As we haven’t been able to post for quite some time now, we will make it up to you by posting the whole growing hemp guide in one go. Here is episode 3!
10 weeks after sowing the seeds the plants will be 30-40 centimeter (10-15 inches) high. During the months May an June we can move the seedlings into the ground outside. In the other months of the year it is best to do the growing inside. For inside growing we will have to move the seedlings to larger containers.
When you take your youngsters outside please keep in mind they still have to get used to the sun, give them some shade the first week.
You can improve the soil in your garden to get better results from your hemp plants. It just depends on how rich the ground is. If other plants are doing well in your garden you won`t even have to do a thing. But in some areas the soil can be poor.
Improving the soil
Buy a bag of organic potting soil and mix this in with the existing soil. This soil is not often found at your local all-purpose store so some searching may be required. Potting soil is richer soil than commercial top soil so it goes a little bit farther when mixed with the existing soil. Lime may be necessary in areas with acidic soil and peat moss is a good additive for soils with a clay type consistency. How much fertilizers you will be using is based on experience and guessing, using twice amount of the prescription on the bag will do fine. But beware that an overdoses of fertilizers can be deadly to your plants.
The soil where you will plant your babies must not be too wet or too dry. The distance between each hemp plant depends on the space you have. The best would be 1 square meter per plant. If you put the plants to close together they will prevent one an other from absorbing the light, which could be causing big differences in growth. If you are not using feminized seeds half of the plants in the ground will turnout to be male (so useless as always) and will have to be removed to prevent seed production.
It is a good habit to have a spare plant in a pot for every plant that is standing in the ground. This way you can easily replace a male by a female as soon at this can be detected. Click here to read more about this. Also take care the wind can blow through your hemp plants, outside hemp that is too much protected from wind will be extra vulnerable for fungus.
