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Cannabis Seedling Stage

As seen for cannabis, the seedling stage of the growth cycle requires a lot of care and attention. Seedlings at this stage are more prone to mould and disease; hence it is vital to monitor the growth of your plants. Be careful as to not over fertilise or over water your plants at this stage.

It’s important to know that cannabis seedlings breathe by absorbing water, through their roots, and grow by absorbing Co2, through its leaves. The first couple of weeks new leaves to develop that are called cotyledons. After this stage, the next new series of leaves will start to appear and will look more like your typical cannabis plant, after this it will begin to sprout the leaves you would normally see on a plant (5-7 leaflets per leaf) 

Cannabis seedlings are generally a bright green in colour. This seedling stage takes up to 3 weeks in small pots with healthy roots, once healthy roots appear, transfer the plants into larger pots with enough room for the roots to properly develop.

Caring for Marijuana Seedlings

This is where you can find out the best and worst ways to care for your cannabis plant.

Common mistakes during the cannabis seedling stage are overwatering and over fertilising the cannabis plant. You can tell if you are overwatering your plants by looking at the leaves, if they are bright and firm then they are healthy, if they are dull and droopy then they are most likely overwatered. Plants that appear to be a lot smaller than usual tends to point to over fertilising.

Allow for proper drainage in your grow container

If your marijuana plant is in a pot or container that cannot drain, the roots will become flooded with water, causing oxygen deprivation. To avoid this, you need to fill your pot with potting mix that drains well. A good quality potting mix with perlite is great for this.

Containing seedlings in a smaller container

A seedling can grow faster in a smaller pot, as long as you give the plant its required amount of food by adjusting the nutrients accordingly to make sure they measure the same by part or gram, depending on how you grow.

When to water Cannabis plants

Giving your seedlings too much water can have adverse effects, including predisposing them to drowning. Using perlite is an option that encourages the development of oxygen intake by the plant, as well as using a container that provides accessibility to air from all sides. When watering, make sure the inch at the top of the growing medium or soil is dry before applying more.

Follow the guidelines for watering cannabis in order to provide growers with healthy cannabis stocks

The Seedling stage involves an alternation of both under-watering, and over watering to test the cannabis plant’s response. Under-watering your cannabis will lead to droopy leaves that can die or grow poorly. However, over-watering is not ok either, since it leads to wet soil where the new cannabis plant is living. Aim for a balance between the two! This is also a great time to test your soil pH etc.

Learn to properly give your cannabis seedlings the right amount of light

It’s important to nurture cannabis seedlings, as they have not fully developed yet. You can’t start using grow lights just yet as the leaves won’t have completely surfaced from the soil, but you’ll need a flourescent/LED light until they do. This should be placed 2-4 inch from the leaves and experiment with the power of your light (do not burn your plants). Once the shell emerges from dirt, then begin using a flourescent or LED light. If your seedling isn’t getting enough light, you will notice it won’t be growing too fast. Either invest in higher wattage LED’s or switch another light type like HID/HPS. Pay attention to leaves curling, getting burnt etc and apply the right amount of light after becoming aware. It’s ok if you don’t get it right at first!. It is important to closely monitor your plants at this stage.

Check the temperature in order to optimise cannabis seedling growth

Seedlings like warmth (22 to 26 degrees Celsius is the optimal temperature) – Seedlings are more sensitive and therefore it’s best to keep an even temperature during this stage, which can be done by closely monitoring the distance from your lights to the plants.- The relative humidity (RH) should be at around 60 to 75% and the humidity dome is very highly recommended in this application.

Be aware of nutrient excess

For cannabis seedlings, the discolouration and spots that appear on leaves could be a result of changes in nutrient graphs. Healthy leaves will be bright green, if yellow or spotted appearance occur then you may need to check the environment. If too many nutrients are present at the roots, this could cause leaf tips to discolour or burn. To resolve this try to avoid using nutrient rich soil or slow releasing soil. The excess nutrients found in these soils may harm the plant.

What you can do to protect your cannabis plants

Cannabis seedlings should ideally be covered with a plastic dome for protection from bugs and pests (green house). Place them in a grassy, outdoor location but make sure the soil is moist.