New Gardener, Overwhelming Project

Hello everyone, I am relatively new to indoor gardening and only have a little experience, and I have been reading but feel overwhelmed. I have some uncommon genetics, rare flowers that I would like to make seeds from to preserve them for the future. They are cannabis seeds. My biggest obstacle is understanding their nutrient requirements, and what I can do as far as water to make sure I do not run into problems like salt build up or nutrient lockout before the seeds mature. I've had a little practice with less valuable practice genetics. Somewhat successful but problems either in flowering phase. As for nutrients, the best information I can find for each stage is as follows: Seedling ~ 5-2-4 Vegetative ~ 3-1-2 Flowering ~ 1-2-3 or 1-3-4

I will be using soil. For such an important project I have a couple choices in mind.

BioBizz All-Mix: Peat moss, sphagnum peat, perlite, worm castings, compost. Rich nutrients (~2-1-2), lasts 4–6 weeks, moisture-retentive, pH 6.1–6.3. But it's more expensive.

Biobizz Light mix, 100% organic, lightly pre-fertilized potting soil, is designed for young plants, seedlings, and cuttings, and contains peat moss, sphagnum peat, and perlite.
Nutrient content of BioBizz Light Mix
Nitrogen: 1536 mg/L
Phosphat: 150 mg/L
Kalium: 220 mg/L
More flexible. So I am thinking long term, this light mix will be better in avoiding overabundance problems.

I also have Biobizz premix, which is different organic fertilizers, rock meals, trace elements, and fungi. I can mix into the initial soil, and use as a top dress if necessary.


At 4-6 weeks is about the time I would like to move them from vegetative phase to flowering phase because of height and space restrictions I will write about soon.

Since I am using that soil, I will be using the matching nutrients from that brand to be sure everything is a good match.

1. Fishmix: Organic liquid fertilizer derived from fish emulsion and sugar beet extract.

NPK: Approximately 5-1-4. Exact ratios may vary slightly batch-to-batch due to organic sourcing.

Additional Nutrients: Trace elements (e.g., calcium, magnesium, sulfur), amino acids, and vitamins from fish proteins.

pH Impact: Slightly acidic (~6.0–6.5 when diluted)

2. Biogrow: Organic liquid fertilizer made from 100% Dutch sugar beet extract (vinasse).

NPK: Approximately 4-3-6

Additional Nutrients: Trace elements (e.g., magnesium, potassium), sugars, and enzymes from fermentation.

pH Impact: Neutral to slightly acidic (~6.0–6.5 diluted)

3. Biobloom: Organic liquid fertilizer with phosphorus and potassium from natural sources (e.g., plant extracts, rock phosphate).

NPK: Approximately 2-7-4.

Additional Nutrients: Trace elements (e.g., boron, calcium), amino acids, and humic acids.

pH Impact: Slightly acidic (~6.0–6.5 diluted), optimal for P/K uptake in soil.

Purpose: High P and K promote flowering, bud development, and seed production; low N prevents excessive foliage

4. Biobizz Topmax: Organic liquid booster from humic and fulvic acids, derived from leonardite (ancient plant matter).

NPK: Negligible, ~0.1-0.1-0.1 (not a primary nutrient source).

Additional Nutrients: High humic/fulvic content, trace micronutrients (e.g., iron, zinc).

pH Impact: Neutral (~6.0–7.0 diluted), minimal effect on soil pH.

Purpose: Enhances flower size, weight, and terpene production by improving nutrient uptake and sugar transport, not an NPK driver.

So I will germinate these old seeds and have and start them in small plastic containers for seedlings. Then transfer to larger fabric pot containers, about 10 or 12 liters in size.

They will be grown indoor, in a grow tent. For seedlings and vegetative stage they will recieve light from a viparspectra 150 watt dimmable full spectrum LED grow lamp. Seedlings get 40% power, in vegetative 60% power. For flowering I will be using a 200 watt Lumatek attis pro at 100% power. Plus whenever possible, I will be giving the plants direct sun from windows when timing and weather allows. Whenever I can.

There will be air exchange and air movement through the tent. I also have a dehumidifier if needed, but no viable cooling option other than air exchange, but that should not be a problem.

I expect to start the seeds, then take them through vegetative stage in 5 or 6 weeks, then flowering. Flowering will likely take 10 to 12 weeks, perhaps a little more. Males will be separated, pollen collected for hand pollination. Since there will be 2 parent lines, both stable inbred lines, I will make seeds to continue both lines, and create seeds of an F1 cross.

At least that's the plan.

The 2 parent cultivars are Nigerian, and Kerala Gold. The Nigerian seeds are old, and I believe will be a difficult grow because they flower for a long time. Keeping the soil healthy will be a challenge.

Plan B is to use more fresh seeds from an inbred line of Mazar I Sharif from samples collected in the 60s.

I need the support of knowledgeable gardeners when things go sideways, wrong, fail, surprise. Can we do this together? I would like to have a little support in my quest. I am willing to discuss, learn, and share this journey. I will be beginning very soon, within a week or 2.

Are there any other supplies I will need? I was thinking a pH meter/ec meter combo would be helpful, but I dont know if they are worth it or not, if they function good. I can get a pH test kit for aquariums nearby. Tap water here pH ~7.3 and it's difficult to collect rainwater in amounts that are useful. But I do collect water from my compressor type dehumidifier. Mixing it half and half with the tapwater which is hard, leaves some nutrients and the pH should drop some.

I just started to germinate a few seeds.

Thank you for reading. I look forward to discussing this.


This message was edited Apr 2, 2025 5:13 AM

This message was edited Apr 2, 2025 6:14 AM

Some seeds soaking in a diluted H2O2 solution. H2O2 is 3% diluted 5:1 with water. The incandescent light bulb is connected to a temperature sensor, and it warms the box I have propped up on some cardboard, to keep it at a good temperature for germination. It's not pretty, but it is working just fine. The Nigerian, the Kerala, and black eyed Susan seeds.

This message was edited Apr 2, 2025 6:03 AM

You mentioned you have Nigerian and Kerala Gold and plan to veg them for 5 to 6 weeks. I highly recommend reconsidering this timeline. Both of these are pure equatorial/tropical landrace sativas. Kerala Gold, for instance, is notorious for taking 16 to 20 weeks to finish flowering, and both strains will stretch enormously (often tripling or quadrupling in height once you flip the lights to 12/12).
If you veg these in a standard grow tent for 6 weeks, they will likely hit your ceiling before they even start producing pollen or bracts.
My advice: For these specific landraces, consider dropping your vegetative time to 1 or 2 weeks maximum, or even run them at 12/12 lighting straight from seed. Alternatively, your "Plan B" (the Mazar I Sharif) is an Afghan broad-leaf indica that will stay much shorter, finish flowering in 8-10 weeks, and be vastly easier for a first-time seed-making project!

Landraces are historically adapted to poor soils and are very light feeders; the All-Mix is generally too "hot" (nitrogen-rich) and will likely burn them. Use the light mix!!

fish-mix, Bioblum and Topmax is ok, but the biggest danger i see in your project is you killing them by using too much fertilizer. Take care with that and better use less then half of what is written on the bottles and everything will be fine.

Hemp is easy to grow. The main reason people are messing that up is because of overthinking it and simply taking too much care, like watering them too much and giving too much fertilizer. both can actually lead to serious root damage, so less is always better then too much!!