Tips & Tricks
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Germinating Tips
- Line the bottom of a plate with a few layers of paper towels. Wet the towels and drain off the excess water from the plate.
- Place the seeds on top of the towels. Then, place another layer of towels on top of the seeds and first layer of towels. Wet this layer as well and drain off the excess water again.
- Place another plate upside down on top of the first plate.
- This will create the perfect environment for the seeds to begin germinating. Make sure the towels stay moist, but are not in standing water.
- Place the plates in a warm area, away from direct light.
- Check the seeds every day.
- Sometime between 24-72 hours the seeds will begin to show their white root. Once the root sprouts from the seed, place it root facing down, into your preferred growing medium.
- Cover the seed with about a 1/4 inch of growing medium. Do not plant the seed too deep, as this will not allow access to light and will kill the seed.
- Make sure to keep the medium moist and do not let it dry out (this will kill the seeds quickly).
- Place a fluorescent type growing light with a “plant-growing” bulb at 6″ above the seed.
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Growing Tips - Indoor
Proper growing conditions:
20˚C – 24˚C is ideal
30% – 45% humidity is ideal
- Keep the light on for 18 hours and off for 6 hours until the seedlings have grown to a size you prefer. (This amount of light replicates the hours of natural sunlight in the early growing season when cannabis grows in the wild.)
- Once the plants are a size you like, switch the light cycle to 12 hours on and 12 hours off. This cycle will induce the flowering cycle of the plants. It is extremely important that the 12-hour dark cycle is kept completely dark.
- The plants will stretch upwards usually between 12” – 18″ depending on variety, so be aware and decide your ideal plant size based upon this information.
- For the flowering cycle, follow the manufacturers instructions on your light of choice as to the recommended distance between the bulb and the top of your plants.
- It is imperative that unnecessary stress is avoided when growing seedlings. Stress such as too dry, too wet, underfed, light cycle interruptions will cause the seedlings to become males, which will be unwanted.
Cannabis is a dry/wet cycle plant. This means that it prefers to dry out a bit, then be watered again, and so on. This does not mean that you want the plant to dry out completely, but do let it dry somewhat and then water it. The quickest way to kill a plant is to over water or underwater. Just try the wet/dry cycle of watering and use your judgement. It will be a learning process and will take some time to master.
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Growing Tips - Outdoor
- Be sure to check the “last frost date” in your region. A frost will severely damage or kill your young cannabis plants.
- Moving your young seedlings to the outdoors will require a “hardening” process. Introduce your seedling to their new environment by protecting them from cool, damp evenings by placing a small plastic dome over them for first few evenings.
- Protect your young plants from extreme wind or rain, or other extreme weather events.
- Depending on your location your plants should begin to flower in late Summer/early Fall.
- Be sure to remember to continue the dry/wet cycle of watering your cannabis plants in times of drought or no rain.