I was given a couple of Autoflower seedlings that are in Solo cups. They are supposedly about 20 days old. I've always heard that Autos should never be transplanted and should be started in their final pot. The plants are about 4 and 5 inches tall with one having 3 nodes and one having 2 nodes, with leaf widths of about 4 inches. How should I handle these? Can I grow them a little bigger in the Solo cups or should I repot them in their final pot ASAP? I would be putting them in 5 gallon Smart Pots for an outdoor grow. I am also thinking of potting them in Sohum Soil which is said to be quite "hot" for seedlings. Would the plain mix that they are in in the Solo cups be enough of a buffer or should I increase that buffer of soil?
Autoflowers in Solo cups?
- Thread starter jokerlola
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No, you can up-pot autos, though I don't recommend doing it more than once, only because you always get a recovery time after transplanting, and autos have such a short growing period before flowering. You could wait another week or transplant now if they are looking nice and healthy. At 3-5 nodes they should be able to handle the new soil, with the caveat that I have never used Sohum soil. I go directly from seedling soil into FF Ocean Forest at 2-3 nodes, with no problems, others like to wait for a larger root ball. At 4-6 nodes I top and start LST. Some of this stuff is just personal preference. Sometimes we make it more difficult than it needs to be. They're weeds, and it isn't rocket science.
you can up pot autos. you need to do it before the 5th node, or the roots get bottled. both will trigger an auto in a small container.
you can up pot autos multiple times with no troubles. i wouldn't do it more than twice though. cannabis hits sexual maturity at the fifth node and can trigger easy by that point.
depending on media and skill level its really kinda easy to up pot cannabis - even autos - without transplant shock. it's far easier than a lot of other plants i've transplanted.
hempy and coco are a breeze. they don't skip a beat. promix / sunshine gets a little harder but is a cinch with a few grows practice. fox farm stuff is similar. soil is the hardest and depends on the soil type.
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- #5
In counting nodes
Here’s a picture of the 2 Autos. Do you count the very top growth as a node? It looks to me that the one on the right has 3 nodes plus the top growth and the one on the left is just starting to have 3 nodes plus the top growrh. Is that right? Or would they both be considered to have 4 nodes?
Vegan4life
Well-Known Member
Looks like they are craving light and they look very hungry. Sohum is NOT too hot for seedlings. 5 gallon pots of Sohum will not have enough nutrition to get the plants to harvest, you will need to supplement with other nutrients. I would up pot ASAP...In counting nodes
Here’s a picture of the 2 Autos. Do you count the very top growth as a node? It looks to me that the one on the right has 3 nodes plus the top growth and the one on the left is just starting to have 3 nodes plus the top growrh. Is that right? Or would they both be considered to have 4 nodes?
Ah - the roots will be spindly too, so be careful
A pair of leaf stems is a node, not including the very bottom cotyledons
Not sure what I'd do with them; probably re-pot and bury a good 1-2" of that stem, then top them to encourage bushy growth, add some veg nutes... and quite a lot more light
A pair of leaf stems is a node, not including the very bottom cotyledons
Not sure what I'd do with them; probably re-pot and bury a good 1-2" of that stem, then top them to encourage bushy growth, add some veg nutes... and quite a lot more light
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- #8
I just got them from the original grower who has never grown cannabis before and they are very leggy and were dry. I watered them from the bottom by placing them in a plant tray with about a 1/2 inch of water for about 30 minutes. Their weight went from 130g to 180g. I could feed them with a little Dyna-Gro ( 1/4 tsp to a gallon of water ) or just wait to transplant them into Sohum.Looks like they are craving light and they look very hungry. Sohum is NOT too hot for seedlings. 5 gallon pots of Sohum will not have enough nutrition to get the plants to harvest, you will need to supplement with other nutrients. I would up pot ASAP...
I've never grown Auto's in Sohum before but I have done 3 grows of photos with Sohum, in 5 gal Smart Pots, outdoors and have not needed to add nutes for the whole grow. I've been prepared to but my plants have so far, always finished green, with no signs of deficiency. I did one grow where I did add bloom nutes to a couple of plants when the Sohum chart said they would run out and there was very little difference between the plants.
Edit: After seeing those plants, I retract my prior statement, getting those two healthy might be rocket science!
I’d bury them right up to the bottom of the cotyledons! Before it “hardens” the stem between the cotyledons and the soil is capable of being either stem or root, they’re basically undifferentiated cells. If exposed to constant light and dry conditions the cells become stem, if put in a damp dark place they become roots. As @Growings said, they need good light and nutes!
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- #10
Since I don't grow inside I have no lights but I am going to put them in a full sun window sill starting tomorrow and start to harden them off to outdoor sun ASAP. I put them out in the last of the late afternoon sun tonight to try to get them some needed light. The only problem is we have a big snow storm coming tomorrow so probably won't have full sun again until Sunday.
Vegan4life
Well-Known Member
I
I would up pot them ASAP into the sohum and give them plenty of light. I personally would not top or train them at this point. I would transplant and let them grow their roots. they need their leaves right now to get energy from the lights.
I have grown in sohum a few times with photos also. I am on my third grow using the same sohum soil right now in 20 gallon pots, I have been amending the soil "Coot's style". My last grow was auto's in the recycled sohum.
I would up pot them ASAP into the sohum and give them plenty of light. I personally would not top or train them at this point. I would transplant and let them grow their roots. they need their leaves right now to get energy from the lights.
those things aren't gonna make it. they need a proper environment fast.
up pot , bury the stems up to the cotyledons, and get a cheap supplemental light for now. i'd leave them in the window and leave the light on 24/0, if you have no dedicated indoor grow area. hopefully they hang on til you can put them outdoor.
up pot , bury the stems up to the cotyledons, and get a cheap supplemental light for now. i'd leave them in the window and leave the light on 24/0, if you have no dedicated indoor grow area. hopefully they hang on til you can put them outdoor.
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- #13
How quickly can they be hardened off to tolerate direct sunlight outside? My friend started them and grew them so far, in a south facing windowsill. I received them yesterday and put them out in the very late afternoon direct sunlight which lasted for about an hour (6:00 pm) but now we are having rain and snow for the next 2 days at least and possibly no sun until Thursday.
What is the best method and schedule for acclimating cannabis seedlings to the direct outdoor sunlight?
With those, I'd repot them and bury the stem almost to the cotlyedons, put them outdoors for a few hours in the mornings, bring them in from about 1100AM to 4 PM, then put them back out for the last couple hours of light, two or three days of that and they will be fine outdoors. I would suggest putting a stake in the pot and tie them to it because they are so spindly a strong breeze might topple them. Once they get established and get into some good light the stem will strengthen.
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- #16
Yeah, it's not unusual to get a spring snow in Denver in May but it's not common. We went from almost 90 yesterday to 33 right now! Pretty crazy. My main plants were all outside in full sun for the last 2 and a half weeks and they are all inside right now too, and might have to stay inside until Thursday.
Tennessee Tim
Well-Known Member
I have successfully up potted auto plants many times. However ,if you disturb the roots much, it will set the plant back and the short life of an auto makes each setback reduce your yield. Use care and it works best when the root ball comes out of the smaller container intact. Then there is little to no set back of growth. I most often, put the popped seeds into the 3 to 5 gallon containers from the start. Good lighting source and other environmental factors must be heeded for good results. I sometimes start the seedlings under a close HO T5 light with 5000k bulbs and move them under a LED or HPS fixture when well into growth for growing out to completion. Stocky healthy seedlings are vital for maximum crop returns, even more so for autos.
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- #18
Because of our current weather, I probably won't up pot these Auto's into their final 5 gallon Smart Pots until Tues or Wed. If I transplant them to Sohum Living Soil would it be bad to give them a light feeding of Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro @ (1/4 tsp per gallon rate). Or would that plus going into the Sohum with it's nutes just be too hot for them?
Also, whats the best way to keep the soil in the Solo cups intact for the transplant and keep it holding together in one piece and stay the shape of the cup instead of crumbling?
Also, whats the best way to keep the soil in the Solo cups intact for the transplant and keep it holding together in one piece and stay the shape of the cup instead of crumbling?
BarnacleBill
Well-Known Member
Those are definitely not 20 days old. Still have coteyledon attached. Re-pot them, they are maybe two weeks tops.In counting nodes
Here’s a picture of the 2 Autos. Do you count the very top growth as a node? It looks to me that the one on the right has 3 nodes plus the top growth and the one on the left is just starting to have 3 nodes plus the top growrh. Is that right? Or would they both be considered to have 4 nodes?
Vegan4life
Well-Known Member
Get them into the 5 gallon pots of Sohum ASAP! They shouldn't need anything but water for quite a while... Maybe a month or more before giving any nutes. They are probably root bound in the cups by now, they should have a good root ball and should hold together just fine. You should start a journal.
