the great outdoors. :grin:

:v:

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@Oldguy

Ahh okay! I don’t have a real indoor setup besides that little hyrdo thing to grow indoors!

I live in a literal forest so no neighborhood cats but I do get deer, however; they tend to stay away from my stuff. They avoid my property during the day cause of my dogs and at night my plants get locked up in my garden which they can’t jump over!

I figured I would wait a couple weeks here so the coldest temp at night doesn’t get below 55 and during the day it’ll be 70-80s.

I was just going to germ, get the taproot going, plant in a small soil container like you suggested and move it around the yard to track the sunlight throughout the day and then lock it up at night.

If I have to make arrangements to do something else for the first few weeks, I’ll do my best but if what I’d like to try is feasible that’d be great.

Like I said I’m new to this haha and by no means am I a green thumb outside of this.

Also, the plants I have are photo fems!

And on a side note, how do I clip out certain responses from your post like you do to mine! Seems handy to know!

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[quote=“GrowerB, post:17, topic:98890”]
was just going to germ, get the taproot going, plant in a small soil container like you suggested and move it around the yard to track the sunlight throughout the day and then lock it up at night.
[

You can do that.
But they don’t need much light for the first couple weeks.
I used to use a 4 ft t12 4 tube shop lite for my starts but you can use a few small white led bulbs or your current one if the containers will fit under it ok and still leave some clearance above.

Touch and hold the screen where you want to quote. You’ll see 2 lines show.
Drag them to enclose the part you want to quote.


The highlighted area will be transferred.
Tap the quote button and it’s in your response. :+1::grin:

:v:

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Okay awesome!

I might try two approaches, plant two and directly move them outdoors and then empty the hydro, take the lid off and put two pots in there if they fit and use the light and then move them outside after. My only concern with the latter though is them not being used to the outdoors and potentially burning them lol. So idk, may just stick to the first idea!

With the first though, about how many hours of sunlight should I shoot for while they’re growing for the first 4 weeks?

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Bare in mind I wait till mine are bigger going out but I’ll start with 24 hrs light for the first couple weeks to get the roots established.
Then start backing down exposure time to match your local daylight hours.

Photos take about 4-8 weeks to become sexually mature enough to flower depending on strain so you should be ok to do the direct outside when big enough.
Mid to upper 70’s is a good temp range for them when they’re starting off.

That’s where the slower intro to full sun comes in. Just start at a few hrs and increase their exposure as they get accustomed to it.

:v:

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