Good morning! I am a first time grower using the apotforapot 5 gallon package. I purchased Northern Lights Autoflower from the recommended supplier with the $40 discount. I’ve been at this for a couple weeks, and want reassurances as to whether I’m on track or if something is wrong.
So I started by soaking the seed in water (bottled purified water)
After 24Hrs the seed was still floating. I gently submerged it and it sunk, I thought I was waiting to see the seed crack and the root protrude so I waited another 24hrs. The seed had finally opened!
She was planted on 7/13/21 - I live in Phoenix AZ so the temperature can be extreme here. I leave her on the kitchen windowsill which gets all the morning rays and the temp inside stays at 75 degrees. When I get off work the jiffy feels dry on the outside but the soil is still damp so I spritz her a bit. If I leave it outside in the 110+ degrees it’d be completely dried out in a hurry.
After a couple of days later I was worried maybe something hadn’t taken since there was no evidence of the seed popping. On 7/18 I cleared just a bit of the soil above where the seed was planted, maybe help it out.
My next step is to transplant it into the 5-gallon pot (I haven’t mixed yet)
But I am wondering how long to wait for it to grow in order to transplant it. It’s this size after 16 days.
I started working from home so I’ve decided to let it sit outside for some direct sun - I can go check on it every hour or so to dampen it to make sure the sun didn’t completely dry it out.
Am I on the right path? I feel like this seed has been growing extra slow compared to what the instructions suggest and what I’ve read online. I mean it’s not dead, but it’s not very big either. Is it getting the direct sunlight going to help it now? Should I keep nurturing this one for some time till I can transplant it? How long? Or is something wrong and I should start on another seed?
Thank y’all all in advance for any help! I’m just hoping to make sense of this. I hope she’s alive and this is somehow normal.
I would definitely not put it outside. Way too young and the direct sunlight will dry her. Put her under a T5 fluorescent light or if you have way to dim your current grow light. She need humidity at this stage and for several more weeks. I cover mine with a clear solo cup when they break ground for at least 10 days. Water in a circle about 6” around the plant base to get her roots searching for water and spreading out. A pot for pot medium should last you about 5 weeks with water only. Questions on what your set up is? tent, light, exhaust and intake equipment all make for a successful grow.
Ok - I will not leave her outside! I don’t have an indoor set up, other than the apotforapot set. When you say water 6" around to get the roots to grow are you suggesting I transplant her already at this stage? Or continue to let it grow but with more humidity from a clear cover?
I’m new and don’t know much but that does seem awfully slow, I planted this one 4 days ago. Perhaps the different strain? Hopefully someone corrects me if I’m wrong, but I wouldn’t transplant yet
@maddladdchadd Cover with a clear plastic lid of some kind and let her absorb the moisture from the air for now. I’d worry more about light than moving her into anything bigger just yet. I put my seedlings under a $18 60watt LED from Amazon, where they lived for about 5 days because I was way too nervous to move them under my growing lights. Joke was on me, my 3 sprouts are happy as clams and growing their second set of real leaves.
This does seem “slow” but I have a White OG seed that is still alive but hasn’t done much beyond sprouting a tail - it’s day 8 today of germinating. So it’s very likely just that Seed’s genetics - I wouldn’t stress it too much as long as she’s still growing. Light is how she grows and if she’s just getting supplemental light filtered through your windows and/or getting light from generic household lights it’s not going to be enough. Start thinking about an indoor setup now so when she’s big enough you can get into a controlled climate with proper airflow etc. I’m in New Mexico so I can sympathize with the desert heat and insane dryness - I can grow vegetables outside but I’m too new to weed to want to try that outside.
Not yet on the transplant, five her another 5 days and put the jiffy pod and plant in the forever home. I grow in soil and coco and I’m going back to full time coco. I use the Fox Farm coco loco. It’s organic and will feed your girl for 5 weeks or so with straight PH water. Then comes the nutrients, Jacks 321 is the best out there in my opinion. The watering 6” in a circle will be after the transplant and for a couple of weeks. With coco you can water or feed everyday. Right now I would just keep the jiffy pod moist but not to wet. Once you transplant her, increase the water to about 6-8 ounces and increase with growth. You got this brother
Nice on the set up, will you be pulling in air from your house? A oscillating fan will be needed to create a light breeze inside . You don’t won’t direct and constant air just a passing breeze . Have you got your PH and TDS pens to measure your PH and EC/PPMs?
As mentioned above you’ll need to start investing in equipment and the first step will be a tds meter (any one will work really) and a quality PH meter, apera is what I use but blue labs and Hanna are the other trusted brands.
Also mentioned above using a dome to help raise humidity is ideal, for now you can just cut a 4L just or a 2L bottle in half. It doesn’t have to be perfectly clear, it can be milk hug style diffused light is actually great.
Temperature also go’s a long way 78f or 27c is ideal try to stay as close to that as possible.
Your tap water is probably high in PH and that is causing slow growth as well, you will also need PH up/down I prefer advanced nutrients but any brand will do, I’m not a fan of floratech or something like that it’s very weak and inconsistent.
You can pot it up to the larger pot and dome it from there for sure.
Stop misting, avoid wetting leafs it causes damage when light hits it. Instead allow the mosture to be absorbed via the root system.
Dont soak it either just let it be damp, over watering is a very common new grower issue.
Do you plan to grow this plant outside? Or inside?
In the ground? In a window? On a deck? Inside a grow tent?
Those are must have pieces of testing equipment. The PH of your nutrient/water going into your plant and medium is critical for growth and survival. Issues can also be identified with watering the plant until 20% runs out the bottom, you collect and test the PH, EC and PPMs to know what’s going on in the medium (soil or coco). EC is electrical conductivity and measures the mineral concentration of the liquid solution. TDS is total dissolved solids, or PPMs is the measurement of the total organic and inorganic substances present in your solution. You’ll use these to mix nutrients per the feeding schedule. Without these it’s a crap shoot with a butt load of problems.
Ok cool I’m getting those as well. It didn’t occur to me till my light arrived today I should have thought about it harder. I have a 2x4x4 tent I’m setting up. This is a 1000w true 105 light that suspends quite a distance from cables.
How far above the seedling should my light hang? What size light and power light should I get for my tent size and 1 plant?
I got a light, though it had good reviews I don’t think it’s what I should have gotten - thus I need to acquire a proper variant. I’m clearly on a type of budget but also don’t mind spending just a bit for some quality and perhaps quietness.
Beelux 1000W LED Grow Light for Indoor Plants Full Spectrum UV&IR Energy Efficient Plant Grow Lamp with Daisy Chain Dual Switch for Seed Starting Veg and Flower Greenhouse (Actual Power 105W)
On Amazon.
My goal is to get a little tent going in my room. So it’d be nice if it weren’t loud, the exhaust fan I got good reviews from growers noted for quietness.
I heard more watts more yield but what I hadn’t considered is there’s gotta be limitations based on tent size. I figure the light can’t be sitting on top of the plant so if I have a 4ft tent how does that work when it grows?
That light is suspended like a feet and half from hooks, that’s almost half the tent.
I looked for that particular light and could t find that one but found similar Beelux. Does that have the veg and bloom switch and dimmable? If so, for your seedling I would keep the light at 30 inches and dimmed to about 40% for 10-14 days with your plant under the dome. I veg in a 2 x 2 x 4 and have my light tight to the support bars with zip strips when height becomes an issue. I get several more inches that way.
I also opted to purchase a couple more things as I begin to understand what I have and what is needed.
Apparently my 2x2x4 tent can do up to two plants - I’ve decided to grow an additional plant in the tent when it arrives tomorrow. Prior I only had the apotforapot kit, which once the seedling I’ve been nurturing grows, will be transplant into. I hope the humidity tray and LED light jump starts it back to where it should be. Then the soil mixture should help considerably after transfer and set up of the tent.
Now for my second plant I’ve decided to try a coco grow set up. I bought:
rapid rooter plugs
general hydroponics Floragrow/micro/Bloom nutrient set
botanicare Cal-Mag plus
another 5 gallon bag
Mother Earth coco+pearlite mix
