I live in Southern MN as well…my rookie attempt at harvesting my own buds!
…growing on a deck, plants are outdoor full time. June 1
I put some germinated auto seeds and 2 photos directly into 5 gal final grow bags(fox farm MIX of OF/HF) wrapped a large black plastic trash bag over the top of each and they sprouted in 3 days. I killed 3 by overwatering but 3 are still going.!..the fine folks on ILGM forum suggested lots of morning sunlight, and it has helped…the plants seem small but 4 or 5 50 degree nights are not optimal…but its warming up again today!!!
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It really is crazy how much better all plants respond to rain water as opposed to non-rain water!!
“Pistilgrip”, gotta give you credit for the wit. How has your grow gone? If you’ve kept half of your seedlings afloat, you got me beat. I, uh, had no less than 11 seedlings die on me; I’m guessing from overwatering, nute burn, or both while under my cheapo seedling light. I have two plants alive, will post photos, shortly. They seem to be doing quite well to me, about 2 feet tall. I’m sure they could use more sun than they’re getting, but they get a decent amount where I have them, while being concealed. I didn’t know cannabis seedlings were this sensitive, wow. I’ve been pretty fastidious about care, still quite the learning curve ahead of me though, apparently. 
Now I gotta figure out when these things will be “harvestable”, curing, etc. Keeps me busy, I guess!
@DiscreetPete @Norsk
Well i had 2 survive, one auto and one photo…been using jacks 321 and recharge, way more work than i thought, if i had more plants this i would be totally overwhelmed
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@DiscreetPete Cool to see your first grow…Yeah I use the Ferry Morse for seedlings and they seem to be just fine…I’m outdoor Autos too except for 1 photo every year… While 50 F is not Ideal…The Ruderalis in the autos will keep it alive,Now watch out for frost though…But I grew one in the dead of winter with temps down ti 32F and it didn’t die…I didn’t plant it it was an accidental sprouting…see: https://ilgmforum.com/t/love-it-or-leave-it/97032?u=al_green
Keep us posted on your progress…Ill follow!!
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Has the recent heat affected your plants? Mine were doing great (like yours, nice work!), but within the last 2 weeks or so my White Widow has developed some brown leaves and some small holes in some of the green leaves. The Durban Poison is still doing well, though.
Later . . . I just checked them out, then dumped some very heavily-diluted Dyna Grow nutrients on them. They seem to be doing a bit better. While separating causative variables with these things is tough, I’m guessing it was the recent extreme heat and humidity that was causing the problems. Anyway, thanks! It’s good to be able to bounce stuff off other amateurs as I try to figure out what I’m doing with this sh!t, lol.
I think I must’ve overwatered my seedlings, causing almost all of them to croak? Any suggestions? What’s the advantage to the photoperiod plant? (I suppose I could just google it, lol.) To get down to 32 F and have a cannabis plant survive is surprising. I’ll post some photos of my plants at 2.5 months, shortly. The above (impressive) photos belong to Pistilgrip! Mine are in a similar stage of growth. I have no clue what I’m doing, so it’s reassuring to know others are getting similar results, lol. Now I gotta figure out proper harvest time, curing, etc. Sounds like I can use my “fancy” smartphone camera to appraise trichrome pistil maturity?
Everyone started at the beginning…No one came out of the womb knowing how to grow weed… 
…Sometimes especially with weed …Less is more…"Plant hovering or helicopter nurturing is what sometimes leads new growers down the path of failure or dissatisfaction. I learned most of my growing (not weed) as a little kid growing tomatoes and flowers and whatever…Over watering is probably the most common mistake growers of any plant do…After a while through trial and error you’ll get the hang of it by sight… Just keep pluggin away…Seedling need very little water/nutes until they get bigger…
The advantages to a Photoperiod (some) are a bigger plant…some say better taste,smell and higher THC…There`s differences of opinion as with everything… If you think you are truly over watering…(post pics here) then leave them be for a while…they may snap back.
This question if for AL_GREEN, or anyone else willing to respond, lol. How much should I be watering these things in 5 gallon bags? I’ve just been watering them a small amount, maybe a quart each plant, at most, on a daily basis. I just did some reading, and it sounds like I should perhaps be watering them significantly more, but only 2-3 times a week? I’ve just been basically keeping the topsoil wet, just realized “Uh, the roots go deeper than that” I’m using Miracle Grow Organic (not normal!) soil and Dyna-Grow nutrients. Hopefully these links work:
Thanks for any help! Pete
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Well it depends on how hot it is… Also what medium are you using…straight soil…Coco a mix? Many people (including myself) use the “lift your pot up” method…some use the knuckle test…The pot pick-up is merely knowing the weight of your pot before you watered it…like when you first put the soil into it…When its really light and easy to lift…Thats when you need water/nutes…If it feels heavy it probably doesn’t need any… The “knuckle test” is sticking your finger to the first knuckle…if it s dry you need water.
To me a qt. each day per 5 g is too often…but not being there its hard to say… If they look water logged back off. Try to post some pics…that would be a better way for members to see…
Yep, I’ve read a bit about the “lift” and 1.5 inch (knuckle) test. Seems like the latter would only check moisture at the top of the container (obviously), but maybe that’s a good indicator of overall moisture if you’re only watering once a week with a larger amount of water (1-2 gallons, per plant). I’m going to see if I can get a decent photo, right now. I’m now working overnights, so I tend to be awake when it’s dark outside. Hold on a second . . .
@DiscreetPete @AL_GREEN
My plants weren’t affected too much during our heat wave…they only see 8 hours of direct sun on my deck. I feel like i stunted my auto, others including yours “discreetPete” seem a lot bigger…but it is producing some nice looking buds!
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Yeah, mine don’t get that much sun, either, in their “hiding spot” . . . As you can see, there’s a decent amount of yellowing, drooping, and some holes in the leaves. Given what I’ve read the last couple days, I think I’ve been underwatering, but watering too often. I gave them each a gallon a few days ago, just did the same again, today. I’ll leave them alone for five days or so and see how they look. Good think I have time for a hobby, because growing this stuff isn’t as easy as stuffing an evergreen in your yard and throwing a bunch of water on it, lol.
Your plants look very good to me. When did you germinate the seeds? I’ll be at 3 months on 08/13, maybe yours are a bit younger? Either way, they look healthy!
“Big Update”, lol: Pretty sure they were underwatered. I’ve dumped a bunch of water on them the past week (1 gallon per plant, 4 times), they appear to be recovering. I’m obviously not trying to drown them, either, so I’m just keeping an eye on them, watering, accordingly. Hopefully I’ll make it to the point at which I have to try to figure out when to harvest, and how to cure, lol.
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Thanks, mine both sprouted on june 4…what size pots do you have? I have 5 gallon and ive been giving them at least 2 gallons of water/feed each…I’ve read to drown and drought them…it seems to be working!! And yeah i have no clue about harvesting, and scared of bugs ruining everything
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