Hi,
New to the community. Growing new batch of seedlings. Think I had them in the germination tank to long and caused stretch. They’ve been in the nursery tent for 2-3 days now and stems are turning a more darker greener colour now and leaves more exposed.
Started to use plastic bags to increase RH.
Using a spiderfarmer 1000 now 10” from light at 60%
Any advice for how I go forwards from here?
Thanks
Use a fan to get her to jiggle periodically ever so slightly. This will strengthen her. When you transplant, you could bury her deeper if you want. Also, keep the light as close as possible to keep her from stretching. If her leaves lift, the light is too far away. If her leaves droop, it’s too close.
Thanks for the guidance. I’m considering transplanting straight into final 18L pots now rather than later. Do you think that’s best as they’re autoflowers?
I’ve measured the Lux value and I read around 5000-7000. I’ve also covered them with a plastic dome and drilled holes in them to increase RH as without it’s around 55%. Should I release them to allow for more air flow or keep it high humidity for now?
As @Outdoorman said, you can bury her deeper so the streching already visible, won’t be an issue later. But you need to get a good distance so the streching stops.
I think 55% is fine. I would let them out.
If you go to a large pot right off you risk overwatering. It is a common mistake for new growers, which is why it is recommended to move up gradually. A party cup is good for 3-4 weeks. Then a 3 gallon is good for another 4.
I’m using HydroCoco 60/40 as my medium so I’ve read a lot about how with Coco it’s more important to water consistently as it dries out a lot quicker than soil and it’s hard to overwater them.
Do you have any exp growing using coco with seedlings?
No I haven’t. Coco and Peat both hold 10 times their weight in water. That’s a lot! That is also why they are in such demand, however, in order to counter the excessive amount of water being held by those mediums other ingredients become necessary. Perlite, vermiculite, bark fines are needed to create space for proper drainage and aeration.
My father had a peat bog that we mined and was working with Michigan State University to research potting mixes, planting mixes, and compost materials. He would give me recipes (which I wish I still had) to mix together in the screener processor for retail sale. Other ingredients are also added such as worm castings, bat guano, kelp, shrimp,manure, etc.
I’ve been trying to advise folks on here to use a good potting mix because companies have perfected them. A good potting mix will provide all the nutrients needed for up to 6 months. If you are new to the game, it would increase your chance of success exponentially. All you need to do at that point is use properly PH’d purified water, good lighting, and ventilation. If you want to get serious like @canagen, you can start making your own soil and disregard salt based nutrients altogether.
Nice man, super informative and impressed by your knowledge on this subject. I’ve spent the last few months reading and researching as much as I can and feel kinda confident to take on this grow. I’m taking a lot of enjoyment from it.
I have seen the use of an organic mix I think it was a guy on YouTube “MrCanucks grow “
It’s probably the way I’ll go as I get more serious and a couple harvests under my belt. Law in my country ain’t quite up to date with the rest of the world yet.
I use this product:
It looks like a good base medium, however, it doesn’t list any nutrients such as worm castings, etc. That means you will need to properly feed your plants on a regular basis, which I wouldn’t want to do. I would say that it’s more for hydroponics. I am using Fox Farm’s Ocean Forest. I dont need to add anything so when I do, its additional. As long as I dont over fertilize they will be fine. I think that if you’re a new grower you should go with a good potting mix and don’t get caught up in the nutrients hype.