How Do These Look? Need Advice/Help!? (First Time Grow - Long Read)

I've been holding on to a pack of Northern Lights seeds my buddy gave to me before he moved across the country. This summer is the first time I will have any chance of making it happen. After receiving some advice from a good friend of mine who has grown indoors and outdoors (uses clones mainly), I decided to start germinating the seeds on the 17th of this month. They have been in the ground since the 19th and have been showing signs of life ever since.

The soil mix I used was strictly based off of what my buddy recommended:

1. One bag of top soil
2. One bag of manure
3. One bag of sphagnum peat moss
4. One package of all purpose organic nutrient mix (Miracle Grow)

Three of the seven germinated seeds have fully opened out of the soil and are showing their first sets of leaves. The other four have a main stem showing out of the soil with the large end unopened. I did some research online before planting the seeds and originally thought to plant them root down, but in other places I've read they say to plant the pointy end up (where the first root emerges) because it naturally grows in a U shape and will turn itself around. Which one is correct? I planted four with the root down and three with the root facing up. I'm not sure whether or not it has directly affected the rate at which they have grown, considering three are much further along than the other four.

The two main leaves shown on the three that have progressed the most are quite small (roughly a centimeter) and the two perpendicular leaves are the size of a pen head. The smaller leaves are slightly purplish brown and the two main leaves are nice and green.

My attitude has jumped from being simply curious to completely obsessed with their progress. I've been anal about almost everything. How much watering do they need at this level of growth? Is it normal for them to be at this point of growth after being in the soil for 3 days? Is it alright if they are only able to receive around 10 hours a day of direct sunlight? How much direct sunlight is optimal?

I've been lucky enough to have a place around my house to allow them to receive a great deal of sunlight, but I'm thinking that I MUST transplant them to a secluded area around the area I live in the next five days. I can't risk leaving them near by. I have a GREAT deal of extra soil to use for the transplant into the wilderness. I plan on digging a 8 inch x 8 inch x 8 inch hole for them to be planted in while using more of the same soil mix I have left over. I will also be using chicken wire around them to keep rabbits, deer, and other animals away. Should I piss around them? Leave my hair back there? Put some food out near the plants that they love to eat? Please answer some of these questions. They have been clouding my thoughts for a while now.

ANY HELP OR ADVICE WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. Here are a few pics to give you a taste. I'll most likely bump this thread after they have fully grown. I've never been so excited. Fucking pot head!!!! <<<

good luck dude im intrested to see how the upside down seeds get on

mr west said:

good luck dude im intrested to see how the upside down seeds get on

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Are you saying that based off of the pictures seen, or the fact that I planted them differently? Which way is the correct way? At one point after looking at them for a good bit, I noticed that one or two of them had the root growing out of the surface with the seed casing still under the soil. I manually tinkered with the soil and flipped it over so it would burst out of the soil like the others. Every single seed I germinated and planted seems to be working but one. How do the last four pictures look? Normal?

oh right ok i thought u planted 4 one way and 3 the other but if u righted them manualy thats fine too

id say that root down is the correct way but the plant will find its own way right way up if needed

I have a few more question... When's the best time frame for me to be able to determine the sex of the plants? And... Should I be worried about trimming them further along in their development to produce a greater yield?

i have all of the same questions...hopefully we will get some answers hilikus

I am just begining my grow expierence outdoors but indoors I have germinated two rounds now.... I have always laid them on there side once the pop the seed....gravity will do the rest....The important thing I have learned is to water your pot just before planting because if you do it after it will push the seed deeper that you want...and I only plant it about to the first knuckle of my idex finger and very lightly cover them back up and had a 100% success

i would sugest u wait till the plants are bout 4 weeks old b4 u try and sex them. naturaly it taks bout 3 months for them to show sex but we can force them early to save time.

Hello Hilikus!

First of all, Northern Lights is a great strain to grow for a 1st time grow. Very easy to maintain and will finish outdoors for just about anyone, no matter the climate.

Your soil mix looks nice, except maybe the miracle grow organic nutrient stuff, Im not a Miracle grow hater, I use some of their products, but is it the stuff that says "feeds for ___ months" on the bag? That stuff is not that great for growing cannabis because of the nitrogen in it, great for vegging, dont want it for flowering though, also its been known to burn up seedlings. But since you have other products mixed in, you will be ok on the seedlings I think. Depending on where you decide to put these babies, I recommend adding some perlite to your mix for better soil drainage.

10 hours of direct sunlight is awesome, if you could sustain that for the plants entire life, Im confident you could reach the full potential of the strain. The hole size sounds good but maybe go a bit deeper, Northern Lights is supposed to be pure indica so it wont get that tall, but I think you should dig at least 18 inches deep, 2 feet would be good too, with your soil mix added.

Chicken Wire is the very best for protecting against deer and rabbits, pissing around the plants is fine, not too close though, your piss will burn them up, Dont bait the deer to come anywhere near your babies. I would recommend not feeding the deer, and if you do, miles away from your plants, deer love young marijuana, you dont want them near it all. When your plants are bigger and older, they seem to not care for it as much.


Good Luck man, nice to see a 1st timer with a well thought out plan. Hope all the best for you this year.


Edit: Forgot to answer about watering, seedlings keep the soil moist but not overwatered, when they get bigger, depending where you live you might be able to leave them go, depending on rainfall, I sometimes have to haul in water in
July and August when it gets hot and dry.

Edit #2, lol: Im a root up guy too but really its not a big deal, they will sprout down, up, sideways. The theory is planting them down is wasting the plants energy because of the u-turn the root makes like you mentioned. Dont be so anal!! haha

Thank you very much Mag! I forgot what the packaging on the outside said for the Miracle Grow product, but I was just adhering to the advice my buddy gave me about strictly buying "organic" nutes. And you're right, the overall mixture has a very small amount in comparison with the other ingredients. I will take the perlite suggestion into account and grab some while I'm buying some more chicken wire.

Thanks for the watering information, and trying to help me understand the beauty of nature's course on the baby seedlings. I won't worry so fucking much about how they are planted next time. The only reason I wanted a definite answer from the community is because at one point it looked like three of the germinated seeds were growing upside down (with the root growing sky high out of the soil leaving the casing and everything else under the soil). I knew that was completely off. Probably planted them so horribly they couldn't right themselves.

Thanks again everyone for stopping in. I'll post up their progress in a few days or a week.

Wish me luck! We're taking them to the guerilla spot in the next few hours. Need all of the good vibes we can get! I'll post up some pictures of them in their new homes. They look much better than those first pictures.

hi this is my first time growing skunk im growing haze 19 i live in a hot country and im growing it out side but my plant startin to get yellow spots can any one help and tell me what the problem is i have a picture of it on the attacment

killa4 said:

hi this is my first time growing skunk im growing haze 19 i live in a hot country and im growing it out side but my plant startin to get yellow spots can any one help and tell me what the problem is i have a picture of it on the attacment

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Nutrient deficiencies? Spider mites? Are you spraying the plants directly and they are close to a light source? I'm still a noob, but maybe you should try the "marijuana plant problems" section.

Bad news! It's been a week since they were moved to their final location, and... one has died, two have been STOLEN, and two have been left alone. We're going there in the middle of the night to take back what's rightfully mine. Bandanna, check!!

This area is horrible for finding a guerrilla spot.

Here's some pictures of the only one I could take a shot of.

im sorry to hear the news hilikus i wish you luck and girls for the remianing plants

Thanks buddy. I went back to the spot really late last night and took what was left. We'll see what happens. Praying for girls!

Do I need to take the plants out of the sun if all of the leaves are turned upward at a high angle, and some of the leaves are curling inward? Too much light?

Last picture for a while... This is the last of the bunch, after multiple transplants... I hope everything works out with this next spot.