Hiya, Amy.
This is a response to post # 113, which i can't quote in bits (cause idk how to on my tiny screened phone).
* seedling mix has been "gently" fertilised (if that makes sense) in order not to burn baby rootlings. Cannabis can be a tad fussy when it comes to feeding seedlings, depending on the strain (my 100% landrace sativas throw enormous tantrums when chemicals touch them, hence the micro-composting & full out organic approach). So, great idea to mix coco in, as it is sterile, as to not burn the living daylights out of them. After the 2nd set of leaves, i find they basically become greedy straws sucking the medium dry. Could be that the deficiencies are caused by the medium getting worked out quicker by the larger plants (the sentence feels weird, hope it makes sense). You've been adding a lot of top dressing, which will gradually filter down to the root zone, but like pH determines the nute absorbtion rate, the lack of certain minerals could also lock out the absorbtion of others... i'm trying to convey a lot of complicated science rather quickly, i can't remember which minerals & what pH affect the up-take of varied nutes & minerals, please google for additional info.
* that freebie you received sounds like a great get! Please pm me the brand & name, so i can look for it over here! Myco & bacteria take a small while to get settled in, and they need a stable source of food. I fear that if the seedling soil is strip-mined of minerals (as i suspect it might be), the lil bugs aren't getting enough food to be truly beneficial. It took about 4 months for good-ish soil to develop, rich with life, after my first micro-bac soil injection. The 2nd time, 2 months, 3rd time, 3 weeks. When you switch over, it will take some time, but once done, it gets easier, because the critters breed & spread out from several sites, ground & soil improves... it's a test, not a T20 ..
* Aloe is amazing for root development. Aloe gel is an all natural cloning gel: take clones as per usual, then dip the stem into a broken off bit of aloe (into the slimy gel), stick in dirt. If the gel is added to water, as with eggshell water, use to drench soil. Watch out for the mix strenght, it seems a small dose, but kelp is very, very strong as a nute, i have burned plants before with a very diluted dose of kelp ferts/nutes (foliar).
* when i first started soil grows, i tried pots. I had many, many, many problems. Switched to directly in soil: almost no problems. I can't quite grasp container gardening as a science - i always get my ratios wrong. My most trusted method of soil planting goes like this:
1) dig a bloody great hole 2) dump all sorts of kitchen scraps is there, fill it about 1/2 way up 3) add microorganisms eg LAB 4) worm castings, compost & soil mixed through with perlite & vermiculite covering the fresh compost 5) stick a plant in the pepared hole. For no-till beds, i just leave out step 1 & cover with a tarp (3 weeks in summer, 2 months in winter). I can't get the dang plants to stop growing anymore, and i'm no help with deficiencies, i have very little experience with that, soil takes care of my babies.
* i know you've grown before, so you have more than a basic idea of what to do. I would, however, urge you to transplant PDQ, as now is a crucial time in their development, and there will be a short period of adjustment after transplanting. I know life interferes etc etc, but next year, you'll be much more polished (& have built enclosures, it sucks when you have to rely on someone else to do stuff!!!).
You're doing very well, newbie (hehe), i remember the obsession of your first (proper)grow... have a toke on the vape and relax (useless advice, i know). You're fine, it's all fine, you're going to have some great bud. I'd advise getting them in the soil this week if pos, 2 weeks of adapting before summer solstice, then natural flip into flower at any point after that. Sorry, that's my PoA, you have your own ....
I'll read through the thesis again, see if i missed anything. Organics take a while to work effectively, but when it does, there's no stopping it. It's nature, she knows what she'a doing, sit back & watch it happen ...