I started my girls out on cups with happy frog and finally had some success getting sprouts. This is their 3rd day. Preparing for transplanting soon. What ratio do i use for the 5 gal buckets i plan to use. Is it 50/50 HF then OF on top or do i mix it all together? How and what is the best for my indoor grow?
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Welcome to the forum @PhatPat
There is not a wrong way to do that as either way will work IMHO. It seems the most popular way is OF on the bottom and HF on top. This way the plant is well established before reaching the âhotterâ soil layer.
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Hey @PhatPat , Welcome to the forum.
Are they autos or photos?
Autos I like to transplant into the final home right away, in fact I just plant the seed in a 3 gallon pot after soaking 24hrs. But photos I like to let go for 2 weeks in a solo cup. The go into a 5 gallon pot.
And I agree with @HMGRWN on the soil. OF on the bottom and HF on top.
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Autos. Thank you both so much for your promt response. I tried starting my other seeds out in a bigger yet different medium but didnt have any luck. I have found success finally with the dixie cups. Im scared ill do something wrong so will prob let them get a bit stronger before i transplant. Thx again. Im new, sure you can tell.
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I would wait to transplant until the leaves of the plant are a little bit larger diameter than the solo cup as @Spiney_norman said about 2 weeks.
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No apologies needed. This forum thrives on helping new growers. Nobody will berate you for that. I knew nothing when I joined and learned everything here. Read as much as you can and as you gain knowledge you will find yourself helping out others in the future.
There are certain things that lead to success that eventually every grower will have to do.
Good lighting
pH montoring
Cannabis friendly grow media (soil, coco, hydro)
Good temps
Good humidity
correct feeding
I didnt do any of this right on my first grow and still got a couple good ounces. We all do things a little different from each other, but these basics are well known and will help you be successful. You will love this forum. Welcome home.
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Hi and welcome to the forum! 
I already love this forum. Thank you all for your insight. I will definitely listen to all of your âwords of wisdomâ. Im so ecstatic with this new hobby.
Next issue. Yesterday, second day above soil, i removed my clear cups to allow light and fresh air. 6 hours later they were slumped over. I panicked, watered the edges, spritz the cup and covered them back up. They stood right back up. Why? What caused this?
At this stage of growth, our lil girlz are getting what they need from the humidity, not the water in the soil. Once you have a few, 3-4 sets of true serrated leaves and the cotyâs shrivel up, then you know she is established and getting what she needs from the soil and can remove the dome. This also coincides with leaves touching the sides or a bit outside the edge of the cup. Here is my environment for the first 2 weeks in soil. Soil is soaked while the seed is germing. Once she goes in here, I do not water her. She gets her first real watering after the transplant and is moved from the dome to the big girl tent.
May the Fourth be with you!!
Lol. Ok great! Thats a relief to know. Looks good and humid in yours there. Iâll strive for that humidity and relax knowing that Iâm not smothering them by keeping them in their bio dome. Much appreciated~
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I maintain 80% humidity and 80ÂșF while in the dome and slowly start hardening her off before I move her to the big tent by opening the vents on top of the sprouter. I remove the dome as you mentioned for a few hours each day the last few days and get a fan on her to tickle her leaves.
Hello. Its me again. Thank you for your inquisitive answers yesterday. Quick question. I received my digital water quality tester which test for TDS, EC, ph, SALT, S.G, ORP, TEMP. Honestly, i dont know what im doing. Will you please help me make sense of this device?
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What brand tester is it? Do you know the model or maybe post a pic of it.
C-600 I bought it off amazon. Not seeing a brand name anywhere. Let me try to get a picture of it on here.
So TDS and EC are basically testing the same thing just giving a different way of reading the results. TDS is Total Dissolved Solids and EC is Electrical Conductivity. Minerals dissolved in water change how the water conducts electricity. 100% pure water does not conduct electricity at all. Most of us just use the TDS scale. It will tell you how much dissolved food (minerals and organic matter) are in your water before giving it to the plants. It will be in Parts Per Million. PPM. You can test the water that comes out of the pot and see how the soil is doing. Once the run off (excess water from the pot) falls below 1000ppm then you should start feeding the plant. Many soils have enough natural food for a month or two. DO NOT USE MIRACLE GROW SOILS, nor any soil that say "Feeds for X months.
pH is a measure of acid/alkali quality of the water. A pH of 7 is neutral. Cannabis in soil likes a slightly acid range of 6.5 to 6.8 pH. Hydroponics including Coco Coir grows like 5.5 to 5.8.
You should test your water for PPMs once before you start adding foods. Most public or well waters have some natural calcium and other minerals already in it. Mine runs about 250ppm out of the tap. Plus its got chlorine in it and thatâs bad. You can let it set out open for 24hrs and the chlorine will dissipate, or a water filter system will remove it.
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Thank you so much for that information. I understand it a whole lot more now. Is this a decent tester? So, ill just hold it in the water i plan to use and also again of the run off. Read the measurments and apply my results to what you just explained to me, correct?
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In the interest of honesty, its not great. Anytime you have a multi function tester you sacrifice quality. But it will get you started and it didnât cost too much. Ahera or Blue labs make a very good pH tester. ppm testers are not as critical and a cheaper unit is ok for that. Once you know the basic numbers you wont use it as often as the pH pen. Run off testing is the most important function.
This is a good choice for pH testers.
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Will it get me through this first grow or should i go ahead and invest in one you suggested?
If you bought it from Amazon and can return it and get the Apera thatâs what I would do. Will only cost you another 20 or so.
What soil do you plan to grow in.?
This will work for a ppm tester