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Spring is the season of rebirth and it is my favorite time of the year in Oklahoma.
Everything turns incredibly green here, which is why they call it “Green Country.” Lucky for me, pollen is not a major bother to my sinuses. I just transplanted these sativa plants to the outdoors and I’m starting outdoor grow round #2. Last year was not a failure, but due to pests and extreme weather, results were not as good as I hoped they would be.
We live, we learn, we thrive, we die, and then we are born again. Maybe plants and humans aren’t so different after all.
My current sativa strains are:
- Acapulco Gold from Barney’s Farm – ordered from from HerbiesHeadshop.com
- Amnesia Lemon from Barney’s Farm – a free seed I got from Herbies
- Raspberry Cough from Nirvana Shop
I’m growing these in much bigger 20-30 gallon containers instead of the smaller pots I used last season.
I’ve grown the Acapulco Gold before and it is still the most vigorous strain out of all the sativas I’ve grown. It always germinates first, and as you can see, it handles stress better than the other two strains. I topped and trained all these in the same manner and Acapulco Gold is still the one to shine. Last season my Acapulco Gold got ravaged by caterpillars and didn’t make the final cut, but this is not last season.
Initially, I put these sativa plants outside for about a day and they were shocked from the heavy wind and extreme sun. I moved them back inside the next day, but you’ll notice a few burnt tips on the older leaves. That is no longer my concern since I’ve already transplanted and new growth is beginning as they sit a shady area. I didn’t really notice any transplant shock. The plants actually seem to be doing better in their new homes.
I sweet-talked them quite a bit so they will listen to my commands and desires of dank nugs.
Manly P. Hall says you must sweet-talk your plants and tell them everything you want them to do. It makes complete sense to me. Sweet ladies need sweet love. This philosophy kind of lines up with Dr. Masaru Emoto’s Messages From Water, so it resonated with me instantly when I came across it the other day. It’s a good idea to bless your seeds before you germinate them and bring new life into the world. Check it out.
Masaru Emoto’s Experiment in Gratitude Video
I’d like to take this moment and pull a quote from one of the greatest authors of all time:
“Weeds will grow in abundance if seeds of more desirable crops are not sewn therein.”
– Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
Here are the steps I take when I transplant to bigger containers:
Go back to the top of the page and look at the photos in the photo gallery if you want to see the process!
- Prepare your soil mix and put it in your new containers. Leave enough space to put your old plant inside the new container. Add stakes if you think you’ll need them for larger plants. I just used some spare PVC pipes I had. My seedling soil mix is 1 part Fox Farms Ocean Forest, 1 part perlite, and 1 part vermiculite. I also add epsom salt and lime to the mix. You might have to adjust the ratios depending on your container size. I’m at the point where I’m just winging it and not getting extremely calculated and technical with organic nutrient measurements. I just wing it and observe the plants.
- Break up any loose soil on top of your plant that is to be transplanted and then dump it into the bigger pot. Mix it up thoroughly and make sure your transplanting hole still exists. Use your hands to brush the soil to the sides of the pot if you need to make more room, or just scoop out unneeded soil with a spare pot.
- Sprinkle Great White Premium Mycorrhizae into the hole where you’ll transplant. You can put however much you want, but a scoop will most likely do the trick.
- With your dominant strong arm, place the main stalk of the plant in between your middle and ring fingers. Put your palm down to the soil and try to get a stable balance with your hand. Balance and support the pot with your other hand as you flip it over to knock it out of the container. If you’re having trouble getting the plant out, you can try pushing on the sides of the container and knocking it around a bit. Gently sliding a butter knife around the edges of the container may help loosen stuck roots, but this could ruin some of your roots if you’re not careful. It’s alright if you mess up some root balls on your plants as long as you don’t completely destroy the main taproot that connects to the stalk. That would be like cutting your head off your body. When transplanting with mycorrhizae, the roots usually recover quickly.
- While you have the plant out of the pot, you can take this opportunity to lightly feather the roots a bit with the tips of your fingers. If you have a brush with soft bristles, that is even better than using fingers. This will help the roots grasp onto the soil in their new homes and recover faster.
- Fill up the sides of the container with more soil and tell your plant all about its new home and environment. Make sure the plant feels safe and at home! This is key!
- Level out the soil to the top of the pot. The soil will compress over time as you water the plant.
- This is a trick my green thumb Cherokee grandmother taught me after transplanting. If you’ve got the bodily strength, pick up your container a few inches off the ground and drop it flat a few times. This will help the plant sit better in the soil mix and pack it down a little bit more. Be smart about it. You don’t want to break stuff by dropping your container too hard. This step is not required.
- Add nutrients if you think your plants need them. I chose to add additional nutrients to my top layer of newly mixed soil after this transplant. I’ve already hardened these plants off and they are two months old, so they can take it. I added Dr. Earth’s all purpose fertilizer, Dr. Earth’s vegetative fertilizer, lime, epsom salt, and then watered it in with a bit of water mixed with Great White Mycorrhizae. I didn’t water my entire pots because the soil was already moist and the roots won’t grow fast enough to drink up all the water yet. Make sure you don’t over water if you have a huge pot.
- Tie down your plants and start training them, if you want! I’m going for some bigger yields this time around, so I’ll be tying these ladies down and topping them more.
- Spray foliage with neem oil if you are moving your plants outside. Only spray with neem oil in the shade. Do not spray in direct sunlight and start your neem oil and water mix ratio very small. Only add a little bit of neem oil and gradually increase the mix ratio if necessary. Neem oil solution sprayed in direct sunlight will mess up your plants, so don’t do it! Put the plants in the shade and spray them after the sun goes down if you have to.
- Watch for signs of shock and respond accordingly.
You may need an extra hand transplanting if it is your first time or if you have big plants. Transplanting is fairly simple, but a lot of people fear that they will mess up their plants. It’s not that scary, so just have confidence and go for it. Cannabis plants are very resilient and will often recover after a botched transplant job.
Remember Mr. Miyagi said, “If it comes from inside you, it’s always right.”
RIP a bong for Mr. Miyagi. Peace.
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