During this time you should see your seed sprout. If by the end of this week the seedling has not emerged, it’s time to investigate and possibly restart. When a seed is successfully planted, it will split in two as its sprout emerges from the husk. The tail grows downwards, plummeting deeper into the soil until it has enough leverage to sprout above ground as well. The husk that has the two halves of the seeds will emerge from the ground and absorb solar energy to produce chlorophyll. The rest of your plant’s growth continues from there.
You should see some green by now!
One of the things you may notice is that both of your round intake fans in the back are off. This will change this week. You will notice that the bottom fan will start on day 10 and both will be running by day 24. In order for a seedling to thrive, it needs a consistent and stable environment. This includes a consistent temperature, humidity and airflow.
Your seedling is fragile and you can help it thrive!
Your cannabis seeds have popped and will start sprouting into a little seedling! However, your seedling is very susceptible right now to a serious problem that many other plants face in their early stages called damping-off. This is a serious condition that causes the rotting of your plant stem and root tissues at and below the surface of the CoCo Pod which can kill your seeds, seedlings, and clones.
There are many precursors for damping-off such as high humidity levels, planting your seed too deep, and poor soil drainage. However, the main culprit for damping-off is overwatered and poorly aerated growing mediums. That is why during the second week of growth, the Grobo only fills to the Low Fill line in order to fight against damping off while still providing your cannabis moisture and nutrients by aerating the water.
Are these cannabis leaves?
The 1st set of leaves that emerge from the seed are the embryonic cotyledons. They have an oval shape and are the only two leaves that you will see looking so smooth. The next set of leaves will have a jagged edge, but often only one finger will emerge, followed by a couple of 3 finger leaves. Eventually you will begin seeing 5-7 fingers on each leaf, maybe even more!
Should I pull off the seed shell from my seedling?
Sometimes when your young seedling emerges from the coco pod, it looks like it is wearing a hard hat. The shell casing has not fallen off naturally, allowing the leaves to emerge and the seedling to begin growing. Sometimes the casing will fall off on its own, but if it doesn’t, the seedling will die. I spray a little mist on the shell casing and gently remove it with a pair of tweezers. Be extra careful to not tear the leaves, as they contain all of the nutrients needed for early growth.