How to make Autoflowering used to CFL lighting

[krauwerd]

Growing 5 Jack Ferer Feminized Autoflowering pots, 7 wk flowering time.

Putting each in a 1 gallon pot indoor. Putting 5 pots under a 250 W CFL Light with 1' by 1' reflector for 2 weeks. I know that 50 watts per plant isn't that much so I'm planning on 24 hour light Transferring to outside soil after those first two weeks.

Two questions:

1) When the seeds emerge in the 1 gallon pots, do I get the plants "used" to the CFL Lighting? (e.g. 2 hours on day1, 4 hours on day2, ... up to 24 hours on per day). But if the pots are placed inside, in darkness, then is 2 hours of light a day to start even healthy for the plant? Should i just immediately start 24 hours a day after emerging?

2) I have a soil pit outside (6 cubic feet) for planting the seedlings later. Should I start watering the area a couple weeks before transferring? Is this good for the soil? Or should I just not water until after transferring.

 

[LEDBud]

Instead of planting your seeds directly into 1 gallon pots you could plant them in Styrofoam cups or the like and let them develop a little round root ball in there before transplanting to your bigger pot. The theory behind that is to insure the plant has a well rounded root mass it can latter expand on. If its planted in a large container from seed the roots could grow more on one side of the plant then the other , leaving it with a lopsided root ball.


It's more of a fail safe then totally necessary. Its a tip I hear often from various sources , I do one transplant from the small 3" seedling pot to my main 3.5G pot.


make sure your soil has perlite and organics in it.
The soil should be moist when you plant it then water over the transplants. I would keep the soil moist and healthy right away so it healthy and ready to plant before hand.

Add your soil amendments and perlite and water it throughly as soon as you can really. It needs time to activate so to speak.

 

[luftburen]

24h a day is fine, just don't burn them by putting them to close to the light. They are babies, you don't want to give them steak.

 

[golfer420]

Also, be careful about putting them in the direct sun without phasing it in. 24 hours a day light is not an issue but if you move them to the regular sunlight without getting them used to it, it could burn them.

 

[anduin1]

its true for most plants, taking them from being all indoor grown to outdoor can result in UV damage on your leaves. Start off with just a few hours of sunlight a day