5 gallon pot start to end

ive been trying to take in as much as i posibly can my other half is so fed up hearing about it haha. is it normal to be this ancy/nerviouse your first grow. im kind of in the mind set if it can go wrong it will and im trying to read whatever i can on anything that can go wrong.

lovemug said:

ive been trying to take in as much as i posibly can my other half is so fed up hearing about it haha. is it normal to be this ancy/nerviouse your first grow. im kind of in the mind set if it can go wrong it will and im trying to read whatever i can on anything that can go wrong.

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yes its pretty normal, I still get excited every time I start a new grow. and that's the right mindset to have.

question on soil wetness i have a 3 in one probe that mesures ph light and moisture. If anyone uses one of these where should it read when fully watered?

Better to go by feel.... here is an easy way for a beginner. Take an extra 5 gallon pot and also fill it with same soil. Keep it covered so it doesn't get wet. This is your "calibration" pot.

Now when in doubt...pick up the "test" pot and then pick up ur weed pot. the difference for the most part in weight is water. After awhile...you won't need the test pot...you'll just know by picking up ur pots.

lovemug said:

question on soil wetness i have a 3 in one probe that mesures ph light and moisture. If anyone uses one of these where should it read when fully watered?

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I too was suckered into buying one of these, they don't read a lack of moisture until your plants are already wilted, the ph always reads the same, most read between 6 and 7, and there's no chart to decipher light readings, I find that it has to be maxed out in order for your plants to have enough light.

i put about a gallon into one of the 5 gallon pots. watered it till there was some run off through the bottom and the soil shrunk up. i had about a half an once of bag seed laying around so im pissing around with them to get a better feel for seedlings. im thinking they only need about a half gallon per 5 gallon pot. ive made one pot alot wetter than another one seeing how the seedlings do im going to invest in some seed starting trays to make things alot smoother and safer. the one that shrunk has almost black soil and the one that i lightly watered has darkish brown soil.

any sugestion on getting these pos clip on fans to the poles? i was thinking zip ties but im worried about the tent sucking in on the motor part and them over hearing.

well ive had some bag seed seedlings growing for about a week now, i plants 11 of them between two pots. separated tham all last night. they will still get killed once some good genetics show up. im definitely allot more confident after messing with them. i had a few problems with stretching under a 600w light. they are about 18 inches from it now and seem to be doing fine. starting to develope a second set of leaves.i dont think ill have any problems transplanting these things are not east to kill. ive literally pulled them out of the dirt and put them back in repacking the dirt around roots and it didnt kill them. my soil run off is between 6 and 7 so it should be fine there. thank you everyone for input and help.

i know im real late but i just started using 5 gallon smart pots, normally ive grown in GH waterfarms all my life and just wanted to try soil for once.

the only problem i see with starting plants in such a big container is that they might be very hard to germ, i used the paper towel until they cracked and showed tiny tails then i put them in, i feel like if i had planted them directly in trying to germ them in there probably wouldnt have gone so well, the top of the soil seems to dry out pretty fast so im constantly making sure its moist, cause seedlings need a good amount of moisture and humidity to get kicking.

2 have popped but idk if one will make it i dont know if i let the soil get too dry or what but its looking skinnier than the other, hoping cause it was growing slowly compared to the other..

i would probably suggest or i know next time, im going to use rapid rooters to start them out till they pop, i always used them for hydro and just thought id start these seeds directly in the soil and see if that makes a difference. ive always had 100% healthy sprouts with the rapid rooters and they are easy to put in cups and cover with saran wrap which is the perfect humidifier.

seems like yours did fine, so im hoping my one thats looking a lil skinny does also. this is still my first time with soil so i could just be over paranoid i have a big problem with that and not just knowing when to leave them alone.