well i just planted my girls! 2 x ak-48 for my first grow, i have a few questions though. before i planted the seed i watered just the top part of the soil maybe about 1 inch or so. should i of soaked all of the soil? and left it damp? i didnt want to water log it... and i used a red solo cup and i didnt make drainage holes on the bottom, should i have/do that?
are they rooted clones, or seeds?
you do not want the soil to be soaked when they are little. the only time you can soak the soil is once the plant is mature and root bound and drinking lots of water.
the way i start seeds is by pushing them in the soil a little, spinkle soil over them, pat down and then spraying the top layer of soil with warm water twice a day.
when they break soil (3-5 days) i start watering with 1oz of water a day, around the stem. when they get bigger (exit seedling stage and enter veg stage) i give them like 4 oz of water, and i watch how much they drink, and water accordingly.
eventually they will be big enough and drinking tons of water. this is when wet the pot until it just starts dripping out the drain holes, and then let them dry out fully. wont take long with a good root system. you want to use the right amount of water so that youre watering every day or every other day.
i like starting in my biggest pot. the only reason we start in small pots is to get a lot of wet/dry cycles, and to prevent root rot (fungus from having the soil soaking wet all the time)
i simulate this and get a lot of wet/dry cycles early by watering the way i described.