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To feed or not to feed?...

blorvak

blorvak

Some great glog action this year, and I can't help but compare my little guys to the pics I'm seeing. And I think my plants are small for their age. About 5 weeks old, and they all have a few pairs of true leaves, but none have leaves larger than a quarter.
 
I sowed in Rapid Rooters, and then potted up in solo cups with Light Warrior. So not much in the way of nutrients. Think they might need some food?
 
Just checking the Fox Farms website, and their instructions say to feed within 5 days of transplanting. Maybe I answered my own question!? Anyway, what does THP think?
 
 
     I don't have experience with the mix you're using, but it sounds like they could use a diluted dose of fertilizer. The last two years, I've used a seedling starting mix with little to no nutrients at all, and waited close to a month before fertilizing. I noticed that my seedlings always seemed like runts compared to others' pics. This year (using the same mix), I fertilized shortly after my seedlings put on true leaves - only a few weeks after emergence - and they have been growing noticeably bigger, faster.
     Sure there are many other factors that influence growth rate (light quality/intensity, water, temperature etc.), and they are all probably playing a role in your (and my) results, but I just can't ignore how noticeably greener and more robust my plants look this year.
     Maybe try it on some of your plants - a few of each variety and size - and see how things look in a week. Remember to take notes so you can hit the ground running next year. Good luck!
 
If they still have their cotyledons they do not need additional food. After that, you can feed a very diluted amount - maybe 1/10 - or you risk fert burn. Don't feed them every watering and keep an eye out for early signs of fert burn - the leaves start to kind of pucker up. If that starts happening, you're feeding too much too soon.
 
Growing indoors under lights, what kind & how much wattage? Perhaps a earthworm castings slurry if you have any, it won't burn the seedlings & will get the job done if they need a bit of nitrogen.
 
Good luck
Nick
 
Excellent advice all around!
 
And yes, lots of factors in play. I'm running a 4 bulb t5 fixture right now, so I'm pretty sure they're getting enough light. Almost all of them are directly under it.
 
Going to try a very dilute feeding on some test subjects and see how it turns out.
 
Thanks!
 
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