First time grower on the gulf coast - help please:)) - Zone 9

[Sammy2]

Hi all you southern outdoor grow guru’s!!!

Started 8 of my seeds from ILGM inside in water, then transferred them to happy frog soil, tails were about 1/2”. Now I’m using distilled water.

3 Durban poison auto
3 runtz fem
2 Bruce banner, which after reading some, I may have to attempt an indoor grow on one or two of these.

Right now outdoor temp is 86 degree
Humidity 53%

I kept six inside and under my aero garden lights only;
As close to the top of the pots as possible;
About 3.5 inches from top of soil.

And two outdoors; Durban poison and Bruce Banner, just to see what I could do…

Please check out the photos. One indoor Durban leaves are curling up… and two haven’t sprouted yet…

I intended to grow all three strains outdoors

I covered them with domes, then “plastic cut in half” water bottles to the ones with 4 leaves total. Maybe it was too soon, one of them is stretchy looking.

When using my hard water from the tap for outdoors, do I treat the soil to stabilize the PH? Or any other solutions?
Is it too hot to move seedlings outside?

I’ve got some incognito spots. And wanted to put a couple directly in the soil when ready, thoughts on that and timing??

The rest I’m using containers, up to 20 or so gallon ones, I also have some smaller ones.

All the info is a bit overwhelming, any outdoor growing suggestions for my area zone 9 feel free to comment, pretty please:))

Thanks all!!

[Borderryan22]

From what I can tell (the lighting makes it a little difficult to diagnose anything), they all look pretty great! Not falling over. Just leave them domed for a couple more day, no watering the soil. In a couple/few days, start watering in a ring about halfway between the pot and the stem. Just a couple of oz’s every few days.

You’ll need a TDS meter and you’ll want to start feeding when the runoff (20ish% of what you put in) dips to 1,000ppm or less. This won’t be for a couple of weeks. Happy Frog has enough nutes to get you through 4ish weeks if I’m not mistaken.

@Sammy2

do I treat the soil to stabilize the PH

A lot of cannabis soils are buffered within proper range. If using tap water, let it sit out, slightly covered, for 24+ hours. This dechlorinates it, as cannabis doesn’t like chlorine so much. You will need to pH your water and nutrient solutions, to a pH of 6.2-.8. This is optimal range for water and nutrient uptake.

@Sammy2

directly in the soil when ready, thoughts on that and timing

As long as they are getting plenty of light. And if you need to be stealthy, remember the smell can travel pretty far. I’m about 45ft away from an auto I have flowering in a greenhouse and when the wind hits right, I get a big ol whiff.

@Sammy2

The rest I’m using containers, up to 20 or so gallon ones, I also have some smaller ones

For larger containers, I would recommend organic, living soil. It’s a little late in the year, since it needs to cook a bit, but that’s going to be a whole lot of mixing and a whole lot of pH’ing whichever nutrients you go with. Organic, living soil uses microbes and fungi and only needs water.

And you can take the seedlings outside in the mornings, then when it’s really starting to beam, take them in. Be sure they maintain 18/6, though or you’ll start flowering. And watch for pests. I highly recommend a good regimen for preventative maintenance of pests and WPM (white powdery mildew).

SORRY THIS WAS SO MUCH!!! It is a lot at first, but then it’s like riding a bike. Sometimes that bike has a loose seat or rusty chain, but we learn and grow on!!!
Stay Lit and happy growing!!!

[Sammy2]

Thank you @Borderryan22! I ‘m so new to all of this…. And yes, pics were crummy:((. This seedling stage seems the most tricky, I’ll be reading Robert’s guide to symptom checking, it’s a lot.

I was planning on using FF liquid nutes and attempt mixing my own soil.

3 parts compost
3 parts sphagnum peet moss
1 part vermiculite
1 part perlite

Is this considered organic,?

Then I would amend the water and soil for proper Ph? So, if I have five 20 gallon containers, won’t that be a lot of water to pretreat… I don’t know how much once per day quantities would be, best guesstimate?

And what would you recommend for insect and powdery mildew prevention?

[Graysin]

@Borderryan22

From what I can tell (the lighting makes it a little difficult to diagnose anything), they all look pretty great! Not falling over. Just leave them domed for a couple more day, no watering the soil.

100% the right advice here.

[Jaysittinback]

Hi you can get clean perlite or perlite with nutes added, so you can keep it organic with that mixture. Good start but will run out of nutrition so people add organic amendments. Hopefully others have more s its not my practice just little I know of soil and perlite

[Sammy2]

@Borderryan22 @Graysin and @Jaysittinback

Thanks so much for the 411:)). I’m sorry if this is long….

And photos are attached. I hope they’re better.

They sprouted on Tuesday. I had watered the soil thoroughly before I planted them. And kept domes on them most of this time, continually keeping a mister handy to keep the domes moist.The two I had outside, I decided to bring in, especially the Runtz fem… for the 18 hour lights on….

I’m trying to read and adjust accordingly. And this community is super helpful.

I watered them again yesterday. They seemed dry. So far, I have 6 presentable, and one total dud that didn’t sprout, and one struggler, not pictured.

I have some questions when someone’s got time…

The two BB autos are small, and seem droopy. Could it be they’re further away from the light?? And I’ve given them a bit more water, a couple times, with them further from the light, duh:))

Regarding the soil, I picked up some FFOF today for a couple containers, a FF happy frog soil amender for my beds for two, and I’m going to try the organic compost in containers for two?

Since it’s my first try, I want to see what works best here, and I want to try scrogging one of them:). Any pointers on that, scroggers?

Also, I’ll be starting a few more seeds for backup once these are outside.

It’s pouring rain here and I just tested the Ph rainwater. It’s pretty much right on, no chlorine, low alkalinity and low Ph. But, right now my seedlings would probably be floating? How big do they need to be before moving them outside, especially the autos and into their permanent homes?

How low should my aero garden lighting be? I added a riser to the shorter pots just now, so all are even;). And, when should I remove the domes?

Thanks y’all!!

[Graysin]

@Sammy2

And I’ve given them a bit more water, a couple times

Resist this temptation. seedlings need next to zero water. The only goal is to prevent the dirt from drying up totally. I have solo cup seedlings I water once every 3 days.

@Sammy2

picked up some FFOF today for a couple containers, a FF happy frog soil amender for my beds for two, and I’m going to try the organic compost in containers for two?

Watch your fox farms soil. It naturally will want to tank your pH between week 4 and 6 (about 8 weeks after germination if you go straight into the soil from seed). There’s just something about the way it breaks down and plants eat that will eventually wreak havoc on the root zone pH.

If you know to look for it by measuring the pH of your runoff at least once a week, you’ll be ready to deal with it when it happens.

@Sammy2

just tested the Ph rainwater

Rainwater should be treated like RO/distilled water. It’s pretty much totally pure water.

@Sammy2

How big do they need to be before moving them outside, especially the autos and into their permanent homes?

I would wait til they’re a few nodes tall - the actual height varies based on your lighting intensity, so I can’t say anything about actual height in inches.

@Sammy2

How low should my aero garden lighting be? I added a riser to the shorter pots just now, so all are even;). And, when should I remove the domes?

Wait for the plants to have 2 real nodes to take the domes off.
I’m not familiar with the lighting on the aerogarden but I’m going to assume full strength will be fine.

[Borderryan22]

@Sammy2

watered them again yesterday

When you water, only give them a few ml’s, maybe an oz the first couple weeks. And water at the edge of your smaller containers, and between the stem and edge of larger ones. You want those roots to reach and search for the water, so as to build a strong system and suck up all the good stuff. Let the soil dry out. They take in all the moisture from the leaves the first week or so while working on the roots.

@Sammy2

BB autos are small

Autos can be really picky and finicky. The #1 cause of stunted autos is overwatering. They’re all still small and will be fine with domes. I’ve seen many posts of BB autos being particularly stubborn also.

@Sammy2

Regarding the soil, I picked up some FFOF today for a couple containers, a FF happy frog soil amender for my beds for two, and I’m going to try the organic compost in containers for two?

Don’t overwork yourself your first time. I personally recommend getting a grow or two under your belt before starting to switch it up. It isn’t hard to dump a gallon of nutrients onto the wrong plant bed when growing in different mediums. And then you can really hit some road bumps, and autos have very little recovery time when they are stressed.

[Borderryan22]

Lol I was about to keep going but @Graysin has quicker fingers than me!!!

[Sammy2]

This is great information, thank you @Graysin. And it gives me confidence:)).

In the meantime I’ll be working on what I’m going to do with outdoor watering, not including rain. I have a rain barrel I can use. Is that a good idea? I’ve read on here I may need to water my outdoor containers a couple times a day, depending on the heat I guess, couple gallons, is that right? I gets super hot here in summer.

Also, I’m not sure yet how to use this forum properly, so if I should be seeking another conversation regarding specific questions, feel free to let me know…

Thanks!!

[Sammy2]

Thank you @Borderryan22!! I know you told me that already… it’s difficult to resist, like @Graysin said:))

Your 411 re keeping it simple, sounds great!! Im gonna try to do that!! I’m a nervous nelly sometimes, thinking I have to know everything, before proceeding:(. Doesn’t always serve me well…so thank you!!

And I’m excited to get my grow on:)).

[Borderryan22]

The test of patience is real lol. I know for a fact that 2 plants will fill my closet just fine in after a few weeks, but I still end up with 4 or 5 lol. I just had to put an auto outside that went from about 14" to over 5 feet in less than 3 weeks. I thought she’d stay small lol. And I’m trying to figure out what to drop after I chop another tomorrow. Some of the struggles aren’t so bad lol

@Sammy2

excited to get my grow on:)).

[Graysin]

@Sammy2

have a rain barrel I can use. Is that a good idea?

Yes. Rain water is good - essentially the most pure you can get. The only thing to be mindful of is that the barrel has a mesh over the top so bugs can’t lay eggs in the water. That’s the quickest way to introduce harmful larvae into your grow.

@Sammy2

if I should be seeking another conversation regarding specific questions, feel free to let me know…

This is a perfect place. This topic is, whether you intended it or not, the best spot for a grow journal. You can document your journey from start to finish here, and as you learn and grow, either continue the discussion here or start a new journal for the new grow when you get there.

@Borderryan22 is a great resource too, he’s growing some monsters outdoors as we speak. I’m more of an indoor grower, but I can help with all the basic principles.