I have always started my seeds in a seed bed outdoors. I have had good Luck with it. But it does stunt the plant for a little bit. This is my first time fooling with Auto flowering seeds. But I have heard from you guys that a auto has a small window of vegetation stage and can’t afford to stunt them any. So I want to start them in a container where I can cut the container off of the plant without damaging the roots. I was wanting to get your guy’s opinion on what kind of soil I need and type of container is the best.
Fox farms happy frog or ocean forest are great to start in.
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Okay, Thank you. Do you have any other advice about growing auto flowers? It is my first time growing them. I’m actually expecting my White Widow Auto seeds delivered this Tuesday. I can’t wait to get them in the dirt!!
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I just dropped to my knees now , for me as an out door Guerilla grower , my soil comes from my family and compost from our garden , just years of compact of waste of natural vegetables , leaves , from our garden and other very natural organic materials that I collect from ponds etc…
I grab Everything I can for my first planting and of course am very natural from there
Just feed the right nutrients, and not too much, don’t over water.
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Germinate the seeds in water with up to 20% hydrogen peroxide. The peroxide improves and speeds germination rate.
Use a good seed starter. Fox farm happy frog is a good choice.
To avoid shock / stunting plant germinated seed directly into final destination or I put them in a peat pot (cow pot is another good option) filled with good seed starter mix. After a week or two, plant entire pot in final destination. Using this interim step allows you control environment during their vulnerable seedling stage.
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I will agree with the other fellas. I had good luck starting my sprouts in dixie cups with happy frog. I mixed 2 parts happy frog with one part ocean forest for my first transplant and they are looking damn good.
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Just started my GSCookies in a natural compost
[quote=“Hillbilly420, post:3, topic:46045”]
Okay , I appreciate !
Does the peat pot break down good over time where it won’t choke the roots? I have used other biodegradable pots on photos and at the end of the season I would pull the stalk and sometimes the biodegradable pot would still be intact. But I have never used the peat pot.
yes. when I check the root ball I have never noticed them
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Light warrior from fox farm
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I got the Happy Frog potting soil and the ocean forest today. I just got done putting my 20 White Widow Autos in a glass of water and as soon as they sprout I’m going to start them in peat pots. I have never used the two soils I mentioned.I noticed both soils has natural fertilizer in them. The ocean forest looks like it has more fertilizer of the two . Would the ocean forest burn a seed up with the fertilizer it has in it? Or is it okay to use it to start seeds.
I would not start seeds in ocean forest, just a simple pro-mix or organic potting soil will work fine. I use Ocean Forest for my photo period outdoor grows and its awesome, but really too hot for autos. If you go onto royalqueenseeds.com and look for their auto-flower recipe you will find success. I have used it and had great luck, and its simple: 3 parts peat, 3 parts compost, 2 parts perlite, 1 part vermiculite. I may have the perlite and vermiculite wrong, but thats why you should go check it out. You want to avoid transplanting your autos, and with this recipe I start and finish them in 3 gallon containers, no transplanting. I find anything bigger than a 3 gallon for autos is a waste of soil.
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My seedlings have all survived. 
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They may have survived and thats great, but seeds need very little in the beginning stages of life. A seed actually contains some essential nutrients to start its life. FFOF is a great soil, but not what you would preferably want to start your seeds in. Its hot with the manure and guano and that can really stunt a seedling. Think of a seedling as a baby, and that baby’s intake of nutrients and food is nowhere near what the requirements are of a grown adult. I am super glad your seeds survived, but from all of my experience and soil science background I stay away from those hot soils until later in growth, and definitely tone them down for autos.
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5 years and countless grow cycles, I’ve been doing it all wrong. 
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I started my auto’s in 2/3 happy frog and 1/3 ocean forest and their doing ok. But I was a little bit worried about it.
