Russian Outdoor Grow

Harvi In my region, photoperiod plants can't be cultivated successfully. They simply don't finish flowering by the end of September when there can already be freezing temperatures, so the choice is limited to autoflowering and early flowering strains. While autoflowers are more or less straightforward, the situation with early flowering strains is not so simple. And it's important not to confuse them with fast versions. Many seed banks offer "Early" strains, but caution is necessary here The concept of "early flowering" can vary depending on the region where the strains were developed. In my understanding, early flowering strains are photoperiod plants that start flowering with a day length of 14-16 hours In my case, I chose early flowering strains from the local breeder Kuribin, whose genetics were based on Nucleon's work, who developed strains suitable for our conditionally northern latitudes. I will be planting both by dry sowing and seedlings, not forgetting about mulching. Dry sowing is less preferable when having a limited number of seeds, as there may be issues with germination/survival due to various factors, but it saves time on germination and avoids transplant stress (this is more relevant for autoflowers). It's also necessary to hit the time window when the soil has warmed up to the optimal temperature (10°C) and hasn't become too dry yet. Planting with seedlings is generally easier and less risky. It's preferable to plant early flowering strains with two-week-old seedlings, as they are less stressed compared to autoflowers, which might negatively react to transplanting. This season, I decided to try planting early flowering strains directly with seeds in the soil, and autoflowers as young 3-day-old seedlings. 😅 The germination rate with dry sowing was around 60% for me, as I was a bit late, and the top layer of the soil had already started to dry significantly. The seeds were planted on May 14th with temperatures of 17°C during the day and 8°C at night. The weather stayed hot for the next week, reaching up to 25°C during the day and 14°C at night. The first sprouts were noticed a week later (let's consider the 18th as the day when the early flowering strains shed their shells). They were very small. Seedlings needed to be prepared I germinated the autoflowers in the usual way and placed them in prepared coconut pellets, pre-soaked in a weak compost with the addition of Radifarm. May 25th: The seeds were soaked in water with peroxide. May 26th: They showed roots. May 27th: They were placed in coconut pellets. May 28th: The first cotyledons appeared. May 29th: Planted in the soil.