Caring for a newborn sprout!

[PeeDee420]

So my little one just broke the surface, its little leaves are still under the shell in fact. Three questions, I have it at 75 degrees for growing that sound about right? Also I have Miracle grow soil so I don want to water it too much do to it feeding the plant every water so any ideas on how often to water? And last but not least I lowered one of my 27W CFL to within 1.5-2 inches from the surface of the soil and turned it on today for the first time. Is that too much or too strong light for the little one? I read either 18/6 or 24/0 for veging, which should I do! Ah!

 

[bobilu]

Go for 24/0. Just watch the heat

 

[Calijuana]

I'm a firm believer in that they can't get too much light. They can get too much HEAT, however. Keep it in a humidity dome and/or spray it lots - watch the light tho. If the shell doesn't come off, take it off yourself - THIS WILL NOT HURT IT IF YOU ARE GENTLE. Don't be worried if it isn't green yet, it needs to open and begin chlorophyll production first. Pics would help.

 

[PeeDee420]

I still can't figure out how often to water my 2 little sprouts. I paranoid I will under or over water and kill the little guys.

 

[Cheech Wizard]

refering to them as guys is bad luck... little girls!

 

[gotkush?]

keep em nice and moist, like calijuana just told you, put some type of clear dome over them and spray em with water. you dont want to soak the soil, just keep it moist.

 

[PeeDee420]

Ok I will come up with some kind of enclosure tonight but how long do I have to do that? I mean eventually I will just be watering ever other day or something like that correct?

 

[danmail]

i give em 5 ml of water every 12 hours till they look nice and sturdy

 

[mannurse801]

Just letting you know, I really don't like hoods on my srouts, only on my clones. Don't know what it is, but my little guys don't like the heat under the hoods. It gets really warm and humid under there. The sprouts don't need it in nature, why woulkd you do it at home?
Just my personal thoughts. Just shine light on them, keep them moist, but not wet. A few sprays really 2 times a day should be fine. I use a 5 cc syringe and just water with that until they seem to take off, then I turn the water to a full watering and then only when the soil is dry .
That's why I love hydro systems, no worrying about over watering really....

 

[Nocturn3]

Ok I will come up with some kind of enclosure tonight but how long do I have to do that? I mean eventually I will just be watering ever other day or something like that correct?

Try not to water on a set schedule, but rather when the plants need it. For now, you want to keep the soil moist, but once the roots have taken hold a bit, follow a wet-dry schedule. To do this, water thoroughly, until there is some run-off from the drainage holes, and then allow the soil to dry out well before you water again.

 

[PeeDee420]

Ok thanks for all the information guys! So if I don't water them enough what is the worst that will happen? Will they just look droopy so I will just water them to perk em up? I feel it would be better to underwater them then overwater them so I just want to know what could happen. I am most nervous because I am using MG soil with the nutes that get released when I water so I dont want to over nute! Wow if Im this nervous over MJ sprouts I cant imagine having kids lol.

 

[bobilu]

Hey PeeDee only water when the dirt gets dry, get your light as close as you can with out burning your plants and don't worry about the mg. Compare my little girls today from yesterday.Their twice as big

 

[PeeDee420]

Wow your girls are growin fast! Thanks for all the info guys!

 

[bobilu]

Don"t forget to check the waters ph.

 

[PeeDee420]

I use distilled water, should I still check PH? Also I have just noticed 2 little tiny black flies crawling in my dirt. This scares me a bit for 2 reasons. 1 I dont want anything to attack my girls and 2 the grow closet is in my bedroom and I am fairly certain my wife would be a little upset if theses flies start coming out of the closet lol.

 

[mannurse801]

If you see a fly, they have laid eggs, you will see more. Get it under control ASAP!!!!

 

[Clone50001]

Use biogel, I used it to germinate my Mary Jane and 3 out of 4 seeds survived, just have to keep it away from sun as fungus can develop. Then I placed the seeds(after the root can be seen) into jiffy pelets, and placed them in a humidy chamber with a aquarium heater and heat mat, then later on I placed a 200watt grow light about 2-1/2 feet above it(just make sure it doesn't produce too much heat or can kill) but a low watt like 25 would be sufficient at about 2-4 inches(also depending where you are or if there's a humidity dome).. And yeah just make sure you keep the humidity low so fungus and mold doesn't kill the plants.(if it gets on the seed coat try to remove it gently without damaging the plant or stressing it too much. Hope this helps.

 

[grorite]

I use distilled water, should I still check PH? Also I have just noticed 2 little tiny black flies crawling in my dirt. This scares me a bit for 2 reasons. 1 I dont want anything to attack my girls and 2 the grow closet is in my bedroom and I am fairly certain my wife would be a little upset if theses flies start coming out of the closet lol.

you shouldnt use distilled prob gonna have to add some cal and mag at some point tap is fine dont even worry about ph if growing in soil its a natural buffer