-
As of today ICMag has his own Discord server. In this Discord server you can chat, talk with eachother, listen to music, share stories and pictures...and much more. Join now and let's grow together! Join ICMag Discord here! More details in this thread here: here.
best soil for seedlings
- Thread starter Dazz
- Start date
You'll get an argument over what is "best". I make my own... I you want something simple...plain peat moss and perlite. It's not soil, but my seedlings love it. Add some good potting soil if you'd like a bit more nutes to give them a good start.
There are a TON of suggestions here...everything from straight vermiculite/perlite, to complicated organic blends.
Good luck!
There are a TON of suggestions here...everything from straight vermiculite/perlite, to complicated organic blends.
Good luck!
What I do is... 1/3 Expert Gardner Potting Soil (at WalMart), 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 Perlite. To that I add 1 tablespoon of dolomite lime and 1/3 cup of Epsoma Bio-tone starter plus beneficials. It's a 4-3-3 fertilizer.
Don't overwater...check water pH and adjust to just slightly under or at 7.
I reliably get seedlings like these in 2 weeks from planting the seed...this picture is 10 days from popping out of the soil.
The light is just a 23W CFL, daytime. Keep it an inch from the plants, 4 can share a light.
After 2 weeks, transplant them to a 1 gal pot of the same mix. Where I keep them until they sex (preflowers). Then the known girls go into 3gal pots of the same mix for flowering and the unknowns stay in the 1 pots until I'm sure what they are. Males usually die, unless I'm making seeds...but they stay in the 1 gal pots.
Begin ferts at 1/4 strength 1 week after transplant, working your way up to full in a few weeks. Watch the tips for burn.
Water til drain when planting the seed, then not again until 1 full week later (16oz beer cup) AND the plant is bigger than the small one in the front left of the picture. I use "clear green" cups because I like to see the roots. I normally don't water until I see a good amount of roots. Then every few days I'll give it some water...just enough to keep everything moist...NOT WET. Don't worry about the roots and the light, they're under CFL's and they're only in those cups for 2 weeks or so. I don't have root problems.
Good luck...
Don't overwater...check water pH and adjust to just slightly under or at 7.
I reliably get seedlings like these in 2 weeks from planting the seed...this picture is 10 days from popping out of the soil.
The light is just a 23W CFL, daytime. Keep it an inch from the plants, 4 can share a light.
After 2 weeks, transplant them to a 1 gal pot of the same mix. Where I keep them until they sex (preflowers). Then the known girls go into 3gal pots of the same mix for flowering and the unknowns stay in the 1 pots until I'm sure what they are. Males usually die, unless I'm making seeds...but they stay in the 1 gal pots.
Begin ferts at 1/4 strength 1 week after transplant, working your way up to full in a few weeks. Watch the tips for burn.
Water til drain when planting the seed, then not again until 1 full week later (16oz beer cup) AND the plant is bigger than the small one in the front left of the picture. I use "clear green" cups because I like to see the roots. I normally don't water until I see a good amount of roots. Then every few days I'll give it some water...just enough to keep everything moist...NOT WET. Don't worry about the roots and the light, they're under CFL's and they're only in those cups for 2 weeks or so. I don't have root problems.
Good luck...
thanks man, great reply. What does the dolmite lime do? Im from South Africa so i dont have a walmart.lol. But I have bought a sterilized potting soil that has manure mixed with it( for nutes), and i have perlight and vermiculite.Would that work? My starting lights are 2 ft floros (warm white an cool white).
