First Time Grower - Outdoors - Bag Seeds

apd420

New Member
This is my very first attempt at growing so im starting with bag seeds also only have two plants they are about two weeks old I'm located in Florida so the temperatures are already reaching 80°+ during the day and humidity is high. I'm hoping to grow completely outdoors and completely organically. I'm currently growing in small 4" pots with coco loco and have not fed anything other than bottled/dechlorinated water, casting tea, and half dose of fish emulsion. I'm assuming I'll need to transplant soon, planning on moving to 1gallon growers pots as the next step also planning to mix some amount of course perlite with the coco loco when I transplant as I'm not satisfied with current drainage using only coco loco. I personally feel they're growth is slow, one more so than the other. Any advice, tips, or tricks would be greatly appreciated this is more than anything a learning grow. I will be posting pictures as soon as I can get them uploaded to the gallery

Thanks,
Autumn
 
Hey apd420, nice to see another newbie grower like myself :cheer:.

What's your current lighting situation like? Are you starting them indoors?

Depending on your light setup this might be affecting growth speed, starting them indoors with lower wattage CFLs/no artificial light at all (window sill) will definitely attribute to them taking longer. Seeing as they're only seedlings at 2 weeks old (seedling stage lasts typically from 1-3 weeks) the seedling are still growing more leaves to absorb sunlight, once more of these start showing speed of growth should start picking up as well!).

I can't make judgement on your plants yet without pictures but once they're roughly at 3-4 weeks and have a developed root system (aka You can see roots on the bottom of their container through drainage holes) and a healthy amount of fan leaves is when I would be considering beginning to Harden them off for outside.

Hardening them off is absolutely crucial when making the switch to outdoors as the UV rays of the sun and harsher environment are simply too much for them yet; you want to move them into a shaded area for a 2-3 hours a day for a few days; gradually increasing their time spent outdoors and in the direct sun (by moving them into direct sunlight for an hour at first, the next two days 2 hours, then 3 hours, etc) after a week of this they should be hardy enough to survive outdoor life.
 
Thanks kink for your reply. I have actually had them outside from the beginning one of them ( the smaller of the two) was germinated in a paper towel the second was planted directly into the soil without germinating at all, surprisingly it seems to be doing the best. Here are some pictures.
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For further clarification the plant in the geranium growers pot was planted directly into the soil the plant in the Orange pot was germinated. Other than their growth rate my other concern is I believe the bigger of the two after spending a day by my tomatoes ended up with leaf miners, I have mantids I will release in the garden area once they hatch and will be releasing lady bugs this evening anyone think or know if this will be a solution?

Thanks,
Autumn
 
Thanks kink for your reply. I have actually had them outside from the beginning one of them ( the smaller of the two) was germinated in a paper towel the second was planted directly into the soil without germinating at all, surprisingly it seems to be doing the best. Here are some pictures.

Plants that have had to fight to survive usually thrive from what I've seen/read, I'm going to be doing an outdoor grow myself but have my seedlings inside currently due to poor weather and lack of sun.

Anyways, they're looking great :high-five:; you should definitely be wanting to transplant them soon into bigger pots (couple gallon, at least imo) seeing as it looks like they've just about outgrown their current homes :). In a bigger pot with more soil for their roots to grow and expand into you'll notice some speed pickup for sure.
 
Hey everyone it's been three weeks since my first post, my babies are five weeks old now. I've been battling with numerous insects as well as my dog and cat who apparently couldn't resist a few bites not to mention we've had 4 days straight of rain so I've had to bring them inside occasionally. The biggest of the two just last week started flashing all her girly parts ( wasn't really expecting or wanting this to happen so soon) not sure how much more she'll grow now that she has started flowering was really hoping the 14+ hours of sun they're getting would kick her back to veg but doesn't seem like it so far. I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts questions comments or even criticism as this is just a learning process for me so please take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think.

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Hey everyone it's been three weeks since my first post, my babies are five weeks old now. I've been battling with numerous insects as well as my dog and cat who apparently couldn't resist a few bites not to mention we've had 4 days straight of rain so I've had to bring them inside occasionally. The biggest of the two just last week started flashing all her girly parts ( wasn't really expecting or wanting this to happen so soon) not sure how much more she'll grow now that she has started flowering was really hoping the 14+ hours of sun they're getting would kick her back to veg but doesn't seem like it so far. I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts questions comments or even criticism as this is just a learning process for me so please take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think.

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Hey again man, your girls are looking great even despite everything they've been through! :goodjob:

What you are very likely misinterpreting as flowering is probably just pre-flowers; (The big one's definitely at the age where they should be showing). Seeing as they are bagseeds and probably don't have autoflowering genetics makes me think they aren't in flowering with 14 hours of light :cheer:

Pre-flowers appear roughly 4-6 weeks into veg, perfectly normal to see those pistils popping out - it's a nifty way to sex your plants before having to wait all the way into flowering.
 
Hey again man, your girls are looking great even despite everything they've been through! :goodjob:

What you are very likely misinterpreting as flowering is probably just pre-flowers; (The big one's definitely at the age where they should be showing). Seeing as they are bagseeds and most likely not autoflowering genetics I find it very unlikely they would be in flowering with 14 hours of light and most likely aren't :cheer:

Pre-flowers appear roughly 4-6 weeks into veg, perfectly normal to see those pistils popping out - it's a nifty way to sex your plants before having to wait all the way into flowering.

That's quite a relief knowing preflowering is normal I'm really looking forward to taking full advantage of our looong growing season here in FL. The smaller of the two isn't showing any signs of sex yet but I will definitely be keeping a very close eye on it I have been checking them and cleaning the leaves by hand at least 4 times a day due to leaf miners and thrips going to be getting the dyna grow neem oil to hopefully remedy the problem. I can't thank you enough for actually taking the time to reply it's really nice hearing someone else's thoughts! :thanks:
 
That's quite a relief knowing preflowering is normal I'm really looking forward to taking full advantage of our looong growing season here in FL. The smaller of the two isn't showing any signs of sex yet but I will definitely be keeping a very close eye on it I have been checking them and cleaning the leaves by hand at least 4 times a day due to leaf miners and thrips going to be getting the dyna grow neem oil to hopefully remedy the problem. I can't thank you enough for actually taking the time to reply it's really nice hearing someone else's thoughts! :thanks:

No problem! I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, like I said before this is my first growing season as well :high-five:.

A few weeks ago I couldn't tell you what pre-flowers were haha, but I've been doing my research for my own grow and have been trying to absorb everything I can; glad I can already apply my newly acquired knowledge in helping someone it's a nice feeling!

I was originally going to grow outdoors with you but recently decided to take the dive and buy a HID light setup so I can grow indoors, just transplanted my babies into some smart pots a few days ago and moved them into their new home; they're slowly catching back up and are already reacting positively to my first FIMs by diverting energy into new nodes. WAY better than the 3 cfls/window sill light they were originally getting :p.

Out of curiosity, have you attempted any training for your girls yet? (Topping/Fimming I mean) From the fan leaves I'm taking guess you have yourself a Indica dominant hybrid, they aren't thin enough for me to think sativa; leaves are having me lean towards hybrid or full Indica; growing tall though which brings me to the topping/fimming question as it might be a good time to start taking advantage of getting them to bush out.
 
Hey again man, your girls are looking great even despite everything they've been through! :goodjob:

What you are very likely misinterpreting as flowering is probably just pre-flowers; (The big one's definitely at the age where they should be showing). Seeing as they are bagseeds and most likely not autoflowering genetics I find it very unlikely they would be in flowering with 14 hours of light and most likely aren't :cheer:

Pre-flowers appear roughly 4-6 weeks into veg, perfectly normal to see those pistils popping out - it's a nifty way to sex your plants before having to wait all the way into flowering.

That's quite a relief knowing preflowering is normal I'm really looking forward to taking full advantage of our looong growing season here in FL. The smaller of the two isn't showing any signs of sex yet but I will definitely be keeping a very close eye on it I have been checking them and cleaning the leaves by hand at least 4 times a day due to leaf miners and thrips going to be getting the dyna grow neem oil to hopefully remedy the problem. I can't thank you enough for actually taking the time to reply it's really nice hearing someone else's thoughts! :thanks:
 
No problem! I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, like I said before this is my first growing season as well :high-five:.

A few weeks ago I couldn't tell you what pre-flowers were haha, but I've been doing my research for my own grow and have been trying to absorb everything I can; glad I can already apply my newly acquired knowledge in helping someone it's a nice feeling!

I was originally going to grow outdoors with you but recently decided to take the dive and buy a HID light setup so I can grow indoors, just transplanted my babies into some smart pots a few days ago and moved them into their new home; they're slowly catching back up and are already reacting positively to my first FIMs by diverting energy into new nodes. WAY better than the 3 cfls/window sill light they were originally getting :p.

Out of curiosity, have you attempted any training for your girls yet? (Topping/Fimming I mean) From the fan leaves I'm taking guess you have yourself a Indica dominant hybrid, they aren't thin enough for me to think sativa; leaves are having me lean towards hybrid or full Indica; growing tall though which brings me to the topping/fimming question as it might be a good time to start taking advantage of getting them to bush out.

I have not topped either of them I have really been considering it though, I think I'm slightly reluctant to start chopping off what seemed to take so long to become. I have started with the biggest of the two some light LST at the lower branches I had planned on transplanting to a 15 gallon smart pot and then continuing the LST of the lower branches by tying them out and down. If I were to top the biggest which node should a start at?
 
Also your plants are looking great I bet they're loving the new light and soil. What kind of nutes will you be using?
 
Also your plants are looking great I bet they're loving the new light and soil. What kind of nutes will you be using?

They are for sure, especially coming from gross miracle gro into some FoxFarm ocean forest - I noticed some burning on the tips of the plants making this switch but I think that's understandable; I'm thinking it's from the combination of powerful nutes in the FFOF and the time release nutes from the MG they might have still been feeding on.

I have not topped either of them I have really been considering it though, I think I'm slightly reluctant to start chopping off what seemed to take so long to become. I have started with the biggest of the two some light LST at the lower branches I had planned on transplanting to a 15 gallon smart pot and then continuing the LST of the lower branches by tying them out and down. If I were to top the biggest which node should a start at?

It's certainly worth it in combination with LST in my personal opinion they go perfectly together, with topping you're essentially telling the plant to divert her energy from focusing on growing tall to bushing out and creating more nodes, with LST in combo you're allowing more light to reach these new nodes allowing them to become new tops.

If you for sure don't want to stress her (and stealth isn't a key priority for you), I'd stick with strictly the LST, it is a tad bit late to be doing any stressing topping/fim wise with the oldest, as I said I did it very early and they recovered after 2 days, might be wise to leave the big one as it is with only LST until harvest. Your other one on the other hand, is still at 5 main nodes and small enough that I'd personally top, can be a comparison test to see which yields the most :).

EDIT: Forgot to answer your nute question, my bad! I'm planning on following this Neptune's Harvest feed schedule for Organic Fish Fertilizer/Seaweed fertilizer. As I just moved them into the foxfarm, I'm going to give them at least 4-6 weeks before I begin feeding them again as I've read that's about how long it takes for them to use up the nutes in that soil. It's a cheaper but still effective route, didn't want to go overboard for my first grow especially on bagseeds.
 
Hello apd!

Looks like your bag seed is an Autoflowering strain.....

Is your assumption solely on the fact that it's starting to show signs of flower or are there other factors out of curiosity? Because looking at it again, it does seem like a pretty big plant to just now be getting pre-flowers, I figured it was highly unlikely to be auto flowering seeing as its bagseed, guess I might be wrong, Apd - my bad! :X
 
The way the plant has shot up and the super early pistils.

Also apd I forgot yesterday, if you're growing outdoors properly, I think you'll find that vegging plants benefit greatly from rain and are not affected at all adversely. An outdoor plant just does not need the Mollycoddling of being brought indoors and out repeatedly, and you don't want to inadvertently stress your plant when your intention is the opposite. You're in Florida; weather-wise at this stage she should be in cannabis heaven....

Have a great Saturday :goodjob:
 
EDIT: Forgot to answer your nute question, my bad! I'm planning on following this Neptune's Harvest feed schedule for Organic Fish Fertilizer/Seaweed fertilizer. As I just moved them into the foxfarm, I'm going to give them at least 4-6 weeks before I begin feeding them again as I've read that's about how long it takes for them to use up the nutes in that soil. It's a cheaper but still effective route, didn't want to go overboard for my first grow especially on bagseeds.


I'm looking forward to seeing how the neptunes harvest works out as I am also trying an all organic grow, I'm not going by a predetermined feeding schedule but brewing nutrient tea once a week to feed on Mondays then watering with rain or distilled water on Thursdays.
 
The way the plant has shot up and the super early pistils.

Also apd I forgot yesterday, if you're growing outdoors properly, I think you'll find that vegging plants benefit greatly from rain and are not affected at all adversely. An outdoor plant just does not need the Mollycoddling of being brought indoors and out repeatedly, and you don't want to inadvertently stress your plant when your intention is the opposite. You're in Florida; weather-wise at this stage she should be in cannabis heaven....

Have a great Saturday :goodjob:


Hey Bapple, thanks for your reply. I admit I am probably stressing about every little thing a little too much I guess my worry of the rain is because you read so often how new growers most common problem is over watering and we have had almost 5 days now of pretty constant rain I may be wrong but I truly feel if they had been left outside through all of it they would be completely curled under themselves and yellowing all over. You said if I'm growing outdoors properly they should deal with it fine but what exactly is growing outdoors properly? Any advice you have is more than appreciated.

Thanks
 
Hey apd ! :ciao:

Well, growing out doors properly means just that - I see you are not using supplementary lights and the plant has been grown exclusively with the super lamp in the sky.

An outdoor plant is to all intents and purposes self regulating, it knows what to do when it's slightly colder or warmer or whatever the unforeseen is, that is what it has evolved to do over millennia. When you chop and change her location; indoors today outdoors the next, you confuse (stress!) your plant.

You might like to visit Conradino23's excellent outdoor grow to see how resilient and ultimately self regulating plants are especially cannabis (the thug of the plant world)

Since I've been active on this forum, the only two growers that I have seen repeatedly hit home runs with outdoor plants that are sometimes ferried in and out, are Lembatoast ( who is clearly an old master at his craft) and Lester Freeman (who I understand is a botanist)

If you are unable to commit to consistently keeping track of your natural daylight hours and rigidly only move the plant respecting its natural parameters, you'll stress your plant and end up with a neither here nor there harvest, and issues, like hermies, nanners and the like.

When I first looked at the pictures of your plants, my first instinct was Autoflower, but the mad stretch and pistils at 5 weeks couldd also very easily be a mainefestation of a stressed and confused plant.

Hope all of the above has not stressed you :rofl::allgood::hug: just trying to help. Keep on keeping on the plant looks primo :thumb:
 
Also I forgot(sorry I'm cooking) so far your pots have good drainage, and the plant is firmly and competently staked /secured rain is just nitrogen and other elements one could never replicate to the plant. When the rain gets stupid here I remove my pots from their trays and put them up on blocks so there is no risk of water logging. By the way Florida is very close weather wise to where I grow; mad humidity, crazy heat, and impressive thunderstorms from time to time. It's a pain from mid flowering on but in veg the plants love it.
 
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