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How long from seed to bud?
- Thread starter bluethumb
- Start date
C
CFL_Grow
bout 100 is the fastest my plants could do it
10-30 weeks if you do 12/12 from the beginning. Depends on what your growing and how.
For an Indica, 2 weeks in seedling stage followed by 8 weeks of flower makes for 70 days. 120 days is 17 weeks, that's getting into sativa country.
S
s00thsayer
roughly 13-18 weeks to go from seed to harvest (3 foot final height)...2+ weeks for drying/curing
seed/clone 2-3 weeks
veg 3 weeks
flower 8-12 weeks
seed/clone 2-3 weeks
veg 3 weeks
flower 8-12 weeks
2weeks seedling
30 days veg
60 days flower
104 days
if it went 70 days flower youd be at 114
veg time is gonna be the deciding factor
120 days could be just flower time for some sativas
guess J.C. not too far off the curve then. Mine from germ took 2 months to get into flower...so about 90-100 days all total; of course, if all goes well.
K
kannubis
60-77 days if you are runnng sour 60
K
kannubis
Hey Nicoli, I have come to agree with your stance on autos, fun to play with, but I ain't gonna count on them.
inside?? for me i grow inveg till i can sex plants-5-6 weeks. then flower 8-10 weeks. no you cant speed up mutha nature!
Okay just in case a few newbies are reading this which I am nearly sure of, I decided to type a little outline on the process from start to finish. This is by no means complete but it's pretty much gonna all be in there. As far as the specifics and tiny details well, you are gonna have to just figure those out along the way like everybody else does. 
So I am gonna say it and you know what I am gonna say, I like to grow Sweet Tooth #4 from seed and it sexes in veg at around 3 to 4 weeks old meaning it shows it's sexy parts under 24 hrs light cycle. If you start seedlings in at least a 16 - 20 oz beer cup (poke holes in bottom for drainage) they will get a much faster start and transition into veg a few days after sprouting instead of being confined to a tiny little seedling tray cell or peat pot which basically keeps them small until they get transplanted. In nature a plant grows where it sprouts and the root size pretty much dictates the plants size so I believe when you germinate seeds in tiny little cubes or containers you are slowing them way down and stressing them somewhat with the transplant as small seedlings.
Here is what I do, first germinate yours seeds in an overnight (or two) soak in a cup with distilled water and a teaspoon of hyrdogen peroxide to prevent any damping off or other nasties. When they crack open and are showing taproots they go into a solo beer cup each about 1/2 deep in moist high quality soil or coir mix, cover them and water lightly to settle everything in. That should now be put somewhere warm about 75 - 80 F. Then they pop up from under the surface eventually and this normally takes about 48-72 hours so you are 2 or 3 days in now from planting seeds to seedlings being there in your cups. Now it gets fun!
Now they are gonna not do much for a day or two above the surface because all of the growing is going on under the surface in the form of the taproot growing down and little roots branching off of that to basically secure the precious seedling which is just now starting to grow, you need to have it under bright light that is not too close to dry them out but close enough to preven them from stretching out. It should be a good mix of red & blue spectrum for the best results possible, I also keep the lights on 24 hours in veg no reason not too since they are growing when the lights are on and plants do not need to sleep.
You will see the first set of leaves getting bigger and maybe a new little set poking up through the middle of those. This is when I start watering them with a very very dilute nutrient solution of about 100 - 200 ppm of the GH Flora Series 3 part in a 1/1/1 ratio. This is every third watering which is about once per week they get the nutes. In a week they are starting to really get going and if you have them under bright quality lights with conditions in check like temps not being too high or low they are gonna grow like crazy. CO2 really speeds up this whole process once the seedlings start to veg and grow a stem up from the water leaves which is a sign they have entered their vegetative state.
I top at the 5th set of leaves meaning that I pinch off the top leaf shoot at the stem and leave the small side branch tips that are coming in to take their place. This redistributes growth energy and hormones to cause the plant to bush out and the new top growth points to be those two branches that were coming in below the tip you cut off. So now you have a plant that is growing more bushy and two top branches instead of one. This is when I transplant after topping and after they have started to grow actively again after topping which may take a few days. I prefer a 3 gallon smart-pot if growing in soil, and you want to start giving them stronger nutes of the 400 - 600 ppm range in a 1/1/1 ratio of the GH Flora Series, this grows a really healthy plant with no issues in most cases if you are using clean RO water.
So now in about 3 weeks from this point they will be big enough to flower (18" - 24") if you have good bright lighting, CO2 enrichment and healthy happy plants. You will know the sex of the plants if you are growing a strain that pre-flowers in vegetative growth like Sweet Tooth, and you can remove the males if you wish. Some strains do not pre-flower in veg so it all depends really. Other strains that normally preflower in veg in my experience are C99, Blueberry, LUI, Shishkaberry, Mikado (a SPG hybrid), Sweet Tooth hybrids, NL, Bubblegum, AK-47, Afghani's & many other shorter flowering period Indicas.
So then once switched to a 12/12 flowering cycle light regimen the plants should be done fully flowering in about 56 - 60 days or so for most strains. Some shorter some longer. Hopefully you are watching them and their needs and have watered them when needed and paid close attention for any pest issues or nutrient problems and corrected them as necessary. During flowering you switched to a bloom fertilizer such as "Lucas Formula" using the GH Flora Series or one of the newer improved versions of that which are widely discussed on these boards. Remember the search function is your best friend!
During the last 10 days of flowering you switch off the CO2 enrichment to prevent the delay of ripening and give your plants only clean pure RO water to flush out any mineral salts and help them to use up whatever is stored in their plant tissues so you have a clean tasty end product without residual build-up in it. This is 100 days give or take in the life of a Cannabis grower finding the "pot" at the end of the rainbow.
So I am gonna say it and you know what I am gonna say, I like to grow Sweet Tooth #4 from seed and it sexes in veg at around 3 to 4 weeks old meaning it shows it's sexy parts under 24 hrs light cycle. If you start seedlings in at least a 16 - 20 oz beer cup (poke holes in bottom for drainage) they will get a much faster start and transition into veg a few days after sprouting instead of being confined to a tiny little seedling tray cell or peat pot which basically keeps them small until they get transplanted. In nature a plant grows where it sprouts and the root size pretty much dictates the plants size so I believe when you germinate seeds in tiny little cubes or containers you are slowing them way down and stressing them somewhat with the transplant as small seedlings.
Here is what I do, first germinate yours seeds in an overnight (or two) soak in a cup with distilled water and a teaspoon of hyrdogen peroxide to prevent any damping off or other nasties. When they crack open and are showing taproots they go into a solo beer cup each about 1/2 deep in moist high quality soil or coir mix, cover them and water lightly to settle everything in. That should now be put somewhere warm about 75 - 80 F. Then they pop up from under the surface eventually and this normally takes about 48-72 hours so you are 2 or 3 days in now from planting seeds to seedlings being there in your cups. Now it gets fun!
Now they are gonna not do much for a day or two above the surface because all of the growing is going on under the surface in the form of the taproot growing down and little roots branching off of that to basically secure the precious seedling which is just now starting to grow, you need to have it under bright light that is not too close to dry them out but close enough to preven them from stretching out. It should be a good mix of red & blue spectrum for the best results possible, I also keep the lights on 24 hours in veg no reason not too since they are growing when the lights are on and plants do not need to sleep.
You will see the first set of leaves getting bigger and maybe a new little set poking up through the middle of those. This is when I start watering them with a very very dilute nutrient solution of about 100 - 200 ppm of the GH Flora Series 3 part in a 1/1/1 ratio. This is every third watering which is about once per week they get the nutes. In a week they are starting to really get going and if you have them under bright quality lights with conditions in check like temps not being too high or low they are gonna grow like crazy. CO2 really speeds up this whole process once the seedlings start to veg and grow a stem up from the water leaves which is a sign they have entered their vegetative state.
I top at the 5th set of leaves meaning that I pinch off the top leaf shoot at the stem and leave the small side branch tips that are coming in to take their place. This redistributes growth energy and hormones to cause the plant to bush out and the new top growth points to be those two branches that were coming in below the tip you cut off. So now you have a plant that is growing more bushy and two top branches instead of one. This is when I transplant after topping and after they have started to grow actively again after topping which may take a few days. I prefer a 3 gallon smart-pot if growing in soil, and you want to start giving them stronger nutes of the 400 - 600 ppm range in a 1/1/1 ratio of the GH Flora Series, this grows a really healthy plant with no issues in most cases if you are using clean RO water.
So now in about 3 weeks from this point they will be big enough to flower (18" - 24") if you have good bright lighting, CO2 enrichment and healthy happy plants. You will know the sex of the plants if you are growing a strain that pre-flowers in vegetative growth like Sweet Tooth, and you can remove the males if you wish. Some strains do not pre-flower in veg so it all depends really. Other strains that normally preflower in veg in my experience are C99, Blueberry, LUI, Shishkaberry, Mikado (a SPG hybrid), Sweet Tooth hybrids, NL, Bubblegum, AK-47, Afghani's & many other shorter flowering period Indicas.
So then once switched to a 12/12 flowering cycle light regimen the plants should be done fully flowering in about 56 - 60 days or so for most strains. Some shorter some longer. Hopefully you are watching them and their needs and have watered them when needed and paid close attention for any pest issues or nutrient problems and corrected them as necessary. During flowering you switched to a bloom fertilizer such as "Lucas Formula" using the GH Flora Series or one of the newer improved versions of that which are widely discussed on these boards. Remember the search function is your best friend!
During the last 10 days of flowering you switch off the CO2 enrichment to prevent the delay of ripening and give your plants only clean pure RO water to flush out any mineral salts and help them to use up whatever is stored in their plant tissues so you have a clean tasty end product without residual build-up in it. This is 100 days give or take in the life of a Cannabis grower finding the "pot" at the end of the rainbow.
Last edited:
Veg time is variable, optional and not included in the question. 12/12 from seed is a very common practice. Including veg time changes the question from "How long does a plant need" to "How long do you like to stretch out a grow."
Seed to bud = (2-3) weeks seedling + flower period. Veg time is not required.
I understand the variables F/B but it seems for the new growers ? a reasonable answer was your time frames rite on the mark no more no less..The Op dosnt mention how he's growing or if he's grown before.These are the biggest variable between a 70 - 90 day harvest..So i figure 120 days is a comfortable number to work with for a first timer.
IMO veg time is a big factor considering a mature plant will out perform a plant that isnt vegged at all
IMO veg time is a big factor considering a mature plant will out perform a plant that isnt vegged at all
Absolutely!
But, the question was speed and the way to the fastest yield is to forgo veg.
