Marijuana Daily Gardening. Henry Woodward
9. Transplant into slightly moistened soil by placing one finger into the soil to the first knuckle then placing the seed into the hole. Be careful not to plant too deep.
10. The “tail” MUST POINT DOWN!
11. Place seedling pods as close to lights as possible so that seedlings will not stretch when they emerge.
12. Check daily until seedlings pop clear of the soil. Water as necessary – soil should be moist but not waterlogged. Soil will dry out quickly when in close proximity to lights.
13. When watering seedlings use only demineralized water, not tap until they are fully formed seedlings, for the first week or two. This minimizes the chance that water used will have an unsuitable pH and stress the fragile seedlings.
14. Seedlings require no nutrients until much later in the growing process. Nutrients should be added to their feed slowly and at very low concentrations at first.
15. Resist the urge to remove seed casings that have not fallen off seedlings. They will fall off on their own as they grow. Taking them off by hand can rip fragile seedlings.
16. It is crucial to label seeds at the time of planting. A bit of masking tape and a Sharpie are all that is required. Record the date planted and the strain, particularly if planting several strains simultaneously and in close proximity. Apply tape to appropriate seed pod. Transfer labels to successively larger pots with each transplant.
17. If one or more seeds don’t germinate, try again with new seeds to hit your desired number. Keep in mind that you will likely have to kill some (males) as even feminized seeds provide no absolute guarantee of female plants.
You may be tempted to skip the step of germinating from seed, possibly due to the fact that the cost can run into the hundreds of dollars depending on the strain you are growing. You might be tempted to obtain a clone if one or more is available. However, germination is quick, dead easy and has one inarguable advantage over importing a clone from another garden: with seed, it is impossible to import problems (such as pests) into your own garden – and this can often happen when importing clones from elsewhere. Unless you are positive about the grow conditions of a sourced clone, don’t go there – cleaning up the mess of a problemladen clone is far more trouble than the few minutes it will take you over a few days to germinate the seeds.
Label plants to avoid mix ups. It is useful to include cloning/germination and expected harvest dates, as well as strain. For cloned plants, you may also wish to indicate sex so that you know which plants must be watched more or less closely during early weeks of budding.
The new strain I’ve selected to grow is Tangerine Dream. I have purchased five feminized seeds and will start by germinating three. I have also been given a single seed from a third strain, Pandora, as a gift. I’ve decided to give it a whirl too, though it will be a one shot deal. I won’t be saving it for future cultivation (and couldn’t in any case because it is an autoflowering seed – more on that later).
After putting the seeds away in a warm dark drawer, on a plate covered in damp paper towel and Saran Wrap, I am ready to move on to cloning.
This is far more labor intensive. As it is a process best done in several distinct steps, I make sure to set up and check over all necessary materials prior to going anywhere near Mother Kush with scissors: demineralized water in a spray bottle, measuring cup, rooting gel, soil and pods for planting and of course the scissors. Whether you use scissors or a razor, be sure to sterilize them before cutting. This is important so that you don’t unwittingly transfer a problem from one plant to another. You may not even know that a problem exists – but it is unwise to take chances with your garden, however small, after you’ve invested much time and energy. Thus, I have cleaned these scissors, which were covered in sticky resin from the just-completed harvest. Rubbing alcohol and a paper towel do the job nicely.
Germination 101: starting from seed is a snap with the right gear.
Though I mostly garden alone, I’ve invited my partner Ms. Woodward to join me and help with the cloning. We look over the Kush Mother and pick three healthy stems, each approximately four to five inches in length with healthy growth and leaf development. We only cut one at a time, however; not all three at once. It is important to complete each clone as quickly as possible because having one or two cuttings sitting and waiting while exposed to the air while you finish transplanting your first clone isn’t a good idea.
The cut is made below new growth to give the new plant a maximized chance at successfully taking off. About four to eight inches long is best, as cuttings any shorter will not have sufficient size to grow, or at least will take much longer to mature. The longer a cutting/clone is, the more difficulty the plant will have maintaining itself without roots, while the root structure develops. This will take two weeks or more, so making a cutting of medium size is better than being over-ambitious. Remember to leave approximately one inch to be submerged in soil. Even a light cutting requires a firm base.
Clean scissors after every use, particularly when cloning new plants. A high strength rubbing alcohol is better than the standard drug store brand for removing sticky resin.
Ultimately, like most aspects of a daily grow, cloning is a matter of trial and (learning from) error. There isn’t a hard and fast rule about the “right” way to do anything. Instead, it is better to proceed using anything you read or are told about growing marijuana, including the advice in this guide, as a place to start. Every grow situation is unique and thus so is every grow. While there are some “basics” that a new grower such as yourself will likely have good success with, growing cannabis is, in my opinion, equal parts art and science.
When starting something new, gather information from different sources – but don’t expect one correct answer. Many debates continue to rage about the best or at least different ways to approach many different aspects of a daily grow, from ways to clone to maximizing yield. Grow books such as this one are a good place to start (much of my initial reading on the subject came from The Cannabis Grow Bible, Greg Green’s indispensible handbook for serious gardeners, also available from Green Candy Press). Because this book is written for newbies, from the perspective of a new-ish gardener, it should answer most questions you will face as you move through your first grow from seed to harvest. But the many grow sites on the Internet, particularly the many pot discussion boards, are excellent resources for getting new ideas, second opinions or for that problem situation that you aren’t sure how to handle. If you’re facing a tricky situation, other passionate gardeners will have too, and may have posted their experiences online.
New clones are placed in water. It is good practice to remove a glob of gel from the container rather than dipping stems directly into the gel container. Doing the latter 'activates' the unused gel, making it less effective for future cloning.