I live in North Florida, I have a couple seeds i want to plant for personal use only, and i have a couple questions. Im doing outdoor because i don't have the ability to do indoor at the moment, and it seems from what i've read online that outdoor is somewhat easier. I plan on germinating both seeds, by putting them in a wet paper towel (not dripping wet, just damp), then putting them in a plastic bag, then putting them in my closet in the dark for like 3-4 days, then planting them in small pots to start with so i can keep track of them, then transplant them once they get to the veg stage. My questions are: 1) is it smart to germinate an outdoor seed, inside? 2) How often should i water them? I plan on planting them close to a water source. 3) Do I NEED to add fertilizer to it? (if so should i mix it in the soil i plan on planting in a few days prior to actually transplanting them to the ground. 4) How do i know when it's time to harvest my plants? Any tips/advice is openly welcome even if it doesn't have to do with the questions i asked! Please and thank you in advance!
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Hi Byrdman. Good luck with your grow. Take care, I hear they have some pretty serious drug laws in Florida.
To answer your questions.
1. Your seeds will germinate just fine indoors. In fact they will probably be a bit happier. Don't leave it too long before potting it up. Get it in a pot when the seed has cracked and there's just a couple mm of root and shoot showing. If you leave it too long the plant is very fragile and difficult to handle and liable to get damaged when potting. I have personally never bothered with a plastic bag. Also, it is possible that this will take more than 3 or 4 days. Sometimes up to a week or so.
2. Depends just how close that water source is and what the weather does. Remember, each visit to the site increases your risk of being seen so keep visits to a minimum. It's not just the law you need to watch out for. People stealing your plants is also something to consider. Having said that, if you get a prolonged dry period you will definitely need to get along there and give water. Keep an eye on the plants that grow nearby and use them to help you judge. Being planted in the earth rather than in a pot will reduce the need for watering considerably, as will your nearby water supply. Check it out at first and learn from what you find. If you think it will be dry and get there and it is still moist, well then you know for the future that the site is moister than you expected.
3.Depends on the structure and condition of the soil that is there. If you are planting in rich, nutritious soil then the plant will probably thrive as is. In my opinion it is always worth digging in some good compost. Do this a couple of days before planting. For no other reason than sp you don't have to be seen carrying a sack of compost and a baby plant at the same time. Not sure what you have in Florida but where I live the garden shops sell pelleted chicken shit which is very rich and high in nitrogen making for great vegetative growth. If you use it dig in well so that when you plant the roots are not just sat directly in a pile of chicken shit. This will burn them.
4. Harvest time will depend on the strain of cannabis that you plant but will probably be September/October when the days begin to get shorter. You will see from visits to the plant how it is getting along and will be able to make a better judgement as the time approaches. Do you know what strain you have? Sativas will take longer to finish than indicas. Put up more questions as the plant develops through the summer.
I hope this helps you a bit. Good luck with your grow. Read these pages about outdoor growing here for more information. -
I've already found 2 Sites, they're like 30 feet from each other, but its in dense woods, both have water sources near by, and have good sources of sunlight, one site was a little wetter than the other, so i dug my hole of where i wanted my plant, and layered the bottom of the hole with rocks, so it can drain. But at both sites, i dug holes, and filled it like 3/4 full of potting soil, and then 1/4 of the original dirt that was there. But i'm think im gonna start them in pots so i can keep track of them and then just transplant them when they get more mature and a little more resistant, so i dont shock them when i put them in the ground. But im not sure exactly what strain i have, both seeds are from high quality plants though. Which im glad with. Im much more about quality than quantity. But yeah the Laws are definitely strict here, which is why i'm only doing 2 plants, but I made sure both sites were off my houses property and somewhere with good cover. When i plant them, i wanna keep them warm, and we're still having a few cold days here and there, how harmful would it be to have the new plant out in 40 degree weather all night? I assume pretty bad. But sorry for all the questions, I'm just new to this and wanna be successful with it.Originally posted by Schmokin View PostComment
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Why not?
Birdman, I live 30 mins. northwest of Reno Nevada on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range at an elevation of 5189 ft. above sea level, 40 degrees Fahrenheit no problem they grow fine but they grow best at 75 degrees. If I couldn't grow at 40 degrees Fahrenheit for an over night low I doubt I could grow at all. As it is I can only get these temps from about June first to the middle, sometimes end of October. Wow, only 5 months of outdoor grow time. So I bring my plants to 2 and one half to 3 feet high indoors then take them outdoors. It works many times I reach 12' with my sativa and usually 5-6 feet indicia's. I don't think my sativa ever reaches it's fully potential because I don't get enough flower time. I have a small area where when I have a season where I don't go any where. I induce flowering with a black plastic cover that I place and remove each night/morning. But I still think I could flower my sativa longer except for snow and they get to tall to move in doors. I always run 6 plants outdoors in 5 gal buckets and 6 plants in the ground. The 6 in the buckets are insurance for the early snow or hard frost. The bucket plants can be moved in and out to ensure a harvest. Be care full in a hard wind a 4',5',6' plant in a 5 gal. bucket can be blown over in such a wind. 20-25mph.
40 degrees
for sure....
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Smokesalot,
Thanks for the info brotha, I'm starting them indoors, in cups, so i can easily move them around, and i don't wanna put them outside in the cold immediately before they're mature enough. The buckets is a good idea, but they would stand out too much and whenever my plants are almost too big for the cup, then ill transplant them to the ground, because i don't really have to worry about snow in florida. I still don't know what strain i have, which i think is one of the most exciting parts of it. So after it flowers and everything, and is ready to harvest, I take the buds, and snip the leaves off and hang it upside down on a string or something like that so it can dry right?Comment
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That's right Byrdman. Snip the buds off and hang them somewhere cool and dark to dry.
You can make a good drying closet by setting some wires or sticks across the inside of a large box and hanging the buds from there.
Take your time with the drying/curing. It's worth the patience for well cured bud. If you rush this stage you can end up with green tasting weed which can spoil your enjoyment.Comment
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good luck with your growing.
40 is really low. If your plants are planted outside already then you should be careful with the weather. Weather is an outside growers worst enemy!
the plant grows best around 77 degrees.
curing is one of the most important stage in cultivating marijuana. most people neglect this process and wonders why they still have wierd smokes. its because the buds are still green if you don't dry them well. and smoking green buds is very nasty! just a tip, dont worry about the harvest yet. you still have a long road ahead.
a problem that you may get with growing outdoors is pest. insect, or just simply animals may come up and eat your plant. To avoid this you can clean all weeds around the plant. make sure its clean in the area and try to use some chicken wire to protect it allaround from animals. The problem with this is that it might be a little easier to spot a growing site with all of the sudden there is some chicken wire in the woods haha.. curious people will definately check it out. So it has its pros and cons. also.. the one thing you can do is, the spot that you are going to be planting your plant, you can dig a bit deeper hole and put chicken wire all around the bottom then put the dirt back on it. this can prevent mols or bunnies.
I am a indoor guy myself. I allways wanted to grow out doors but i dont have the a spot to do it. so its been all indoors for me but I can assure you that you are in good hands with schmokin.
As schmoking said, if you have any questions, just ask buddy.
I will post a thread on how to harvest. so keep an eye out for that. might be this week. I gotta work the schedule first
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Awesome, thanks for all your help, i'm gonna post pictures through out the growth stages, and hopefully with 3 or so months i'll have some funky homegrown to share with all my homies. Happy growing, and again thanks for all the help!Originally posted by Schmokin View PostComment
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The cold is going to be a bit of an issue, but im starting them in cups, with drain holes, to allow proper draining. Im keeping them in my car for now until they sprout because it'll provide a little insulation and keep them a little warmer than they would be outside. But driving around with them also scares me a little, cause i don't want them moving around too much and stressing the plant out. But it's my only option at the moment. Plus by the time they sprout it'll be about mid-late march so it should've warmed up by then. Yeah i know it's wayyy to early to worry about the drying and curing process and i don't need to get ahead of myself, but it's my first time growing and i wanna know all the steps ya know? But i'm gonna be so devistated if they both die D=. But I'm a first time grower, so i can't expect to grow th dankest of dank right off the bat, but i can damn sure do my best to get that result! Thanks for the help guys!Last edited by ByrdmanSr28; 03-05-2013, 01:31 AM.Comment
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Also I was curious as to if the filtered sunlight through my car windows would be a major issue with its sprouting, I feel like it should be okay, but I just wanna make sure.Comment
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Short version:Originally posted by ByrdmanSr28 View Post
Your plants will be fine in your car, but get them into brighter light within 2-3 days after breaking the surface of the soil.
Long version:
No, filtered sunlight will not be a positive or negative issue for the germination and sprouting of the seeds. They will come up just fine.
The seeds contain what is called an endosperm. The endosperms function is to provide food for the embryo (in this case, the baby pot plant in your seeds) until said embryo develops its own leaves and commences photosynthesis. At this point, the plant is on its own as far as food is concerned.
When it first germinates, you will see two small leaves above ground. These are called cotyledons [cot ul ee duns], or seed leaves. In plants with exalbuminous seeds (e.g. Cannabis), the endosperm has been absorbed by these leaves while it was still in the seed, and will feed your plant for a WHILE. Not long, but a while. However, you will be wise to get them into brighter light well before the 1st set of true leaves appear, and probably within 2-3 days max after the plants come above ground. Otherwise, they will begin to strech into ridiculous looking plants that will eventually turn yellow from lack of chlorophyll. This is know as etiolation and is due to the plant making a desperate attempt to find brighter light. Not surprisingly, this depletes the plants endosperm energy reserve very quickly.
AnthonyComment
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shovel
If this is all you have to plant, then plant deep. Leave 1/4" of stem and plant the rest. It works, roots off the stem, but you have lost time, meaning it takes longer....
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image.jpgIs it too early to put into the ground if my baby plants are only like 2 inches tall?Last edited by ByrdmanSr28; 03-10-2013, 12:00 AM.Comment
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Cannabis is never to small or large to plant in the ground. In fact, I have grown by simply planting seeds in the ground. However, the larger and more developed the plant is, the greater the chance of having it survive.Originally posted by ByrdmanSr28 View Post
I would personally wait at least another week, but only if I had somewhere to put it that got a lot of light until then.Comment
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Well both plants are in the ground, i tested the pH level of my soil, it's at about 6, so it's a little more acidic than i'd like it, but it should be okay, I mixed in a little sand to allow better draining, and also added a little bit of blood meal which is high in nitrogen. I plan on doing my watering at least 2 times a week, I feel like that should be okay, cause they're somewhat near a creek so the grounds already pretty moist as is, and it's pretty humid here in Florida anyway. So im excited, hopefully all goes as planned and i have some funky homegrown before long.Comment
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