Planted directly in soil without soaking or germinating.
Growing in Happy Frog soil with 15% coco coir added.
My plant seems happy right now two weeks post-sprout. She’s working on her third and fourth set of leaves (not counting the embryonic leaves) and everything seems fine; the color is nice and there’s no signs of trouble that novice eyes can see. She stretched a bit at first because I had my light too high (I’m using a cheap LED), but since I’ve lowered it all stretching seem to have stopped.
My question is when I should start feeding. I have the Fox Farms Trio and have heard basically nothing but good things about them so long as you go easy, say 1/2 or even 1/4 strength. Should I wait a set amount of time, or do I look out for slowed grow or a sign of deficiency? Many videos and articles are from hydroponic growers in a non-soil medium and they seem to feed almost right away. Robert Bergman’s articles seem to indicate I could wait until three weeks in soil.
Any advice or experiences anyone has had growing auto’s in Happy Frog would be awesome. Have a great day all! Now back to March Madness.
You are growing in organic soil. That means microbes in the soil break down the organic material into ions that the plant roots can use. As long as the microbes are healthy (no chlorine in water) and there are organic foods to eat, your veg growth should continue. Advanced growers use ppm meters to measure the nutrients in runoff water, and adjust as needed.
If you are using chlorinated water, fill buckets and let them sit for a day for the chlorine to clear before using the water on plants. Or use fish tank chlorine remover, a couple drops per gallon, what ever the label says.
Add a tablespoon of molasses dissolved in water to give the microbes some sugars to enjoy. Maybe once a month.
Inspect your plants carefully. Check the color of new leaves, a deficiency is usually first spotted as color changes or curling of the leaves. Post photos (in white light) and ask for advice in the forums. Lots of discussions about why are my leaves yellow or curling in these forums.
Resist the temptation (most of us can’t) to over fertilize. Bottled nutrients are most effective in separating you from your money. I’m speaking about veg growth in organic soil. Once you start the flowering cycle, that’s when the magic compost tea, and quantum nano liquid gold will give you bigger buds.
Welcome! You did well to plant in FFHF: good stuff.
Over time I and others have observed that new growers (us included at one time!) tend to be helicopter parents plus we have this whole chemistry set of stuff guaranteed to grow dank weed. In reality good soil (which you chose) will provide everything the plant needs for at least 6 weeks. I say that long as 15% coco was added which will attenuate the nutes in the soil. When you do feed, start at 1/4 strength and PH at your soil value (6.3 to 6.8) using a digital PH meter with a good calibration. Until then distilled water will do fine.
The FF trio grows good cannabis. Remember though that Fox Farms would like you to BUY nutrients so some of the grow schedules out there might be a bit “optimistic” on the nutes–to the harm of your plants unfortunately.
I’m going to tag a really good auto grower: @Not2SureYet. He’s here off and on so give him time to respond.
There are other products that might be of benefit to you besides the trio and the (obligatory) PH up and down haha: I like Superthrive while in veg, Cal Mag is a good supplement and often necessary to use, Silica is a great additive to strengthen the plant and help protect it from disease.
Thanks @Myfriendis410. I am not in soil but agree with the above. Start off with low nutes and work your way up. Most of my grow is using just 1/4 strength for what is recommended. I move up to 1/2 strength during flower. Any more for me is a waste. And the plants don’t seem to like it much. I have 2 autos going right now. And hopefully 2 more will join them soon. I am set to watch here I try to come to this side a little more now. I will tag @MattyBear, @dbrn32@FloridaSon@Missiles too since they are soil people and have grown autos as well. If @raustin is still over here. She is a great grower that might be able to help as well
I agree, not much to add to the information you already have. Get a plan together and then watch your plants, they will usually tell you everything you’re doing right or wrong
I’d like to thank everyone for their input. This is the third time I’ve posted a question hoping for some guidance and it’s the third time I’ve received solid info. I’m going to hold off on feeding for the time being, but should anyone else have anything they’d like to add, I’m all ears! This community has been awesome and I’m eager to learn.
On a side note, the plant still looks great, but if I may, I’d like to piggy back one more question. My soil seems to stay moist for a very long time, and my plant doesn’t seem to care. I haven’t watered since last Thursday (8 days as of today). Am I watering too heavy? Should I water less and hence a little more frequently? Before actually diving into the world of growing I’d always read that people tend to water their plants every three days or so. A week seems a little long, but I’ve been going strictly by the look and feel of the soil, not a set schedule. That seems wise on the face of it, but I’m brand new so any advice is appreciated.
That is exactly what you want to do but you have to size your watering demand to the plant and it’s pot. Frequent watering occurs when there’s a larger canopy transpiring moisture. Right now they don’t need that much and can slow down or harm the plant.
Cannabis likes fairly dry, airy soil. The roots LOVE oxygen. Going through a complete wet to dry cycle frequently forces the plant to hunt for water which grows the roots. Infiltration of roots into the soil volume is obviously necessary to support a big canopy. So, all good things.
I would suggest you cut back on the watering amount to increase the frequency. It won’t take long before you are WISHING you only needed to water once a week haha.
I try to come to this side a little more now. I will tag 