My 2 cents:
Substrate/Medium: Coco bricks for Terrariums should cost you maybe 2$ but you have to rinse and buffer it yourself. Pre-buffered coco is the way to go if you're not up for all that hassle. Good substrate should have the following characteristics: the ability to absorb, store and release water, no fine/dusty particles, preferably inexpensive. This would be: coco fibers, lava, pumice, baked clay, expanded clay, zeolite, bark pieces, styrofoam pieces (no joke, works just as well as perlite) and a few more that you can find yourself once you understand the principle. Some of these materials may not be available in your region. But there are always substitutes.
All mentioned substrates can be mixed at will and there is almost no difference. Too much is written about the "best" mix. There is no such thing as the "ideal substrate". There are, in fact, thousands of ideal substrates. I believe that it does not matter what you use and in what mix, as long as they are "modern substrates" or hydroponic substrates as they are known here.
The modern substrate is water permeable (10+% Airspace), it stores water (40+% Water holding capacity), but the solid particles, form stable spaces, through which the water reliably runs off. It will always get rid of everything that is too much, no matter how much you pour. Exactly this drainage function is destroyed by the addition of soil or fine coco particles. Earth fills the spaces and the drainage effect no longer works. By the way, a drainage layer is no longer necessary, the entire substrate is a drainage layer. There is still too little talk about the fact that the roots always need a fresh oxygen supply. Only when they are constantly receiving oxygen, can they remain functional. The roots that suffocate will die; This is reliably prevented by a modern substrate. The drainage of the substrate simultaneously fulfills the requirements for continuous air and water supply.
Since modern substrates contain no soil, they have little to no life of their own. They dry quickly and you often have to water several times a day when it’s hot and/or your plants are in flower. Therefore, I sometimes add coarse peat to the mix. This is the type of peat that is harvested in high-moors and is available in the natural coarse form, When using this you can also get away with less Humic/Fulvic acids in the fertilizer. Be sure not to use too fine particles of peat, even if it is described as "dust-free". If coarse peat is not available, small bark pieces or coarse coconut fibers can be used. These organic components should occupy 15-20% of the total volume. If instead of peat coco is used, Fulvic acid should be added when fertilizing, but more on that in a bit.
I use the same substrate for all plants. This can vary in the course of the year from the exact composition, because I again and again use old substrate and also mix several different substrate parts indiscriminately. I am not at all concerned with the exact composition, but only pay close attention to the fact that only modern substrates are used; Without soil.
Water: My base is tap water ~7pH, on average my plants get 10% of the grow container volume/day. So a plant in a 11L Pot gets 1.1L a day. With a modern substrate, everything you know about watering is obsolete. One can hardly pour too much, but one can underwater easily. Indoors I water almost daily once the plants are big enough. This is regardless of whether the plants seem too dry or not. In early veg when growing from seed I might water less or skip a day. If it is hot, I water twice in a day. Not large amounts mind you. Half a Liter twice a day has shown itself to be better than a Liter a day all at once. Very small pots, 10 Liters or less, must be irrigated more than twice a day depending on the plant size. All plants are watered the same. The only deviation are seedlings less than a week old; Those get watered the same but fed at lower strength, about 2/3rds. Individual irrigation is not required if all your plants are in modern substrate. It is also no longer a problem to travel and to bring a trustworthy person to do the pouring. Every half-hearted person learns this in five minutes. Everything must be thoroughly drenched. It also does not matter what type of water is used. Tap water is very suitable for all plants, even if it is hard water. I have one of the hardest waters in Europe in my garden (23 ° DH). Nevertheless, I use it for everything. You can also water with rain water. This is not that much better than tap water as many may think. On the contrary, you have to supplement it with lots calcium and magnesium. In tap water are many minerals, in rain water there is nothing. Except for sulphates in acid rain
This type of irrigation can also be called aggressive. The water must drain over the substrate’s surface and from the drain holes. The area is wet and it often takes hours until everything evaporates, which again creates a good microclimate for vegging. With modern substrates, overwatering is almost impossible. Many plants suffer or die because they sit in a modern substrate and are watered according to the old methods - they are clearly watered too little and almost die, looking sad and droopy, of thirst.
Feed: With modern substrate and aggressive watering, fertilization is no longer a secret. Almost every normal hydroponic fertilizer is usable. Fertilizer for cannabis must definitely contain nitrogen, a lot of nitrogen. Only plants with nitrogen can grow. In fact, you can only train cannabis, that grows well so you can always cut away something that has grown; Namely fanleaves occluding lower bud sites. This requires more fertilization than other plants. An ideal ballpark ratio of the final nutrient solution is 1:1:2.
I used to use the solid fertilizers they are the cheapest but they are more work so now I use bottled fertilizer. For all my plants, I use the same fertilizer. Singular. No matter if Vegetative or flower I use the same.
In the past, much thought was given to which fertilizer was needed at what time of the grow. However, the plant knows best and takes what it needs. If aggressive fertilization and watering is applied, it is rapidly washed out and no salt can accumulate in the substrate. It is ok to fertilize with the same fertilizer in veg and flower as long as it covers “everything”.
How much? MUCH MORE THAN YOU THINK! Every day, for example, I give my plants 0.11g of nitrogen and potassium and ~0.25g kalium. Full strength fertilizer from day 7 above ground.
Now, of course, most of you think that what I am doing is too much and there must also be disadvantages. It is not too much, and everyone can get a picture in my garden at any time. Many recognized graduate gardeners and bonsai gardeners have already praised the health of my trees. And I've applied the same methods to this plant for years with great success now.
Mineral, i.e. chemical fertilizers, are essentially salts. People are therefore often dissuaded from using them because salt can accumulate in the soil and thereby make it toxic. Too much salt in the substrate is almost impossible if you aggressively water every day. At each water pass, the excess salt is washed away. That is why you have to fertilize so much more than with traditional soil media!
I insist on aggressive watering parallel to aggressive fertilization and the use of modern substrates. Simply fertilizing aggressively without taking the other parts into account can be very dangerous.
You can make fertilizing a science and do everything meticulously according to regulations and with records and equipment and a lot of effort. Well, you can also make food a science. But most people still enjoy it without scientific tables and a variety of devices.
So observe your plants and salt to taste.
As for germination: Pop the seeds in the coco, switch on your growlight and let that heat your tent. If they don't germinate your medium is too cold and would stunt your plant development.
If you have more seeds than you know what to do with you can toss a fistfull into small pots, cull the weak ones over the first week and then transplant into a bigger pot after 9ish days.
Welcome to AFN
and have fun!
My starting method is a few more steps than most folks, but it is what works for me.
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