First outdoor grow

Hi, guys this summer is my first grow. I've never grown any plants before, so im not sure what to expect. I just wanna here from some experts about what to expect. Altough never growing weed i have found marijuana plants before and dried/cured the buds with no problems.

First off ill tell u my set up.

My soil is a mix of 4/10 vercumlite, 4/10 peat moss and 2/10 seafood compost.

For pots im using 5 gallon buckets. The buckets got stuck together in groups of 2. So there is a gap between them. I drilled 5-7 holes in each bucket, bottom bucket and top. the holes are about the size of a pencil.

The location i have provides about 5-6 hours direct sunlight and more indirect.

It would be near imposible for me to transport seedlings to my grow spot, so i made a dicision to plant all of the seeds directly into the soil. The seeds are "outdoor seed mix". I planted 10 seeds about 2x the length of my finger nail deep and i hope atleast 4 sprout. (Plan on taking some clones)

Some questions i have are:

How long will it take the seeds to sprout?

What can i do to prevent animals from eating them?

How big will my plants get?

How often should i check on my plants?

Am i using the right soil mix?

Did i burry seeds to deep or not deep enough?

Does it matter that the buckets are stuck together or is that good for drainage?


Ok, that is pretty much it guys. If someone could just tell me what to expect and if im doing anything wrong that would be great.

Thanks

How long will it take the seeds to sprout?
From seed in soil I'd say 4-14 days and they should be breaking the surface depending on if you scuffed them or soaked them etc.

What can i do to prevent animals from eating them?
Chicken wire on top? If they are in 5 gal buckets then rabbits probably wont be able to bother them much. throw some mothballs or urine around the area to deter deer from coming by (Although they never seem to bother mine)

How big will my plants get?
It depends on the time they are given to grow and the genetics. As far as yours, the rule of thumb is 1 foot per gallon so they will likely be getting rootbound @ about 5 feet. You will also have to water them considerably more often if they are that large in 5 gallon buckets. If you are just starting them now, I wouldn't be too worried about monster sizes though. They will likely be fine and end up about 5 feet or maybe a bit less. Knowing what zone you are in would help with this estimation. Mine are approaching 7 feet.

How often should i check on my plants?
I check on my outdoor ones about once every week to every week and a half. Pay attention to weather. Your containers will lose water faster than the ground will in your area (this is why I opted to put mine in the ground along with the container size would be ridiculous for transport to the grow area).

Thanks this was helpfull, i think i may have some chicken wire lying around or something close to it.

Can anyone else help me out?