Newbie needs advice

[Capn Kush]

Hello all, been lurking for a couple years and finally registered and setup a grow room.

I was given two plants; I don't know what strain but they are clones from a healthy plant that is some manner of indica variety.

They are about a foot tall, a little spindly and were growing outdoors. I brought them in, dosed them with some stuff from the local hydro store to kill any bugs, fungus, etc. I have them under some T5 tubes right now and they are looking better. I'd like to get them transplanted to some new soil (picked up some Vermisoil) in some five gallon smart pots.

So my question is what to do for the transplant. The dirt they are in from the outdoors is not that great...mostly clay. Can I put these in a bucket with some PH 7 water and get all the soil off of them, then put the in the smart pot with new soil, or is that going to be too much shock? OR am I better off just transplanting them with the current dirt intact?

 

[Nwgrower420]

I would suggest just transplanting as usual... I have washed off rootballs to transfer into DWC and never experienced much shock. But if your planting in soil no need imo..
Happy growing

 

[Capn Kush]

Thanks for the reply, Nwgrower420. I'm mainly concerned about what pests or eggs may be in that outdoor soil. If you've done a wash off before without impact, I think I will go ahead and do it. Just not sure how stable it will be at first in fresh soil.

 

[Nwgrower420]

If its got a well established root base you should have no issues transplanting. Make sure you wash it with ro water no warmer then 70 degrees.

 

[Capn Kush]

RO water, 70 degrees. Got it. PH 7?

They are only about a foot tall, so it won't have a robust root ball I don't believe.

 

[Nwgrower420]

They will prolly be more robust then you might imagine...Ph inbetwwen 6 and 7 and you should be just fine.

 

[Nwgrower420]

It definitely takes some time, especially if your not using water pressure. Just work the rootball lightly with your fingers.

 

[labexperiment]

Agree with Nwgrower420 on everything.

Good luck.

 

[Capn Kush]

So I got these girls transplanted. I did not end up cleaning the roots in water because once I took them out of the pots they were in, the garden soil pretty much disintegrated on its own. It was mostly clay and since it was dry, the majority of it crumbled away.

I got them into smart pots, fed them a little and they have really perked up now. The Fedex man delivers my new light tomorrow and that should make them take off.

Thank you for the help, both of you. I'll get a journal started soon and post a link here...I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions. I've read mountains of information and grow journals, but my head is so full of details that I can't keep it all straight any more. I'm also the type that can't commit things to memory until I've seen it applied in the real world, so a couple of grows will be necessary to get it down.

 

[Nwgrower420]

Best of luck! Keep it simple at first, dont go outside your abilities. And youll be just fine

Happy growing!

 

[Jimmycricket]

In the future if y ou want to wash off old soil it works well to fill a bucket with water and dunk the roots in it over and over gently. If done right plants have low or no shock and you can wash off all the dirt.