First time Out door grow in Western Washington, Help?

Hahahah , hello people. I am doing my very first grow out doors. I cannot grow inside , i do not have equipment nor space /: . Anyways, The strain i chose is Northern lights auto flower. A couple questions, Can i juss germinate the seeds then plant them in the soil ? or do i absolutely have to plant indoors for 4 weeks then transfer. Also if i did HAVE to plant inside. what would be the light hours on a 36 watt cfl? I Really don't want to have to buy light and fixtures for this haha. but if i did what would be the prices? I am incredibly new to this out door grow game so assitance would be great <3

I live in western Oregon (mid valley) and will start mine inside in April.... we can get a freeze late in March so don't plant outdoors just yet. I am going to start inside and then move outside in a tomato cage with clearish plastic around the cage, mini green house effect. Good to see more West coast here. Cheers!

DG1959 said:

I live in western Oregon (mid valley) and will start mine inside in April.... we can get a freeze late in March so don't plant outdoors just yet. I am going to start inside and then move outside in a tomato cage with clearish plastic around the cage, mini green house effect. Good to see more West coast here. Cheers!

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Okay when starting off my seeds inside (since i guess i have too haha) Do i juss put them under a 36watt cfl for 2-4 weeks then transplant? or will that shock the plants, and do i have to adjust their lighting hours at all. I am in need of a lot of help lol

I soak mine for 24 hours and then put in a dark warm place in wet paper towels. After they pop and that tiny root shows I plant in a clear solo cup inside of a colored solo cup about 3/4 inch deep. By using the clear cup placed inside a colored cup I can lift the clear out and check for root growth. The CFL will be fine... 18/6 or so.
Great to chat with a fellow Oregonian.... wish I knew how to private email you.

I'm mid valley too. Started my moms around new years. Having clone issues tho so those moms just might be the outdoor ladies. If so they are going out in 20 gallons and will be fun to transplant. 1 note about soaking seeds, for me I go about 12 hours or until they sink when you tap them. I get paranoid about drowning expensive seeds. You can buy those big ass 20 dollar cfl bulbs and a clamp on light reflector for another 20 bucks, plus another 15-20 dollar timer. There's your setup. Oh yeah get a fan. Yes adjust your light schedule.

DG1959 said:

I live in western Oregon (mid valley) and will start mine inside in April.... we can get a freeze late in March so don't plant outdoors just yet. I am going to start inside and then move outside in a tomato cage with clearish plastic around the cage, mini green house effect. Good to see more West coast here. Cheers!

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I'm in mid valley Oregon as well. Well Salem area. I'm going to be germinating and transitioning mine outdoor as well after three weeks. During the first 3 weeks Ill be germinating them 24/7 under 125 watt cfl. I noticed long ago that if you turn out the light they start trying to grow toward the sun and you get long skimpy rather than stalky healthy plants. Ill be using 45 gallon buckets starting July 1st.

My 125 watt was like 60 bucks.

Recent discovery for me. I am using super early finishing strains and veggin under 24/7 light. I shut off the lights for a few hours to spray for mites and one week really hit em hard. That caused some of those early finishers to start flowering. 3 hours of darkness when they had previously had none triggered them and 2 weks later they still haven't come back to veg. I'm gonna start shaving a half hour every week until I get 15 hours of light and hopefully they won't flower prematurely. Just note that seeds without previous dark time might be ultra sensitive to schedule changes so transition extra slowly will hopefully avoid that. I'm taking back up clones in case the worst happens.

so i planting them straight outdoors after germination a bad idea?

probably not a bad idea in june, they'll be used to whatever light cycle they break through the soil with. In the past I would shave an hour off every day until they match closely, but these early seed plants are different. They were almost 2 months old and had 24/7 light the whole time. A new seedling will probably be fine. I think I read somewhere about hormone cycles every 3 hours or something like that, so I don't jump more than 3 hours when transitioning. Could be remembering it wrong.

Seeds do take a little while (about a month) to reach maturity so shouldn't be thought of as the same as putting clones out side. Seeds also will veg under 12/12 for a few weeks so light cycles might not be that big of a deal with immature seedlings, which is what you were asking about.

I'm in the Gorge. East of Portland. Soaked my seeds until they sank when I pushed them down, then transferred to putting them between two damp sponges, inside an enclosed large plastic bin with a little water in the bottom, then put the bin on top of a heating pad set in low.. In 48 hours 109 of 115 seeds popped. Looks like two more are going to.
I'll keep them indoors on 18 hours light ( two 75 watt grow flood lights in work light receptacles with clamps.. Those silver reflective ones) all on a south facing window.
I'll throw them out in my greenhouse in April, the ones I put outdoors will go out Mid- May

petert said:

I'm in the Gorge. East of Portland. Soaked my seeds until they sank when I pushed them down, then transferred to putting them between two damp sponges, inside an enclosed large plastic bin with a little water in the bottom, then put the bin on top of a heating pad set in low.. In 48 hours 109 of 115 seeds popped. Looks like two more are going to.
I'll keep them indoors on 18 hours light ( two 75 watt grow flood lights in work light receptacles with clamps.. Those silver reflective ones) all on a south facing window.
I'll throw them out in my greenhouse in April, the ones I put outdoors will go out Mid- May

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You get a fair amount of sun in april? This winter has me thinking about it and also my plants are getting a little too big for indoors. Nice tip with the sponges even easier than paper towels on a plate in a bag, at least with a woodstove drying out the air all the time. Just out of curiosity, when's the cutoff for outdoor plants in your neck of the woods? Finish time-wise

OP you have Auto's right? You can plant directly outside anytime after the last frost date for your area. Keep in mind that baby seedlings are very susceptible to critters and the longest days of the year are around the 3rd week of June.

burner89 said:

OP you have Auto's right? You can plant directly outside anytime after the last frost date for your area. Keep in mind that baby seedlings are very susceptible to critters and the longest days of the year are around the 3rd week of June.

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So this means i am able to just take germinated seeds and plant directly out side?

calicocalyx said:

You get a fair amount of sun in april? This winter has me thinking about it and also my plants are getting a little too big for indoors. Nice tip with the sponges even easier than paper towels on a plate in a bag, at least with a woodstove drying out the air all the time. Just out of curiosity, when's the cutoff for outdoor plants in your neck of the woods? Finish time-wise

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April in the eastern gorge is hit and miss.. Still a good chance of a freeze but we get good sun. Mine start indoor then mid -late March they go to a greenhouse and then the ones that go outdoors I usually look for a good stretch of weather after May 10th or so. I have a heavy duty timer set on 18 hours of light and I try to keep the room a steady 67-70 degrees, a breeder friend of mine has found over the past 30 years that it seems to have helped tip the scales in favor of female plants ( though she admits it's not s scientific study) I gradually cut my timer back until I'm at 16 hours a day in May.
Finish time for our area is funky.. The past three years we have gotten a big wet storm in the end of Seotember but then had great weather after that till mid-October. I've been growing strains that have > 60 flowering days so I usually harvest by the end of September.
I've bought insurance though in a 30x48 green house. So I'm now good through mid-November and I'm adding some strains that will go into October. Sugar Cookies is one ( bred from GSC).

washingtonweedplz said:

So this means i am able to just take germinated seeds and plant directly out side?

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Yes.. But like he said. Wait till the chance of freezing temps is gone. Big plants can take some punishment from frost in Sept or October... Little ones are not as tough. In my area it's Mid -May at least

Lots written about influencing the sex of seeds. I have been doing seed grows for over a year and the last 2 rounds support the claim of influencing the sex. Temp is important and secondly your light cycle. 9 out of 11 females, 8 out of 10, and then 6 of ten (because I raised my temps and went back to 24/7 light). I'm doing a seed round right now for my indoor and will be putting them to the test and trying for all or mostly females. We know how to do it with fish and reptiles and so it makes sense with this plant who always has the ability to herm. Although according to others, after the 4th node they won't be any more prone to herming out.

i live in tacoma, and when i plant my outdoors, i usually put the clones out in early may and they seem to grow splendid. and you dont really have to worry about the weather. depending on the strain, i've grown 10ft monsters, even in western washington.. lol

hantastic1 said:

i live in tacoma, and when i plant my outdoors, i usually put the clones out in early may and they seem to grow splendid. and you dont really have to worry about the weather. depending on the strain, i've grown 10ft monsters, even in western washington.. lol

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Well I'll probably plant a bit later straight out doors, straight from germinated seeds. When it gets warm out that is.