A couple of months ago I found some seeds in my chiba (I haven’t smelled burning seed in decades) and decided to try to grow them. Only two were good and one of them died, so I’m down to a single plant that seems to be doing ok. I was using a full spectrum fluorescent but not a real grow light and using dirt from my garden because my garden is awesome and I have great soil. The seeds germinated but the sole survivor stayed small, with just the cotyledon and two regular leaves, for about two or three weeks. I transplanted it to a larger pot (a Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Cookie container), added compost instead of soil to fill it further and the last of my worm castings (maybe three tablespoons of it) and waited. Ten days passed and the plant was fine, started adding leaves. During that time I read and watched YouTube videos on cultivation and bought mycorrhrizal fungus. I also bought a real grow light and got a, call it a “closet” together for it, lined the closet with reflective mylar, all kinds of stuff. No ventilation though. I’ll get that eventually. Anyway, the little bugger (oh, it’s Pineapple Jack, BTW, which I didn’t love but the seed was free so here we are) seems to be doing much better. She (I hope it’s a she) has put on weight, added leaves, and has a very healthy look. When I look at it through the clear bottom, I see roots, or fungus strands spreading across the bottom. I’d say she’s about five inches high and has seven sets of leaves (with hardly any stalk between the sets). Tonight I bought up a ten gallon container and soil and I put it together with some DynoMyko and Bio-Tone. I am leaving it overnight before I transplant because the soil was outdoors and very cold and I don’t want to shock the roots by dumping them into soil that is 30 degrees colder than what it was in. I am currently maintaining mid-70s in the closet pretty steadily.
At last, my questions: should I hold off transplanting? What could go wrong if I transplant now? How much and often should I water? Given it’s current stage of development and ignoring the fact that it was very slow getting here but seems on track now, how long should it be in this stage before it is genuinely “vegetative”?
That’s it. Sorry if I’ve misused the terminology or if my questions are naive. Just shake your head and mutter “newbs” if it bugs you. For what it’s worth, I am a pretty decent gardener and we eat a lot of fresh produce from my garden and I don’t put nearly as much thought or effort into my broccoli as I have put into this one reefer plant (except for my fight against cabbage moths…GOD DAMN YOU CABBAGE MOTHS! GOD DAMN YOU TO HELL!) I do the maintenance out back with compost and fertilizer and weeding, but I have never spent time worrying about it like I do with this single plant.
this was a sickly weakling 
