Small pots, juffy plugs or straight to final pot for autoflower seeds?

Trying to figure out the best method, so i'd welcome any views.

my first 2 plants i started off in small pots and replanted after about 2 weeks. they are almost 6 weeks now and seem to be doing ok. my setup was pretty shit but they are about 50 - 70 cm and flowering nicely (especially with my improved setup)

the next one i started about 2 weeks ago, i germinated the seed then put it into the big 8 litre pot under the lights.

last week i put the germinated seed in a jiffy plug. however, as soon as the head appeared above surface the root was already through the bottom of the jiffy. i thought the point was not to restrict the root at any time so i potted the whole thing directly into the big pot.

im going to start off a couple more this weekend, but i dont know which way is best, as i havent seen the results yet.


also, any thoughts on watering when you have a small seedling in a big pot? i have been watering little and ofter in the very beginning, only around the seedling. then gradually spacing out the waterings and expanding ot the area that i am saturating. my (own) theory is that the roots will explore in search of moint (or dry?) areas and so strengthen up. however, tis is a theory based on very little!

the first direct planted seedling has quite large early leaves, but they are warped and look possibly dry. the newer leaves dont look so bad, however.

any advice on any of this would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

If that plug has a net or mesh around and you did not remove it the plant will die before flowering is complete. Dig it up now, if it has one, and remove it. The easiest way is the plug. More consistent germination and early support the seedling. Again just be sure to remove any binding as they are NOT degradable.

They will al work but it depends on what equipment you have at your disposal i.e. if u got two separate rooms/lights and need to germ the seedlings in a small space before going to a larger room, then u would use small pots and transplant them when they go into the bigger room. Thats just one example of loads of reasons why pepolle might need to transplant. But if you are able to put your seeds straight into the final container do it. Get a 2gal smart pot or air pot and water just around the seedling as it grows, just like u did. Dont have the lights too close coz if the soil dries out ur seedling will go crispy wispy and die. So u gotta just balance shit out, if ur going into final container, they will need more attention to make sure the soil around them isnt driying out for too long. I mean u could just soak the whole pot but u do run the risk of that shit goin stagnant, but it just down to u and ur environment x

Thanks both for your replies!

hotrod, i checked the pellets i bought and they do come with biodegradable mesh, so big sigh of relief there!

Lowblower, im all in one room, hence why im using autos. I wasn't aware of Air pots, so thanks for the heads up. did you see big improvements when you switched to them? i would imagine there would be less chance of stagnation if the pot is porous too, if i did overwater.


one further question on temperature:
im in Scotland and we are heading into winter. at the moment my room has been sitting at around 16 - 18 degrees C. i fitted an extra CFL and some mylar sheeting, so its holding the heat a bit more and yesterday was around 22 degrees, the highest ive seen it since i got the thermometer. everything is growing and seems, to my untrained eye, to be doing ok. however, i read that oprimum temp is 25-30 degrees, and shock can occur below 12 degrees. im sure i am flirting with 12 degrees at night, and it wil get colder in the coming months,.

What are your experiences with temperature?

Hotrod, hailing from the frozen North, you might be able to help here again!

Thanks a lot!

Reeferfiend said:

Thanks both for your replies!

hotrod, i checked the pellets i bought and they do come with biodegradable mesh, so big sigh of relief there!

Lowblower, im all in one room, hence why im using autos. I wasn't aware of Air pots, so thanks for the heads up. did you see big improvements when you switched to them? i would imagine there would be less chance of stagnation if the pot is porous too, if i did overwater.


one further question on temperature:
im in Scotland and we are heading into winter. at the moment my room has been sitting at around 16 - 18 degrees C. i fitted an extra CFL and some mylar sheeting, so its holding the heat a bit more and yesterday was around 22 degrees, the highest ive seen it since i got the thermometer. everything is growing and seems, to my untrained eye, to be doing ok. however, i read that oprimum temp is 25-30 degrees, and shock can occur below 12 degrees. im sure i am flirting with 12 degrees at night, and it wil get colder in the coming months,.

What are your experiences with temperature?

Hotrod, hailing from the frozen North, you might be able to help here again!

Thanks a lot!

Click to expand...

REMOVE THE FUCKING MESH! Seriously, or risk watching the plant die just when it really starts to hit its stride.

Ok, i'll defer to your experience on this one.

i removed the mesh, but i think i damaged some of the roots as i did it. its just over a week old, so hopefully early enough not to set it back too much.

The mesh was a kind of tissue paper material. seemed quite flimsy.. is this the same sort of stuff you have come across? They are not jiffy brand pellets.

i will be sure to remove before planting in future.

thanks again!

Reeferfiend said:

Thanks both for your replies!

hotrod, i checked the pellets i bought and they do come with biodegradable mesh, so big sigh of relief there!

Lowblower, im all in one room, hence why im using autos. I wasn't aware of Air pots, so thanks for the heads up. did you see big improvements when you switched to them? i would imagine there would be less chance of stagnation if the pot is porous too, if i did overwater.


one further question on temperature:
im in Scotland and we are heading into winter. at the moment my room has been sitting at around 16 - 18 degrees C. i fitted an extra CFL and some mylar sheeting, so its holding the heat a bit more and yesterday was around 22 degrees, the highest ive seen it since i got the thermometer. everything is growing and seems, to my untrained eye, to be doing ok. however, i read that oprimum temp is 25-30 degrees, and shock can occur below 12 degrees. im sure i am flirting with 12 degrees at night, and it wil get colder in the coming months,.

What are your experiences with temperature?

Hotrod, hailing from the frozen North, you might be able to help here again!

Thanks a lot!

Click to expand...

I never repot autos, they don't like it.

Buy some seed mats or you are going to stunt and delay your plants. Getting into the 50s will screw up your plants. I had the same problem. A 17 watt seed mat under your pots should do the trick. I ended up leaving them on 24/7 in the winter.

Uh your watering method is correct, I trace rectangles around and leave the center dryer to coax roots out. Some af strains don't like to transplant but if your careful enough it's beneficial. Get the small little green pots, start in there and when it's time to trans wet the pot, gently compress it, then using curved long scissors snip the pot off, keep the curves bowed out to avoid cutting roots. Once the green pot is gently removed gently mist sides of root mass with cal magd phed water, add to final pot and water the seam. The idea is to be so gentle that the af didn't realize the transplant.

If you pot up the root mass you started in the small pot will be ontop of your final soil so it can grow down and out all over again giving a larger root system and less wasted soil.


Tips
Get scissors longer than the small green pots(curved ones like metal snips)
Be patient and visualize what's in the dirt. Respect it.
Water where the old and new dirt meet to help dried root hairs. After your initial seam watering, water only the edge of the final pot to start coaxing roots.


As for jiffy blocks
The other guy was rude but correct, the netting is biodegradable but not for our purposes. Takes over a year to decompose. It doesn't always kill the plant but it is a definite hinderance. I germinate in a paper towel and go str8 to my pots with a .5cm tap root.

Jiffy peat dries out quickly and will claim all seedlings say you stay out a couple hours longer than anticipated. The peat also shrivels away once the netting is gone and the mediums dry. The little cubes can also poof to dust if your too rough.

All the info I got, coco is good for seedlings but you gotta try coco to understand.

What kind of soil are you using? I use FFOF and cut it in half with perlite. Autos are needy little fuckers, really easy to burn them up in early growth, stunting grow. I have always just planted without transferring, no point in stressing out the plant.

Thanks guys for all your advice!

im using........Miracle Grow..... i know its shit and it will stunt etc etc. im learning this now, but i cant get FFOF here in UK.

ance again, any advice or alternatives would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks