hands is planting cannabis seedling plot

hands is planting cannabis seedling plot

How Old Should Seedlings Be Before Using Nutrients

Byking_adm on February 21, 2021

No matter what type of plant you’re trying to grow, there comes a time when you consider using nutrients to help it grow more efficiently. Growing plants successfully seems to be one of those things that you are either good at or you’re not for some people. You’ll try growing some cannabis seedlings that all result in failure, but then you see your neighbor growing the same seedlings and they are all yielding massive results by the time they’re ready to harvest. This leads to the question, how old should seedlings be before using nutrients?

If you’ve purchased seedlings, you’re probably puzzled if you should be using nutrients on them, and if so, when to use those nutrients in the life cycle of the plant. A good rule of thumb is that you don’t really need to be adding nutrients until you start seeing some leaves sprouting up. Seeds usually already have sufficient enough nutrients built up inside them to make it through the germination process. If you aren’t sure about your soil, sometimes it’s a good idea to check and see if your soil requires any beneficial nutrients. No one wants to be wasting money and time on planting seedlings in poor-quality soil.

When you think of plant nutrients, you can think of them in a comparable way to some of the multivitamins that people take on a daily basis. People take multivitamins to make up for vitamins they’re not efficiently getting through their diet. With plants, nutrients are used to boost the plant’s health much in the same way that vitamins are used to boost human health.

Plants require a couple of important nutrients:

• Nitrogen
• Phosphorous
• Potassium

Plants also need micronutrients, but on a lesser scale in comparison to the main nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

The type and amount of nutrients a plant requires also depends on what type of plant it is. It also depends on what stage of the life cycle the plant is currently at. All of these factors can become confusing for first-time growers, but over time, you’ll begin to catch on to the point that it’ll become second-nature.

How Old Should Seedlings Be Before Using Nutrients?

You typically don’t need to be flooding your seedlings with any nutrients until you see some leaves beginning to grow. The initial leaves that a seedling produces after the germination process have a lot of the important nutrients that the seedling requires to survive throughout the first couple of days.

Once the true leaves start to form, then you can consider using diluted fertilizer. Once the plant starts to get larger, you won’t need to use it anymore. A water-soluble diluted fertilizer is the best one, to begin with, and you’ll want to apply it to your plant around twice a week. Depending on how your plant is doing, you might want to give it some more.

What Are Some Signs Of An Overabundance Of Nutrients?

• The leaves might start going yellow.
• There won’t be any new growth.
• Your plants might begin to wilt.
• You might notice excess salt in the soil.

You might want to lay off the fertilizer for a while if you notice any of these symptoms in your plants. Adding too much water to your plants can become an issue, too. If your plants have any of the above signs, try flushing the nutrients from the plant. This is done by pouring water into the plant and then giving it a good chance to drain out. Let it completely drain so the plant doesn’t drown from too much water.

If you’re wanting to start up the fertilizer, ensure that you aren’t using the potting mix for your plants. Many potting mixes already have nutrients included in them, and this could lead to excessive nutrients which can harm your plant.

What’s The Point Of Using Nutrients For Seedlings?

Many people wonder if nutrients are even required at all when they are growing seedlings. It doesn’t hurt to give a boost to your seedlings with some additional nutrients. Doing this can be seen in a comparable way to giving children vitamins to support their healthy growth. Giving your seedlings additional nutrients can prevent diseases from occurring, and when they are young and just starting to grow, they can sometimes be weak, vulnerable, and fragile.

Nutrients can:

• Give your plants stronger stems.
• Help prevent any diseases.
• Produce better yields.
• Help your plant grow more leaves.

Ensure you’re using a diluted mixture when giving nutrients to your seedlings. If you use an excessive amount, it could harm them, and that’s the opposite of what your objective is in giving them nutrients in the first place.

All you have to do is mix some water into the fertilizer you’re using. Sometimes people are worried about adding too much fertilizer. If you’re concerned about this, potting mix is a way to bring you peace of mind because it already has built-in nutrients in it, but not as concentrated as fertilizers. This will result in a lesser chance of your seedlings being hurt from too many nutrients.

You don’t ever want to be using fertilizer and potting mix at the same time. Doing this is excessive and will damage your plants or even result in their deaths.

Phosphorous, Potassium, and nitrogen are all of the nutrients required for your plant to grow healthily. Magnesium, calcium, and iron also aid the healthy growth of plants. The majority of the common fertilizers on the market will contain Phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen.

What Are The Types Of Fertilizers Out There?

Fertilizers that are rich in nitrogen are ideal in helping plants produce large fruit. With seedlings, you’ll want a fertilizer that contains phosphorus so that the seedlings will go on to produce strong stems. Finding a fertilizer that contains a high phosphorus ratio is ideal in preventing your seedlings from being deprived of the other nutrients it requires to thrive.

Again, the three nutrients your plant requires to grow successfully are:

• Phosphorous
• Nitrogen
• Potassium

You’ll want to remember these nutrients whenever you’re growing seedlings and plants, and it can’t be stressed enough because they are the most important ones.

What About Synthetic Fertilizers?

You’ll want to use a diluted synthetic fertilizer formula on your seedlings about once a week. The instant you add synthetic fertilizer to your soil, it’ll start to take effect.

Synthetic fertilizers are extremely simple and effective for seedlings, but sometimes they will create a deficiency in the seedlings.

If you’re using a hydroponic setup, you won’t have to worry about that as much because there is a greater degree of control in that type of environment.

What About Organic Fertilizers?

You can use organic fertilizers safely around once a week, but you’ll also need to dilute it beforehand. Some fertilizers on the market contain too much nitrogen, but fish emulsion is known to be a mild one that’s great to use with seedlings. It keeps seedlings well-nourished and provides enough nitrogen to keep things running nicely.

Many people also consider using compost as an organic fertilizer. Anyone can produce their own compost from their house, and it’s an effective way to give your young seedlings all of the beneficial nutrients they require.

If you’re going to consider using compost, one thing to keep in mind is that too much compost can actually cause your plants to burn.

Whether you decide to use organic fertilizers or synthetic ones, they are both a good choice in their own ways. It ultimately all boils down to what you want to see in your plants.

If your plants are starting to wilt and you want a fast solution to the problem, then going with a synthetic fertilizer is probably the best course of action. If you’re looking at the long-term health of your soil and want to prepare it for future seedlings, then the organic compost route is a wise method to go with.

Organic fertilizers can be thought of as a slower way of increasing the nutrient levels in soil, whereas synthetic fertilizers are a good way to instantly increase the nutrient levels. If you need a quick fix for your plants right now, choose the synthetic fertilizer route.

When Should I Start Adding Nutrients To My Seedlings?

With plants, you can start safely adding nutrients to them during any particular stage of their life cycle. Depending on how your plants are doing, you probably won’t want to add nutrients any more than twice per week. But the amount you fertilize your plants also depends on where your plants are planted. If you just have them in a pot, you can get away with fertilizing once per week. If your plants are outside, then you can get away with fertilizing only once per month. This is because soil outside usually contains the nutrients your plants require.

With new seedlings, nutrients can be added once you start noticing true leaf growth. If you aren’t sure of the quality of the soil you’re going to be planting your young seedling into, you might want to get it tested. Not all soil contains the essential nutrients seedlings need to grow and thrive. Taking this initial step will ensure the success rate of your seedlings growing to fruition.

Remember to always dilute the nutrients before administering them to your seedlings. Flooding your seedlings with excessive nutrients can hurt them and potentially kill them.

When your plants reach later stages of growth, you’ll want to go with fertilizers that are high in nitrogen.

What Nutrients Are Required For What Plant?

With all of the different types of plants out there, you might be confused as to what plant needs what nutrient. Here is a quick list of plants and the common nutrients they require:

• Tomatoes: You’ll want a fertilizer that is high in phosphorus with lower nitrogen levels when the tomatoes are young.

• Peppers: With peppers, the fertilizer should have lower nitrogen levels once the true leaves begin to sprout up. This is also the case when you’re transplanting them and once the fruits start to sprout.

• Broccoli: Before you go to plant broccoli, you should already be preparing the soil with nutrients in anticipation.

• Carrots: Carrots are the same as broccoli where you’ll need to use nutrients before you even start to plant carrot seeds.

• Kale: Apply nutrients before planting kale.

• Spinach: Use fertilizer once on a bi-weekly basis.

What Type Of Ratio Should I Use For Fertilizers?

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are usually on a 10-10-10 ratio scale. This means that the fertilizer will contain 10% of each of these main nutrients.

Fertilizer Vs Potting Mix – What’s The Difference?

With fertilizer, you’re getting a very concentrated dose of nutrients. With the potting mix, the nutrients are already included in the soil mixture, but nowhere near as concentrated as fertilizer. You’ll want to consider what your plant needs before figuring out if you’re going to be going with potting mix or just fertilizer. If your plants aren’t doing very well and you think they require a quick shot of nutrients, fertilizer is the route to go with.

Should Nutrients Be Added To The Seedlings Every Single Time They’re Being Watered?

It’s recommended to use nutrients either once or twice per week. If you use nutrients any more than this, you’re creating an overabundance of nutrients, and that is known to hurt your seedlings. To ensure your soil is ideal for plant growth, take some soil samples before considering adding nutrients, because there’s a chance your soil already has the required nutrients in it for your seedlings to thrive.

What’s The Recommended Duration Of Time To Wait Before Watering Your Plants After You’ve Just Fertilized Them?

If you’ve just applied fertilizer to your plants, you’ll want to be patient and wait around 24 hours before you decide to water them. Watering the plants right after you’ve fertilized them will be a waste because the water will just push all of the nutrients down and away from the soil.