Need some help with regards to my seedlings and soil

[SanLucas]

Hey everyone,

I've been reading the site for a bit now and just started my first grow, I have a few question if any has any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated

So i bought 7 fem seeds, germinated in a jiffy greenhouse with peat pellets, due to being out of town for work they got a bit leggy 6/7 sprouted, the one got its head ( cotyledons ) ripped off somehow pushing through the seed and dirt, but it seems to be still growing very slowly, the upside down cotyledons have actually started growing a stem.

I want to move them to plastic cups here soon, the soil I have to mix is ProMix BX, earthworm casting and Perlite. But I also have the grow pack from a company called Reefertilizer, which has a soil start pack with myccorhizae mix with the soil, now I realize the ProMix BX also has mycorrhizae, would this be too much of it for a seedling off the start to mix them both?

Also due to my plants getting leggy is it alright to bury the pods and stem deeper? And would that one without its head or even the head grow again if I planted it in another peat pod

Heres some photos of what I'm talking about

Also I bought some Promix Bloodmeal and Promix Bonemeal when should I add it or if even, maybe it's too harsh for the seedlings at this stage? Any help would be greatly appreciated and thank you for your time!

Colin,

 

[Emilya Green]

Hi @SanLucas and welcome to the forum!
if you mix all of this stuff into the soil you are going to start having problems I am afraid... that stuff is too much without first cooking it in a compost pile for a while. If your intent is to make nutrient spikes in your containers with this stuff, or thin layers as you build the container, that could be well tolerated, but adding bloodmeal and bonemeal to the soil as a percentage of the mix is going to be too hot for most plants without first cooking that soil for a month or two... not just seedlings. This stuff is great outdoors in the ground as it can blend with the soil quite well, but in a closed container where the roots can't get away from it, these strong additives are going to be very tricky to deal with.
As far as the myco in the soil, dont misunderstand this to be a nutrient... it is a fungus that works in partnership with the roots. The more myco, or for that matter, any microbial life, the better. I am assuming that your refert pack is a super microbial pack that can be added to bring to life an inert organic soil. This sounds like a good thing, and make sure you keep it going by not using chlorinated tap water.

 

[Nunyabiz]

Jeebus, you'll probably have to put the seedling in the solo cup first with the roots on the bottom and then fill the cup up.
Personally I wouldn't bother with transplanting in solo cups.
Just plant right into a 7+ gallon fabric pot full of your soil mix just make sure you have plenty of aeration, I'd use something like biochar and pumice though as perlite just winds up floating to the top.
Having too much mycorrhazae is basically like having too much money.
If you use the blood meal just mix a little into the bottom 1/3rd of the pot.

What kind of light are you using?
Whatever it is it isn't enough or it's way to far up, that's why they're leggy.

 

[Emilya Green]

I will then also offer my advice not to do what is proposed above, and continue your good practice of starting out in a solo cup and then presumably uppotting a couple of times into fresh new soil while still in veg, ending up in a large fabric pot to take into flower. Blood meal as the bottom third of a container is quite a large amount, please note that he said mix it with other soil... but I think that a much thinner layer that the roots could escape from would be more appropriate.
Lots of people have opinions about using large pots right from the get go, and they are quite vocal about it. I consider this to be bad gardening practice, an easy way to lose control of the watering cycle and the ability to build a solid rootball. Everyone has their own opinions... and now you have heard mine from the old school.

 

[jetsgrower]

im not sure about that but I got some Reefertilizer sent to me from them gonna try it next run if you could journal your progress would be great and good luck buddy

 

[irie lion]

Hey Sanlucas welcome to 420Mag!
See you around the threads! keep it irie

 

[SanLucas]

Hey guys, thank you for the feedback! And thank you for welcoming me to the forums/community! I should have mentioned last post that my grow will be outdoors, I do have 5 gallon fabric pots I will be putting them in.

I also have heard mixed suggestions regarding the cups, I have read in to root training, and as you said Emilya to make a efficient rootball going into transplanting into the 5 gallon pots is what I'm aiming for. And yea the light isnt the best it was just to get them started till they are strong enough to go outside, it's a 19w LED flared grow light that looks like a flood light. Unfortunately they did get leggy, which is why I think I will bury 3/4 of the stem in the cup I've read it will also start forming roots.

I'm glad the addition of mycorrhizae to the promix bx wont be a problem, and thank you for the tips about the bone and blood meal, I might just not use it in fear it will burn them

Any idea about the little headless sprout and its growing head? Lol or just leave it alone and keep watering it.

Thank you for the watering tip. I will admit I did use tap water but have been hearing distilled water to be the best, would water run through a Brita filter work also? Or what's the best way, just boil the water and let sit?

Thanks again for the replies! I really appreciate the support.

 

[Emilya Green]

boiling wont help get rid of chloramine if that is what your municipality uses, it does not evaporate. Filtering will get rid of it, or just use RO or distilled... but the key is going to be keeping the microbes and myco in that soil alive throughout the grow.

 

[Nunyabiz]

Hey guys, thank you for the feedback! And thank you for welcoming me to the forums/community! I should have mentioned last post that my grow will be outdoors, I do have 5 gallon fabric pots I will be putting them in.

I also have heard mixed suggestions regarding the cups, I have read in to root training, and as you said Emilya to make a efficient rootball going into transplanting into the 5 gallon pots is what I'm aiming for. And yea the light isnt the best it was just to get them started till they are strong enough to go outside, it's a 19w LED flared grow light that looks like a flood light. Unfortunately they did get leggy, which is why I think I will bury 3/4 of the stem in the cup I've read it will also start forming roots.

I'm glad the addition of mycorrhizae to the promix bx wont be a problem, and thank you for the tips about the bone and blood meal, I might just not use it in fear it will burn them

Any idea about the little headless sprout and its growing head? Lol or just leave it alone and keep watering it.

Thank you for the watering tip. I will admit I did use tap water but have been hearing distilled water to be the best, would water run through a Brita filter work also? Or what's the best way, just boil the water and let sit?

Thanks again for the replies! I really appreciate the support.

I would just use RO water, although water run through a good filter will take out most all the Chloramine also.
It's not like a healthy microbe population would be completely decimated by the Chloramine/chlorine, it will snap back in a couple days but in proper aerated soil you will be watering everyday especially in flower so why kill off any of your microbes ever when it's easy to not do so.
You can do whatever floats your boat on the transplanting, if done correctly either way works just fine.
But it's an old wives tale that its necessary in anyway for any reason.
That train of thought mainly comes from commercial growers that are growing 100s even 1000s of plants and using regular non feminized seeds, up potting, for them is better and easier and uses less resources, weed out the males, easier to move and water 100s of plants in cups than it is in large pots.
But a small grower just growing a few plants and using Feminized seeds can easily spend the few extra 15 seconds per plant to water properly.
It makes zero difference in your roots to up pot, if anything it slows down the growth slightly.
I am sitting here right now looking at 2, 25 gallon fabric pots with root tips showing around the entire pot top to bottom and I planted a germinated seed directly into the pot.
My roots are massive and healthy.
And all you have to do is simply water the plant and not the pot.
Just water an inch circle around the seedling about 2 inches deep with a syringe twice a day for 3 to 5 days, then 2" circle 3" to 4" deep for a few days then 3" circle 4 to 5" deep and so on and the roots spread out beautifully and quickly until they reach the fabric pot and they quickly multiply root tips as they air prune.
The sole reason I can come up with to up pot is if you want to get a jump start on your next grow by starting seeds 2 weeks before harvest in solo cups and transplant into the final pot the day you harvest and you got a 2+ week head start.
Other than that, going from a cup to a slightly larger pot to another and to your final pot isn't going to do anything but maybe slow the root growth for a day each time you needlessly transplant.

I got no idea about the headless horseman there.

As for the blood meal, as long as it's just a bit towards the bottom of at least a 5 gallon pot it should be fine, the plants will be large enough to handle it by the time the roots hit the bottom of the pot.

Your best bet by far either outside or inside is get yourself the largest fabric pots you can manage especially if outside and go with a Living Organic Soil, that way all you need to do is grow soil and water daily and watch them grow.
No need to worry about under or over nutrients, dont need to mess with pH, just water well with good water, top dress with amendments every few weeks, maybe a sprouted seed tea every few weeks and watch them grow.

 

[Jackalope]

I am just going to stick with pot size with my comments. I have grown both ways to some extent. I always have a small pot. Either a solo cup or a 4" x 4" pot to start. Normally I repot 2 times per grow and find that to be best. When planting right into large pots it is really hard to get water just right. The soil tends to be to damp at times when you fully water. Any difficulties with watering is not good for a new grower.

When it comes to adding nutrients in the lower part of the pot. I am not sure I understand it. Once a plant is re-potted the roots are going to grow as far down as they can before they spread out. It is not like the roots fill the pot slowly. They spread to all parts of the pot then extend themselves from there. So the roots are going to be in those nutrients you added to the bottom part of the pot within a week of being repotted. Root balls can help slow this process by getting roots going other ways other than straight down.

 

[Oldgrowth]

A 4" peat pot seedling planted directly into a hole filled with planting mix works for me. After a few weeks slowly growing seedlings take off becoming 3-4 ft plants on 7/1. A recent piece has me thinking on mycorrhizae. A "worldwide web" of trees and mycorrhizae reveals differences between the essential mycorrhizae and bacteria in different growing zones, with the roots of oaks and pines at higher latitudes traveling vast differences to communicate, more localized connections for lower latitudes maples and such. The hot dry southwest desert plants depend on nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Since I grow in San Diego I wonder if this applies or whether the environment I set in my cannabis holes, pre-prepared with planting mix followed by nutrients is best. I dunno, but it seems to be working. Here's the article, but as they always qualify: more work needs to be done on this area. ‘Wood wide web’—the underground network of microbes that connects trees—mapped for first time

 

[Jackalope]

I have some of that Mycorrhizae but have yet to use it. Mostly I don't know it is needed. Yes it sounds like a great thing. I have grown for years without it so it does not Have to be there.

Will it make things better? Maybe. Will it cause me other problems? Probably. Lots of times changing one thing can in turn change lots of others. Might make new problems harder to spot.

As with lots of new stuff. They tell us weed can't be grown without it.

 

[Nunyabiz]

I have some of that Mycorrhizae but have yet to use it. Mostly I don't know it is needed. Yes it sounds like a great thing. I have grown for years without it so it does not Have to be there.

Will it make things better? Maybe. Will it cause me other problems? Probably. Lots of times changing one thing can in turn change lots of others. Might make new problems harder to spot.

As with lots of new stuff. They tell us weed can't be grown without it.

Are you growing in organic soil with only amendments, or are you growing in coco or just basic potting soil and bottle feeding?

If you're growing organic and use compost teas, worm castings, etc then you're adding mycorrhazae anyway.
And of you didn't then you would have sickly and weak plants.
The mycorrhazae are what break down the amendments in the soil to make them plant usable.
You cant have too much mycorrhazae.
Its literally the lifes blood of your soil.

 

[Jackalope]

I use Miracle grow or Fox Farm soils to start then supplement with quano's along the way. So yeah I am probably already getting enough of it most of the time.

So many new products out there now days. Over half of them are useless. In ways this hampers new growers more than helping them out. Basic is the key for most grows. Growing can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it.

Miracle grow and a seed is a pretty easy way to start LOL.

 

[Nunyabiz]

And theres nothing easier than 100% Living Organic Soil with a robust mycorrhazae colony.
Don't have to worry about pH, don't have to worry about too much or not enough nutrients.
Just simply add water and watch them grow.
That's only possible with mycorrhazae.

In fact without mycorrhazae plants would have never spread to land over 450 million years ago.
The whole planet would be virtually barren and we wouldn't even exist.