New seedlings ready for outdoors and repotting help

[Kannibalistics]

I have three plants that i believe are Ready to be placed outside full time and also need to be potted in their real soil solution. I have them started in Ferti Lome Ultimate Potting Mix, and haven't done anything to them other than water with regular tap water. They have started their third set of true leaves. I want to keep them in pots and outdoors. I would like help on which soil to use, and what i should do about fertilizing? Basically any help from this point on is great! The plants look awesome and i would like to keep them up.

The third plant had an insect nibble on it while it was outside hardening off, no worries there.

 

[Kannibalistics]

 

[dtl420]

Looking good. If you're not gonna go organic the soil doesn't matter a whole lot. Chemical fertilizers will kill the microbes in the soil, so they won't really be "fed" by the soil but by the fertilizers.

I try to combine sub cool's super soil organics with dyna grow. Switching weekly between chem and organic. But unless you already have super soil cooking, you probably won't have time for this run.

Make sure you have proper drainage, aeration, and moisture retention. What soil you choose depends on what's available in your area, or if you want to order some online.

If you're interested in building your own:
http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/hot_topics/lawn_and_garden/homemade_potting_mix.shtml

The cheapest route it to get a few bags of top soil or garden soil, worm castings for improved soil structure, and perilite for drainage and aeration.

Are you using fresh tap water? You should let it sit out and dechlorinate over night at least.

 

[innerG]

Chemical fertilizers will kill the microbes in the soil, so they won't really be "fed" by the soil but by the fertilizers.

I try to combine sub cool's super soil organics with dyna grow. Switching weekly between chem and organic.

So you grow organically, but kill your microbes every other week?

 

[bertaluchi]

Yeah get you some good potting mix some perlite for drainage and some sort of compost or vermicompost. You can get dry organic nutes at any Lowes or HD. I like Job's tomato and vegetable for flowering plants. If you need anything in veg I would go with a liquid fish fertilizer, also available at those same stores. Keep it simple and let the plants do their thing. And get rid of those clear cups. You want your root zone to be dark. UV kills microbes and causes algae to grow in you medium. Just get the colored ones next time and you will be better off.

 

[dtl420]

So you grow organically, but kill your microbes every other week?

Without "heavy" chemical feeding you're not killing everything in your pots, but ensuring that your girls get everything they need.

Without access to every organic tea ingredient necessary to get a well rounded organic fertilizer, nutrients must be supplemented in some way.

With sub cools super soil alone I still experience deficiencies, but with supplemented dyna grow I personally good results. Plus I still have clear signs of life in my soil. Would upload photo but I don't have signal.

 

[dtl420]

So you grow organically, but kill your microbes every other week?

And also, I never said I grow organically. I'm simply trying a sort of hybrid strategy to try to achieve the best results. I'm hoping in the future, once I've built up my arsenal of organic amendments, to go 100% organic. But for now this method has proven to me to be sound.

 

[Gorguruga]

Kannibalistics, nice snaps, looking great. I can't offer any advice, new to this, but how long did it take to get them to that size so far?

 

[Kannibalistics]

Yeah get you some good potting mix some perlite for drainage and some sort of compost or vermicompost. You can get dry organic nutes at any Lowes or HD. I like Job's tomato and vegetable for flowering plants. If you need anything in veg I would go with a liquid fish fertilizer, also available at those same stores. Keep it simple and let the plants do their thing. And get rid of those clear cups. You want your root zone to be dark. UV kills microbes and causes algae to grow in you medium. Just get the colored ones next time and you will be better off.

I used 9oz clear tumbler cups just to start the plants off so i could get a visual sight of root growth and know when to repot definitively. They will be placed in darker nursery pots for their main vegetative and flowering phase.

 

[Kannibalistics]

Looking good. If you're not gonna go organic the soil doesn't matter a whole lot. Chemical fertilizers will kill the microbes in the soil, so they won't really be "fed" by the soil but by the fertilizers.

I try to combine sub cool's super soil organics with dyna grow. Switching weekly between chem and organic. But unless you already have super soil cooking, you probably won't have time for this run.

Make sure you have proper drainage, aeration, and moisture retention. What soil you choose depends on what's available in your area, or if you want to order some online.

If you're interested in building your own:
http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/hot_topics/lawn_and_garden/homemade_potting_mix.shtml

The cheapest route it to get a few bags of top soil or garden soil, worm castings for improved soil structure, and perilite for drainage and aeration.

Are you using fresh tap water? You should let it sit out and dechlorinate over night at least.

I am using tap water without distilling it. My understanding is tap water contains a minute amount of nutrients that are beneficial to starting plants when using a sterile potting mix. I figured i would use this until i start real fertilizing.

Ultimately i would like to do it like most my other plants, a mix of inert potting soil and some good compost. Any ideas and suggestions to that?

 

[Kannibalistics]

Kannibalistics, nice snaps, looking great. I can't offer any advice, new to this, but how long did it take to get them to that size so far?

I planted the seeds directly in the potting mix, watered, then placed some clear wrap over them to help propogate the seeds and keep humidity. They sprouted within 2-3 days, and took about 1.5 weeks to 2 weeks to get to their current growth height.

 

[dtl420]

I am using tap water without distilling it. My understanding is tap water contains a minute amount of nutrients that are beneficial to starting plants when using a sterile potting mix. I figured i would use this until i start real fertilizing.

Ultimately i would like to do it like most my other plants, a mix of inert potting soil and some good compost. Any ideas and suggestions to that?

As tap water sits out it forms an insoluble precipitation that will leave the same residue on roots that it leaves on dishes and bath tubs. Heat speeds up the reaction, this can typically be seen in hot tap water, which is typically much more cloudy than cold tap water. If you let it sit out a day or 2 in a bucket it will fix this.

As long as it drains you should be good. There are various other amendments that can be bought and added to soil such as guano, and kelp meal just to name a couple..
http://www.hightimes.com/read/subcools-super-soil-step-step

Even if you don't use a full on super soil you will still benefit from some, or all, of these additives.

Fresh worm castings are GREAT, they not only provide nutrition, but also a host of beneficial microbes and fungi.

 

[dtl420]

I am using tap water without distilling it. My understanding is tap water contains a minute amount of nutrients that are beneficial to starting plants when using a sterile potting mix. I figured i would use this until i start real fertilizing.

Ultimately i would like to do it like most my other plants, a mix of inert potting soil and some good compost. Any ideas and suggestions to that?

And tap water with a ppm reading over 150 should provide cal-mag. But you will still benefit from distillation.

 

[innerG]

And also, I never said I grow organically. I'm simply trying a sort of hybrid strategy to try to achieve the best results. I'm hoping in the future, once I've built up my arsenal of organic amendments, to go 100% organic. But for now this method has proven to me to be sound.

I'm just giving ya shit man

But synthetic nutrients won't kill your microbes

 

[dtl420]

I'm just giving ya shit man

But synthetic nutrients won't kill your microbes

I've honestly never done the research on that fact myself, just took everyone's word that the salts in commercial ferts would kill microbes. I suppose it makes sense that as long as you don't allow the salts to "build up" but frequent flushing they won't reach toxic levels?

Sorry if I came off add hostile. I'm proud of my girls. Lol

 

[innerG]

I've honestly never done the research on that fact myself, just took everyone's word that the salts in commercial ferts would kill microbes. I suppose it makes sense that as long as you don't allow the salts to "build up" but frequent flushing they won't reach toxic levels?

Sorry if I came off add hostile. I'm proud of my girls. Lol

Some microbes sensitive to salt could get killed off I guess, but I bet that most microscopic life will thrive in the freely-accessible life juices

 

[Jozikins]

Equal parts Fox Farms Ocean Forest and Happy Frog. Add perlite if you so desire, put it in a big smart pot, add additional microbes (like great white or equivalent,) mulch with clay pellets or hay, and after 3 or 4 weeks begin light feeding once a week with Maxsea All Purpose, Epsom Salts, and molasses, brew teas to feed microbes. Increase feed strength as time goes on. When flowering begins switch to Maxsea Bloom. Water with plain tap in-between feedings, adjust regimen as needed.

This is the riu outdoor recipe for success, good for beginner or pro gardeners. You can save some money by amending your own soil, but a popular store bought soil (fox farms) helps guarantee simplicity when asking for advice.

You can also brew teas with different ingredients to aid in rooting, vegetative, flowering, or ripening phases. This way you may avoid chemical growth boosters.

Maxsea is not totally organic, but you can see how effective it is in doublejj's and TMB's gardens. It does not appear to affect their microbial hordes, and I am very satisfied with it. Botanicares Pure Blend Pro is a more expensive alternative that appears to be microbe safe as well.

 

[Kannibalistics]

Equal parts Fox Farms Ocean Forest and Happy Frog. Add perlite if you so desire, put it in a big smart pot, add additional microbes (like great white or equivalent,) mulch with clay pellets or hay, and after 3 or 4 weeks begin light feeding once a week with Maxsea All Purpose, Epsom Salts, and molasses, brew teas to feed microbes. Increase feed strength as time goes on. When flowering begins switch to Maxsea Bloom. Water with plain tap in-between feedings, adjust regimen as needed.

This is the riu outdoor recipe for success, good for beginner or pro gardeners. You can save some money by amending your own soil, but a popular store bought soil (fox farms) helps guarantee simplicity when asking for advice.

You can also brew teas with different ingredients to aid in rooting, vegetative, flowering, or ripening phases. This way you may avoid chemical growth boosters.

Maxsea is not totally organic, but you can see how effective it is in doublejj's and TMB's gardens. It does not appear to affect their microbial hordes, and I am very satisfied with it. Botanicares Pure Blend Pro is a more expensive alternative that appears to be microbe safe as well.

I decided to go with this approach, a local hydroponics store carries everything you mentioned.

I want to keep the plants relatively short and small, due to growing in a city neighborhood, and my neighbors can be a little nosy at times. Mainly peeking over to interact with my dogs. Should i do this with keeping the plants in smaller pots to prevent root growth, or by continuously trimming and training?

 

[Jozikins]

I decided to go with this approach, a local hydroponics store carries everything you mentioned.

I want to keep the plants relatively short and small, due to growing in a city neighborhood, and my neighbors can be a little nosy at times. Mainly peeking over to interact with my dogs. Should i do this with keeping the plants in smaller pots to prevent root growth, or by continuously trimming and training?

I'm in the same boat. I compromised with 45 gal pots (might put some on 65...maybe) and I'll be scroging them with a very low profile. I plan to strip lower growth below the screen once it fills out but that's it. If it gets out of hand I'll put another trellis on top. I'm also using a tan shade cloth wrapped car port for privacy with greenhouse plastic on top. But a shade cloth fence would suffice. You won't be sorry taking this route. Keep em sprayed to prevent mites, mold, and especially worms starting with day 1 in the sun and repeat every 2 weeks until flower has begun. Some are safe to use throughout flower but avoid smelly sprays and neem based products.

 

[Kannibalistics]

Anybody know what these are and how to get rid of them?