touringfunkband
Active member
I always cut OF with LW after I had a batch of some old blueberry seedlings burn to a crisp. So it does happen, but results do very. Please let us know your outcome.
What happens when you plant seeds straight into Fox Farms Ocean Forest?
- Thread starter pinecone
- Start date
So I'm at 5/10 now. Both of the Kali Mist are up as are both of the Island Sweet Skunks and one of the Dutch Dragons. I'm still waiting on one Dutch Dragon and all 4 of the Green House Super Silver Haze. I believe the last time I tried to germinate the KM and the SSH together the KM germinated much quicker, so I might have to wait another day or so for the SSH.
I basically keep the seeds in the dark and the soil moist (via a spray mister once per day) until they sprout. Once they sprout I've been putting them under a 4lamp HO T5 with cool spectrum bulbs. The seedlings go will go through normal wet-dry cycles; no over-watering. Once they all pop I will move them to a 400w HID.
This is an experiment in keeping it simple, so I will not be adjusting PH (water is at 7.8) or switching to any fancier soil mixtures later in the process. All these plants will stay in 16oz styro cups until they can be sexed. Once they are sexed I'll move them to 0.8 gallon containers filled with straight FFOF.
BTW - I've grown out specimens from all the seeds I've planted and all plants were very sativa dominant, and it might be the case that DD and ISS are stretchier and longer flowering than KM or SSH. I only grew out one of each, but they both stretched like crazy and flowered for 14-15 weeks, whereas SSH and KM have finished for me in 10-11 weeks. All these strains are known to be strong smokes, but the DD I grew out is the strongest of the specimens from these strains that I've grown out.
Pine
I basically keep the seeds in the dark and the soil moist (via a spray mister once per day) until they sprout. Once they sprout I've been putting them under a 4lamp HO T5 with cool spectrum bulbs. The seedlings go will go through normal wet-dry cycles; no over-watering. Once they all pop I will move them to a 400w HID.
This is an experiment in keeping it simple, so I will not be adjusting PH (water is at 7.8) or switching to any fancier soil mixtures later in the process. All these plants will stay in 16oz styro cups until they can be sexed. Once they are sexed I'll move them to 0.8 gallon containers filled with straight FFOF.
BTW - I've grown out specimens from all the seeds I've planted and all plants were very sativa dominant, and it might be the case that DD and ISS are stretchier and longer flowering than KM or SSH. I only grew out one of each, but they both stretched like crazy and flowered for 14-15 weeks, whereas SSH and KM have finished for me in 10-11 weeks. All these strains are known to be strong smokes, but the DD I grew out is the strongest of the specimens from these strains that I've grown out.
Pine
most seedling will take straight FF OF, some don't.
remember differing strains take to nutes differently
I lost my 1st one batch to straight OF, my 1st.
and that may have been it being to wet, biggest newb mistake on my part
after that I cut my OF w/perlite 50:50
nearly impossible to over water and drown the roots
plus OF is on the heavy side to be used for seedlings anyway imo
even after potting up do a 3:1 mix, keeps it lite.
remember differing strains take to nutes differently
I lost my 1st one batch to straight OF, my 1st.
and that may have been it being to wet, biggest newb mistake on my part
after that I cut my OF w/perlite 50:50
nearly impossible to over water and drown the roots
plus OF is on the heavy side to be used for seedlings anyway imo
even after potting up do a 3:1 mix, keeps it lite.
TwistedTommy
Member
If it works for you, great. I usually plant in pro-mix or regular potting soil and then move up as they grow. But, there's always more than one way to do things. In my understanding, seedlings draw all the nutes they need from their cotyledon leaves and shouldn't need anything to eat until after they turn yellow. If things do seem to get too hot, ibjamming offers some good advice with minimal watering. Keep your soil dry to avoid heavy pH swings and keep your roots looking for water. Either way, you should be alright. Good luck.
7/10 have sprouted. These include both of the KM, both DD, both ISS, but only 1/4 GHS SSH.
The seeds are a bit older than I thought initially (purchased closer to 2 years ago), but I didn't have any problems getting them to germinate previously with other methods, and 7/10 is pretty crappy.
In my experience there are essentially two problems that one can encounter when trying to sprout seeds:
1. The seed never pops.
2. The seed pops, but never makes it to the surface (Something kills it on the way)
With respect to the SSH seeds, I suspect I'm dealing with the former problem, in which case I will give them a little more time, dig them out, and try again to germinate them after a soak.
The little plants that are up look good so far.
Pine
The seeds are a bit older than I thought initially (purchased closer to 2 years ago), but I didn't have any problems getting them to germinate previously with other methods, and 7/10 is pretty crappy.
In my experience there are essentially two problems that one can encounter when trying to sprout seeds:
1. The seed never pops.
2. The seed pops, but never makes it to the surface (Something kills it on the way)
With respect to the SSH seeds, I suspect I'm dealing with the former problem, in which case I will give them a little more time, dig them out, and try again to germinate them after a soak.
The little plants that are up look good so far.
Pine
puffinchron
Member
update
update
That's a plant grown wrong in FFOF... Looks like WAY too much water...and possibly a water pH problem. Good dirt won't fix other problems. Check your water pH...I bet it's off...and cut WAY back on the watering or add extra perlite if you have a heavy pour.
Just drop it in...one piece. Vermiculite and perlite...1:4 ratio. Then I water fairly lightly until they really take root...which isn't long.
puffinchron
Member
echo_chamber
Active member
FFOF is over 3000+ PPM's, that is why its not good for germinating all plants. Its a good idea to flush the soil and let it dry a bit before you plant seedlings. Some strains love it, and you'll know those will be your heavy feeders throughout the grow.
Caille
Member
I planted 20 seeds same as you just did, all straight into FFOF, the only difference is I cut my seedling FFOF with Coco. About 80% OF/ 20% Coco
Out of 20, 17 sprouted and all 3 duds came from one seed vendor indicating to me that it wasn't my germ method.
Of those three strains, none of them show the slightest hint of burn.
Lemon Skunk by Greenhouse, Power Kush by Dinafem (not a kush, actually afghani x skunk), and BOG Sour Bubble (the 7/10 were BOG beans).
All of them are eating up the soil nutes and growing nice and fast.
Alexis
*smiles*
Out of 20, 17 sprouted and all 3 duds came from one seed vendor indicating to me that it wasn't my germ method.
Of those three strains, none of them show the slightest hint of burn.
Lemon Skunk by Greenhouse, Power Kush by Dinafem (not a kush, actually afghani x skunk), and BOG Sour Bubble (the 7/10 were BOG beans).
All of them are eating up the soil nutes and growing nice and fast.
Alexis
*smiles*
S
staff11
update
Those look way over-watered to me. Classic example in fact. The poster that pointed out about how FFOF holds to much moisture was spot on.
Look at Ibjamming's seedlings and how the leaves basically stand and stretch for the light, thats what you are looking for. I wouldn't be surprised if you start to see yellowing any day now on the bottom leaves due to drowning the small root transport system.
S
staff11
puffinchron
Member
S
staff11
Yeah keep us updated, I never liked FFOF really, it just doesn't drain great right out of the bag. If you don't overwater it is usually ok. If you do have to leave the plants just transplant with perlite and lightly water in the new soil.
S
staff11
Yeah well he is definitely having issues, and I notice a lot of people have these issues with FFOF. It's easy to over water right out of the bag.
2-weeks from planting. One of the ISS and the SSH are showing some signs of crinkle leaf which could be genetic or could be from nutrients in FFOF. There might also be the slightest indication of burning on leaf tip of the SSH, but it is hard to tell. Otherwise they all look good.
I probably watered 2x since the plants sprouted, but now that the root systems are filling out I will water every 2-days and eventually everyday. All plants will stay in 16oz cups until they can be sexed (hopefully two weeks).
Pine
PS - I only germinated 1/4 SSH. I like the idea of dropping seeds directly in FFOF because it is simple, but I think germination would be more "robust", particularly with older seeds, if I had soaked the seeds for 12-24 hours prior to planting.
Kali Mist
Dutch Dragon
Island Sweet Skunk
Super Silver Haze
I probably watered 2x since the plants sprouted, but now that the root systems are filling out I will water every 2-days and eventually everyday. All plants will stay in 16oz cups until they can be sexed (hopefully two weeks).
Pine
PS - I only germinated 1/4 SSH. I like the idea of dropping seeds directly in FFOF because it is simple, but I think germination would be more "robust", particularly with older seeds, if I had soaked the seeds for 12-24 hours prior to planting.
Kali Mist
Dutch Dragon
Island Sweet Skunk
Super Silver Haze
People screw up other mixtures as well by overwatering, overfeeding, and underfeeding. One of the potential benefits of planting seeds in FFOF is that you will not have to feed your young plants. This is balanced against the risk that they will burn, which I have not noted as a big problem yet. Since lots of people screw their seedlings up by underfeeding or overfeeding in soiless mixes, planting in FFOF might significantly reduce the opportunity for error.
Pine
