Like most plants, the cannabis plant starts from seed. These are geminated and soon enough, seedlings will start to sprout out of these seeds. These seeds have a tiny little plant with a developed root, stem, and 2 leaves. These seeds also contain enough nutrients to nourish the seedling through its early stages of development.
It is best to germinate the seeds by soaking these in water for two weeks. And when these seeds get enough moistness inside, they will enlarge and crack open the seed cover. having the best marijuana seeds will assure you of a high germination rate. This means you are getting good quality seeds. When placing your seeds in water, they receive the right amount of moisture needed to germinate properly. While the seeds are germinating in the water, never add any nutrients in the water as these seeds already have enough nutrients for it to survive in the next few days. Once the seeds have cracked open, make the roots grow to about 5 mm in length, then it is time to remove these and start transplanting.
Planting
Before you start to plant your tiny marijuana seeds in their respective seedling pot, make sure you have the right type of seeding soil. A fine and light seeding mix of light coconut coir or peat moss are good seeding soils as they are natural and contain no contaminants or pathogens.
Put your seeds in a ½ inch hole in your seedling pots with the soil. There is no need to add nutrients at this stage as the nutrients for growing the seed will come from the seeds itself. fill your pot about halfway of the pot and using a pencil, just make a hole to place your seed in. it should be one seed, one pot. Then just lightly spray the soil with water, no need to press the soil down as this will compact the soil and affect the root growth.
How to Water your Seeds
At this stage, watering must be kept at a minimum. by using a spray bottle, you control the amount of water you give to your seeds. Although water is the most vital element for the full germination of your seed, it is necessary to make it a point to just moisten the soil and not fully wet it. Giving the plant too much water will deprive the roots to take in more of the needed oxygen from the soil. On the other hand, lack of water given to the plants will make the plant’s growth stunted, and your seeds’ chances of survival would be very slim.
Mimicking Natural Sunlight
Light like water is another vital element to make the plants grow. Light is responsible for the natural phenomenon they call photosynthesis wherein the plant absorbs the light and CO2 in the air and produces oxygen and glucose which are necessary elements for healthy plant growth. When plants cannot receive enough light, they tend to produce fewer branches and the appearance of the plant is lanky. This is called etiolation when the plant stretches to find a source of light. The aim of cannabis growing is to produce wider plants and not taller, this makes the plant grow more side branches and more room for additional bud growth. A to the seeds growing, place the pots at least 2 inches above a CFL light. When the plants start to appear after about 7 to 10 days, they will be needing all the light they can get to start their vegetative growth.
Keep an Environment Friendly for Plant Growth
It is important to create an ideal climate for your seeds to properly germinate. These two (2) factors must be considered:
- Lighting – CFL bulbs are ok to use at this stage, although they don’t produce much heat, their light still produces heat that will warm the soil. This warming will help the seed develop its roots and sprout its new leaves. just be sure to monitor temperature as anything over 77F is not good, consider moving the pots farther away from the light source
- Moisture – this is essential that the soil is properly moist and not soaking wet. The soil only needs to be sprayed with as much water as the seed could absorb. This is not much as the roots of the seeds are not yet fully developed.
Sprouting- signs of life
When seedlings start popping out of the soil, the first thing to check is the lighting temperature, remember that during the germination stage, your pots are only 2 inches away from the CFL bulb. Now that there are signs of green coming out, the heat from the bulbs might cause light burns to the new and delicate leaves. The ideal temperature should be at 72F otherwise they will be receiving too much light and heat. The soil still needs to stay moist, thus continue spraying at least 2x a day.
Fertilization should still be controlled as the plants at his stage are very fragile. The light should be kept on 24 hours a day to promote more photosynthesis and avoid touching the plants as they may get contaminated.
Watch for Internode Growth
As the plant matures, internodes will start to form. By now you can supplement your plant with root stimulants. starting with small doses as the roots start to develop. Over-feeding may cause burned leaf tips meaning that plants are getting way too many nutrients than they can absorb. Watch the plants grow rapidly from hereon.
Transplanting to Bigger Pots
Once the roots have grown out of the seedling pots, it is time to transplant your weed to bigger pots. What we are trying to avoid is being rootbound in the smaller pot. Once this happens, the plant will stop growing.
Make sure you have your well-draining and nutrient-rich potting soil on hand as this will be the final growing pot of your marijuana plant. Congratulations, you are now ready to fully grow your plant and harvest your hard-earned weed!!