It doesn't sound like an organic mix post a pic
seedlings don't require any fertilizer for the first week or so & if too much will stunt & burn seedling
plant in a solo cup for first 2-3 weeks then transplant into your finish pots or bags
Tips For First Time Growing Outdoors: Auto
- Thread starter PlanPreacher2319
- Start date
seedlings don't require any fertilizer for the first week or so & if too much will stunt & burn seedling
plant in a solo cup for first 2-3 weeks then transplant into your finish pots or bags
Yes. Sorry about that.
I had confused your message with another one where the person said they were going to grow outside for the first time, or maybe they said they were a first time grower. I made a suggestion that was for them but I put it in your thread.
- Thread starter
- #43
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
When I enquired for organic soil at that particular seed garden, this is what they had to offer pretty much. I'll post a pic later today. I haven't opened the soil bag yet, should I keep it in particular conditions after I open it? Is there any chance of the soil spoiling? I understand that if I plant in a solo cup, it should only have the soil in it, no fertilizers for the seedling needed. Can I have the cup outside or does it need indoor growth before transfering to the bags outdoors? Because I'm not really able to plant indoors.
Nine Toed Hippie
Well-Known Member
That was a seriously awesome post. Thanks!I agree… any “organic” type soil will work.
Get a big bag of whatever you can find local, add 5 quarts perlite, 5 quarts earthworm castings, 8 quarts compost, and 1 1/4 cup organic flower/bloom mix
The reason for bloom nutes is by the time the organic matter breaks down you’ll be close to flower and your plant can utilize the bloom variation. Be sure it’s not the water soluble and had raw organic matter like bone, feather, blood meal, crushed shells, etc. You should be able to get a top feed to go along with it once things get going. This soil mix should get you through 2-4 weeks without nutes depending on the mix. You will need to water with molasses or something in order to feed the microbes in the soil to help break down the organic matter.
Here’s what I used…
NTH
- Thread starter
- #45
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
Just found some cheap cloth bags 35(w)x45(h) in diameter. These should be enough for my autos right? They can grow max 1m.
- Thread starter
- #46
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
Update after some time! I'm currently planning to plant in the following days, I acquired some cheap solo cups for the first 2-3 weeks of the seedling, after that I'll probably transfer to cloth bags (must find out how to do that without harming the plant). Also bought another soil for the seedling because the one I had bought had fertilizer in it, I asked for an organic one without fertilizers and they suggested this one. I also want to buy a pH meter for the soil. Is there anything else I should buy/consider before planting; These are the solo cups, should I buy something more resistant; I can't currently post pics of the soil but I'll post the specs tomorrow/the day after tomorrow.
- Thread starter
- #47
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
Damn, it doesn't let me post pics of the cups because of the file extensions. I'll fix this when I have a PC available and I'll upload
Pics aren't supposed to be difficult to display.
I have an 80 year old I phone I use without issues.
Hit bottom left button marked attach files.
Select images , hit done then post reply.
Are the pics on a huge file of some sort?
Let me know if your still having problems.
Stay safe
Bill
- Thread starter
- #49
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
I'm currently thinking of planting tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Should I start the germination at noon so I can have the seeds ready to plant the next day; How long does it generally take for the taproot to appear, 12-14 hours for autos? Also, after it appears, what window of time do I have before the seed is spoiled; Should I plant straight after or can I keep them for some hours in a dark environment;
- Thread starter
- #50
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
These are the solo cups.
Germination is the split second in the plant's existence when the seed sprouts though most consider when the tap root shows to be the sprouting. For the most part the two words mean the same thing.
It is almost impossible to plan down to the hour the swelling of the seed as the sprouting enzymes develop, the emerging of the tap root, and the other stuff that happens right after. Using 10 seeds as an example it could take 1 day for the first one to show it germinated and the last one could finally sprout 7 days later.
Try not to overthink it.
I don't use the Solo cups. A lot of people use them because they are convenient. I put soil into the small seedling cell packs like you have in the photos, put one seed into each cell, water if necessary to keep a moist soil, and put the packs someplace warm. About 2 days later I hope to see the first signs that the seed is getting ready.
Some people put the seeds into water and let them soak for a day or two. Then if the seed starts to show a tap root the next day they put it into soil and the day after they might see that the surface of the soil is showing that the plant is ready to pop up.
Neither method seems much faster than the other. Put in soil and wait two days or put in water and then the next day put in soil and wait till the following day.
- Thread starter
- #52
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
Just planted. This is my temporary setup, how does it look to you guys? I'm looking for a way to cover or protect it. It is also getting plenty of sun. Another question, should I be worried about rain hurting or drowning my seedlings? If so what can I do to prevent it? What should I do in the first week and generally every day when I go to look after it? Anyone have a watering schedule for Gorilla Cookies/Gelato autos?
Good morning my friend.
Just planted. This is my temporary setup, how does it look to you guys? I'm looking for a way to cover or protect it. It is also getting plenty of sun. Another question, should I be worried about rain hurting or drowning my seedlings? If so what can I do to prevent it? What should I do in the first week and generally every day when I go to look after it? Anyone have a watering schedule for Gorilla Cookies/Gelato autos?
What is in the pots?
Watering will depend on that.
Also nothing is required until you actually have a seedling sticking up.
Also that doesn't look like the safest spot.
Is there any traffic going by?
Stay safe
Bill
They might be getting too much sun and getting very hot from being on the concrete exposed to direct sun most of the day. I would move them closer to the edge so that they can get some sort of shaded from taller grass or shrubs. There is a happy middle point, just have to find it.
There should be the small openings in the bottom of each container. If any are missing the holes push a pocket knife through and give a bit of a twist to make the hole larger. But if they are the same as the earlier photo I don't see any problems. No matter what the soil mix is made out of it can only hold so much water. Anything over that amount will flow out the holes.
I would be more worried about the soil drying out between visits, especially once the plants start growing. Hot days, sunny days, breezy days or very low humidity days can all lead to rapid drying of the soil mix. Two or more of those will speed it up.
- Thread starter
- #55
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
When you say that watering will depend on what's in the pots, are you talking about the soil?
The spot is a vacant/abandoned lot, there are roads nearby but the traffic is minimal and no one walks by or has a reason to go there.
I'll move the cups in a small patch of soil which I think used to be the garden of whatever the building was so they aren't on concrete and can get some shade. What worries me is that all or almost all of the variables that SmokingWings mentioned are in effect at this part of the year in my country. Most of the days after late June until late September are hot and sunny, there is the occasional breeze but rainfall is scarce, and whenever it rains it most likely happens for less than an hour and it gets hotter after that due to humidity. Considering these parameters, should I opt to water the plants 2 times a day or more;
The spot is a vacant/abandoned lot, there are roads nearby but the traffic is minimal and no one walks by or has a reason to go there.
I'll move the cups in a small patch of soil which I think used to be the garden of whatever the building was so they aren't on concrete and can get some shade. What worries me is that all or almost all of the variables that SmokingWings mentioned are in effect at this part of the year in my country. Most of the days after late June until late September are hot and sunny, there is the occasional breeze but rainfall is scarce, and whenever it rains it most likely happens for less than an hour and it gets hotter after that due to humidity. Considering these parameters, should I opt to water the plants 2 times a day or more;
I think that the comment was regarding the msg #53 that @Bill284 posted. Whatever is in the mix in the small containers will help determine how fast they dry out. If there is a lot of coco coir in it then it will dry out faster than if there is a lot of peat moss.
It will take a few trips walking over with the watering cans at least once a day, maybe twice, till it gets figured out. Just another of the little things growers have to put into their routine when they find out gardening is another hobby.
Sounds like a typical Michigan summer. We get the same thing except we also see the severe summer 'thunderstorms' where we can get an inch of water in under an hour. Then every 4 to 6 weeks we get a cool day where is rains all day, slow and steady, and we end up with about an inch but it took 16 hours instead of just one hour.
- Thread starter
- #57
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
Big update! The plants were relocated to a safer spot, which is in the woods so contact with concrete or anything manmade is out of the equation now, although I must inspect the spot a bit more to find the place with perfect sunlight. The germination started on a bowl of water on Saturday night, a week has passed, 4 of the seeds germinated successfully and 3 of them have already sprouted and are showing signs of steady growth every day. They were visited 2 times a day since Monday and they were watered minimally (2-3 bottle caps of water each, which seemed enough, some visits went by without watering because of previous rainfall). Unfortunately a soldier was lost. One of the germinated seeds was cut off from its taproot when it was planted. I still kept the cup with that particular seed just to see if there was any chance of it doing anything but no signs of growth so far so I'll probably get rid of it (it's the one which hasn't sprouted in the pic). What bothers me is the fact that 2 of the seeds haven't finished their germination yet and have remained in the same state inside the bowl (really, really small taproot) for the last 3 days. Is there any chance that the germination failed for them and can I do something about it? I'm also thinking about some of the tips y'all provided me in the thread, like watering with molasses, applying neem oil etc. Any update on those methods considering the current situation and status of the plants?
- Thread starter
- #58
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
Forgot to mention that it rained yesterday morning and when I visited at night, there were lots of snail in the rocks and flowers beside the plants. Could this be a problem and is there a way to keep them and other animals away from the plants?
Some people panic as the sight of any bug. For the most part snails and slugs are scavengers prefer to go after already decomposing wood and organic material and return it back to the soil. And, there is probably a lot of those small pieces of decomposing weeds, sticks and what-not in the empty fields or abandoned areas behind the buildings.
Snails in aquariums are a different story and those will also go after algae and living plants in the tank.
- Thread starter
- #60
PlanPreacher2319
Active Member
"What bothers me is the fact that 2 of the seeds haven't finished their germination yet and have remained in the same state inside the bowl (really, really small taproot) for the last 3 days. Is there any chance that the germination failed for them and can I do something about it? I'm also thinking about some of the tips y'all provided me in the thread, like watering with molasses, applying neem oil etc. Any update on those methods considering the current situation and status of the plants?"
Any updates on any of this;
Any updates on any of this;
