Hi folks,
Complete beginner here, getting frustrated with trying to grow something that should grow like a weed!
My seeds (Royal Queen Seeds automatics) all germinate well (damp tissue method), and when their taproots are 1-2 cm long I plant them out in small pots, approx 0.5-1 cm deep. Compost is mgc24 “bio-hanf” peat-free brand. They grow, possibly a bit stringy, but maintain a nice green colour, on the windowsill. When they have another couple of pairs of leaves, after their cotyledons, I move them outside, to a SW facing patio with a wall behind them. It’s been warm, but rarely >30 C, and I’d say it’s been sunny enough - the rest of the garden is fine….
Then the plants stall - they get a few more leaves, never show any interest in e.g. the stalk branching, and turn a uniform paler green. They do not grow taller than approx. 10 cm, with my oldest plant from late May having started to grow a single tiny bud (is bonsai cannabis valuable :-) ).
The water here (Berlin) is quite hard, but still tests as having a pH of ~7. I’ve also tried watering with rain water and acidified (citric acid - it’s what’s in the Biobizz pH down) water.
I’ve tried Root Juice, Fish Mix and Alg-a-mic fertilisers from Biobizz, nothing seems to make any difference, and with such small plants it’s difficult to not overwater. I’d also expect the compost itself to still be providing enough nutrition for such young plants?
All help/suggestions gratefully received - thanks! Sorry for lack of a picture - for some reason it’s not letting me upload anything.
Just a heads up I grow mostly vegetables, have been an avid gardener for over 15 years so my advice will be generic and not specific to growing cannabis. In general I think cannabis growers over think something that is much simpler than it seems. After growing veggies for so long, I found that cannabis is so laughably easy to grow, its ridiculously robust, will handle all kinds of abuse and grows incredibly fast. Here is the little beast I grew two years ago
You mentioned you put them outside, how long ago? Did you re-pot them when you put them outside? They will need time to establish bigger roots when you replant them. Are you growing anything else outside that is doing well or just the cannabis? A picture of the leaves will tell a better story, green has lots of shades and a light green means stress. If you gave it lots of nutrients and you got no response that is bad, either you will over feed it and stress it out (Very hard in my experience) or it will take it up and burst into growth. What this tells me is your plant CANT take up the feed in the soil because the dirt is too wet. How often do you water the plant and do you check the soil to ensure its dry before watering? Has it rained a lot? Over-watered dirt will kill your plant because it cannot get the nutrients it needs, it needs to be damp but NOT wet or the roots aren't effective.
Thank you for the detailed reply - I’ve previously had no problems with “normal” plants but it really does sound like I’m killing these with love. Very, very jealous of your beast!