Will be growing ilgm white widow autos indoors in 5 gallon fabric pots. Will be using happy frog soil with worm castings and perlite.will also be using earth dust
Can i start them directly in soil or start in peat pellet or a solo cup
You can do either. The solo cups make it easier for watering in the early stages. As long as you water away from the seedling, the final pot is fine. Maybe even ideal since some autos can be little bishes when they get transplanted.
Like said, either way, but I prefer using the solo cup.
I went directly into 3 gallon pots with my auto seeds, but the 5 gallon is a nice size to pot-up from a solo. Make sure you have good roots growing to keep the plug intact, then cut the cup away so you’re not yanking the plug out of the cup.
Read a couple posts that said the soil could be too hot for seedlings.
The bag of Happy Frog went acidic very early in the grow. Switched to Coast of Maine, Stonington blend. So far I am very happy with it. Stonington is designed for growing MJ.
Super easy technique is to split the sides of one solo cup and place it inside another.
Cut drain holes in the bottom of both. Arrows point to cuts.
It looks like this…
When time to transplant just make a well with the outer cup…
Plop the plant in the perfectly shaped hole…
All done. Plant will not show any shock 99% of the time.
This was Coco Coir, but it works with soil as well. Best in soil if you have watered the day before so the soil is not too loose.
I do straight to soil method, but with cups. I pop a plastic dome on top, sit it on my warming pad, and I get a sprout in 3-4 days. But with autos, I think you should plant directly into the final pot, and put a plastic-like dome on top of the soil where you planted at. Poke holes in the dome, keep dome moist on the inside. Water around the seedling lightly and be patient.
I like happy frog… I’ve heard of the soil being too hot (fox farms soils in general) but I’ve always used happy frog soil with my seedlings. But I don’t use nutes for a few weeks, or I use things that are beneficial (like recharge or silica).
But take your time. Humidity and warmth in my opinion are great germination tools. Don’t overwater… if you feel like you did, dry out your soil and stick a knuckle in the soil to feel the moisture before proceeding to water. Less is more! Even with nutes… you should wait a few weeks before doing a weak dosage. Watch out for your ph…
Look at videos and tutorials online. Keep asking questions and make sure you keep a journal or schedule of what you are doing. Take photos as well.