Hey guys I’m a new grower. I’m growing two GDP fems and I have a ton of questions so please bare with me. It’s lates so I’ll have to continually add to this post over time if that’s ok. My seeds finally sprouted like three days ago and I have been struggling trying to figure out how often I should water them and how I should do it and what water I should give them. I’m currently giving them bottled spring water which I tested today and the ph was like 7.8 if I remember correctly. Also I should mention that I have them in fox farm ocean forest in jiffy seed starting pots so I don’t have to worry about transplanting them and messing there roots up as I don’t trust myself right now with that lol. I’m open to all the suggestions I can get on water and practically anything for this grow to be successful. Sorry if that was a jumbled mess. Also I should mention this is a inside grow. Here’s the pics of the little guys. One of them looks kinda sad
First it would be best to go ahead and ph water down to 6.5 Next if possible try to get your RH in tent up higher, around 60% and higher. Seedlings that small will absorb moisture from surrounding air so it helps to get it higher. Looking at pics it doesn’t appear that you are over watering. When seedlings are at this stage I will use a spray bottle to spray water around base of stem. Turn nozzle down to where it sprays in a stream and go around base of stem lightly. Once seedlings develops a full set of leaves you can start using a small watering can and increase water around base. Don’t soak soil until you get 3 or more sets of leaves. Same with transplant, hold up on transplanting until leaves are fully developed and are starting to reach sides of pot.
I wanted to somewhat revise my original advice. I said water around base of stem, actually apply water in a circle around seedling a inch or 2 away from base. Essentially all you have at this point is a taproot, what you want is for roots to develop by growing in search of moisture. So you don’t want to water directly at base.
I have never used those pots before but I have read on this forum it can be tough for the roots to break through them. Some slice the sides when they transplant so the roots can expand.
If you don’t have a humidifier in the tent you can always hang a wet towel or two to raise humidity. I live in what is termed a high plains desert and it is a battle to get humidity above 50%.
There are a lot of great growers here that will help you. We all started with our first grow!
Gotcha I’ll definitely try this. Do you think I can still attempt to transplant them out of the pots they are in? I have some five gallon fabric pots I can put them in. Also at what stage do I transplant? Also do any of you have any recommendations on water? Is there a brand I can get from the store that has the PH and ppm levels I’m looking for or am I better of using something else and adjusting the levels myself?
Thank you all again for being so kind and helpful <3 really hope this grow goes well!
For sure bring that PH down on the water like @Bulldognuts said. If you are having issues with getting the humidity up, maybe consider adding a dome over top of them until they get some leaves going. I use a clear ordinary plastic cup from walmart and poke a hole in the top for air circulation. Works great.
For water, I use regular tap water that has been placed in a 5 gallon bucket with an aquarium pump and airstone in the water. This will help vent off some of the contaminates in the water. Been doing this for a while now with no issues. Of course if you can get RO water or something better, than go that route.
Really depends on the medium you’re growing in. Alot of soils have nutes in them. But ya distilled and RO water will need to be PH-ed after adding nutes.
Depends on the nutrient line you’re using. Most of the big names lay out a schedule for you to follow so it varies. I used canna before Jack’s and it was like 1000 ppm in. I rarely check ppm anymore as coco is fed daily and doesn’t hold nutrients like soil does.
Distilled water is available for around $1/gallon at Wally World. R/O system makes it all much easier.
A decent PH meter along with a cheap TDS meter are almost mandatory.
Peat pots have always given me trouble and would suggest cutting it away when time to transplant.
You do not. If growing in a medium like FFOF you can just run straight R/O until soil is depleted. At which point you WILL have to supplement. I’d suggest doing research on Jack’s 3-2-1.
I edited your first post for profanity. Please refrain from being too colorful as there are all walks of life here. We try to keep it “G”.
I wouldn’t transplant yet. You need to let the roots get established, before transplant. Here’s a example of how large I let my plants get before I transplant. The containers I use may be a little bigger, but you should wait.
Sorry for asking so many questions but what do you mean when soil is depleted? Also I do have these. I would like to sincerely apologize also for the profanity! I really hope I didn’t rub anyone the wrong way. It’s honestly a bad habit but I will keep it in mind for the future.
Also I’m reading so much information. Some people say I should at some nutrients to the water other people are saying leave it alone is there some kind of weed chart I can follow. Am I overthinking this lol is it normal to be this stressed out about killing these little guys?
Ocean Forest has nutrients built into the mix. You won’t have to start your bottled nutes till around week 4-6.
It’s weed friendly unlike Miracle Grow and that crap.
The Ph pen and TDS meters are used so you know what you’re putting in and what she’s giving you back.
Along with visual clues from the plants themselves this is the best way to determine what’s going on and where problems may be if they come up later.
If you go to Fox Farms website they have feeding charts for growing weed broken down by week and dosage. It’s their guide to using their products effectively.
It can be a little to powerful for some plants and many people will cut the recommendations in half or even a quarter.
Leave them to go now in the peat pots, but definitely remove from those when you transplant.
You didn’t know man - not your fault! LOL!
Not a problem: that’s what they pay us the big bucks for haha.
The type of cannabis-friendly soils we have available to us use sources of nutrients that will be used up over time. Unlike products like Miracle Gro which adds synthetic nutes that are harsh and long-lasting. This means you will have to supplement your medium at some point in the grow. This is just a fact of container growing.
You would be well-advised to pick up a decent PH and TDS meter along with the calibration/storage solution and use to feed/water the plants. That, along with decent lighting will help you to a quality harvest.
Probably happens to all of us when new. As you continue to grow, it will become much less stressful and more ‘zen’.
Lots of good growers here with tons of knowledge and they’re all as helpful as can be.
BTW if you want to use this as your journal, let me know and I’ll move it into Grow Journals. Or leave it here; no problem.
Thank you so much for all your help all of you are awesome! Yes please I guess I should make this my journal huh? That’s a great idea haha
Also update guys I got a humidifier and got the humidity up. Also I got a apera ph20 meter and a tds meter and some ph up and oh down. I’m currently using some distilled water that already has some added minerals I got the waters ph down to 6.3 and the tds is 20. I’m using fox farm ocean forest and remember someone mentioning earlier that I don’t have to worry about the tds too much? Anywho I feel like my little lads aren’t growing that much and one of them looks a little droopy. Oh I should mention I’ve been using a spray bottle to water them I’ve been watching a lot of videos and that’s what people seem to be suggesting. Also happy Friday everyone
FYI any TDS under 100 ppm is unreliable (due to the way it’s measured) and PH is irrelevant. Any water under 100 ppm can just be used without doing anything.
When they are small like that it’s best to put a clear dome over them and spray mist the dome; not the plant.
Update I’m not sure my plant are doing very well and idk what to do. I’m really stumped rn. Here’s some pics.
The humidity got a little high but I just adjusted back to the 70s
all of you are awesome! Yes please I guess I should make this my journal huh? That’s a great idea haha
