When it comes to starting cannabis seeds, there’s a little bit more care that goes into that simply plopping the seeds into some soil. After all, you want them all to germinate right? Plus, by following the steps below to start your cannabis seeds, you may learn a thing or two before the seeds even germinate!
Video on How to Start Cannabis Seeds
Germinating Cannabis Seeds
- Alright to start, go ahead and pull out whatever cannabis seeds you intend to germinate. Today, we will be starting four different varieties to find the perfect strains to run for the light depping and full sun seasons.
- Now with your seeds picked out, go ahead and fill a few jars with water and label them accordingly. Once the jars are filled, just drop your seeds into the water to soak. You will want to let them soak for anywhere between 4 to 12 hours. Grower Tip: If your seeds are floating in the jar by the end, they most likely will have trouble germinating.
- Now that the seeds are done soaking, go ahead and get some wet paper towels and ziplock bags. Yup, back to the same seed germination steps you likely learned in grade school.
- With the paper towels moist, but not overly wet, set your seeds on it and fold over. After this, simply place the paper towels into your ziplock bag. Don’t forget to label each bag, so you don’t confuse the strains later on.
- Place these bags in a safe place that’s relatively warm. We will check back on them soon.
Preparing Your Soil
And, we’re back just two short days later with sprouted seeds! Once you see them sprout just a tiny bit, they are ready to be moved into some soil.
With the seed sprouted and still wrapped up in their moist paper towel, go ahead and grab some pots and fill them with soil. We use smaller pots at the beginning and then transplant them into larger pots later on, but feel free to move the sprouted seeds into any size pot you’d like. You can even place them in the pots you intend to use for the duration of their lifespan.
Now that the pots are filled with your soil, get ready to moisten that soil! But first, be sure to add some Rootwise Mycrobe Complete to your water. For this, you will want to use a pinch of the Rootwise product per plant. We had nine sprouted seeds to move into pots, so we used about half a tablespoon, but you could definitely go even less than that.
Of course, you could forgo using the Rootwise Mycrobe Complete all together, but we tend to get much better results when it’s used.
Placing Your Cannabis Seeds in Soil
Alright, you have your water all mixed up, go ahead and pour it into the pots. Be sure to get each pot very moist prior to planting your sprouted cannabis seed in the soil. Once moistened, simply stick your finger in to form about a ⅛ inch deep hole. This is where you will place the seed.
For this next part, there is actually some quite heavy debate. Feel free to do your research and do whatever works best for you.
Personally, we prefer to take the sprouted seed and look for the “hook” growing out of the seed. After locating it, place the part protruding from the seed down into the soil, the other side of the “hook” facing upwards, and cover the remainder of the seed with soil except for the very tippy-top of the seed itself.
Again, this is a personal preference, but we like to leave the very tip of the seed exposed at the top to ensure the plant knows which way to go. We know, we know, plants are beyond smart beings, we do this just to be cautious and ensure each one has the best chance of survival.
Letting Them Grow
Now with your newly sprouted seeds in the soil, put them under lights or place in a window sill to allow them to continue to grow. A controlled environment is best, as you can ensure the plant gets enough sun, as well as remains at the perfect humidity and moisture for optimal growth. However, we totally understand if that’s not an option. A window sill or even outdoors will work just fine.
Just beware of the conditions you are placing your newly sprouted seed in. After all, it’s just like a newly born child, small, fragile and trying to figure out the world around them, so care for them the same. They are your plant children and deserve some tender, love, and care, so they can provide you with a strong plant that produces in abundance for you.
With the plants in their new home, we get to wait again! It’s okay though, everything takes time to grow, just like us, so be patient and let the seeds keep working hard to come to life for you.
And, we’re back just a few short days later! The seeds have officially sprouted their first leaves. Now, care for them using this calendar and feeding schedule until they begin showing their sex. At that time, you will want to separate the female and male cannabis plants, so you can place the female plants into flower.