Must-Have Tools for Spring Planting

With spring right around the corner, it’s a good idea for cannabis growers to start getting organized for the outdoor season. Not only must you decide which genetics you’re going to use in your outdoor garden, but you also need to consider what tools you need to get the job done.

When it comes to arduous chores like transplanting, having the right tools can make all the difference in easing your workload. Especially with repetitive jobs like digging holes and removing seedlings from pots, your workday will be much more enjoyable if you use certain implements like garden trowels and nursery bags.

Whether you grow in a greenhouse or the full sun, getting ahead of the game in preparation for the season is an important early step for working towards a bountiful harvest. As seen with any task in cannabis growing, a streamlined and efficient workflow is often manifested in a healthier garden.

Garden Plant Labels

When getting clones and seedlings started for the outdoor season, it’s critical that you keep different strains organized. Instead of gambling an entire outdoor harvest on a single strain, many growers choose to cultivate a variety of genetics. However, to keep tabs on important things like feeding schedules, nutrient deficiencies, and IPM, you need to be able to tell one strain from another. Garden plant labels are an integral part of getting your genetics organized for outdoor growing.

Luckily, garden plant labels cost next to nothing and can be acquired at just about any garden shop or hardware store. When your seedlings or clones are ready to be planted into dixie cups or nursery bags, simply write the name of the strain on each label. As your plants grow larger and are transplanted, simply move the garden plant labels along with your plants to keep everything organized.

Fabric Nursery Bags

By planting your seedlings in nursery bags early on, you will make your life much easier when it comes time to transplant in the early summer. If you have ever grown seedlings in hard plastic pots, then you know how hard it can be to transplant them into larger containers. Not only is the process of getting plants out of hard pots labor-intensive but turning them upside down and squeezing the sides can really stress your plants.

AC Infinity’s Nursery Bags are the perfect choice for starting your outdoor garden on the right foot this year. These nursery bags are made of non-woven biodegradable fabric that is both thick and durable. One of the best things about these nursery bags is they are designed to be placed directly into the soil during transplanting. As such, you can entirely skip the awkward process of removing plants from plastic posts. Not only are fabric nursery bags less labor-intensive, but they are also better for your plants.

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Wheelbarrow

Generally speaking, outdoor cannabis is grown in much larger containers than seen with indoor plants. As such, one of the biggest chores with spring planting is getting potting soil from the grow store to your outdoor garden. Even if you only use 30-gallon pots, it’s going to take four bags of soil per plant. If you bump those figures up to 100-gallon pots, you will have to haul 12 bags of soil per plant. Needless to say, the amount of manual labor involved with hauling potting soil can be quite daunting.

Having a quality wheelbarrow to help haul soil from your vehicle to your garden can be a real game changer during spring planting. Not only will a wheelbarrow save you from having to manually carry heavy bags of soil, but you don’t have to bend over every time you set a bag down. When you arrive in the garden with your wheelbarrow simply dump the soil bags in the right place and move on to the next plant.

Garden Trowel

Once the potting soil is in your garden, you must dig holes for every transplant. If you have ever transplanted a large outdoor cannabis garden, you know how tough it can be on your body to dig each hole with your bare hands. Repetitive motions like bending and digging can do some real damage to your back—even if you are in great shape.

A garden trowel is a great tool for outdoor transplanting. In fact, long-handled garden trowels can save you from consistently having to bend over and dig holes. Being able to stand on your feet or sit on a stool while transplanting is more ergonomically sound than bending and squatting. You will find that trowels are much quicker than digging with your bare hands as well.

Mycorrhizae Shaker

Mycorrhizae is a critical component for transplanting cannabis plants. After you have dug a hole in the soil with your garden trowel, sprinkling mycorrhizae will help ensure vigorous root growth. In fact, mycorrhizae work symbiotically with a plant’s root system to help ensure the smooth uptake of nutrients from the soil. Yet, having to manually scoop the inoculant for each transplanted plant can be quite daunting.

Using a mycorrhizae shaker is a great way to help streamline the transplanting process. Simply shake the appropriate amount of the inoculant into each hole and move on to the next. Not only will a shaker eliminate the chore of manual scooping, but it will also reduce the amount of wasted mycorrhizae with spilling and mishandling.

Summary
Growing cannabis outdoors is an amazing experience. Not only is it rewarding to see how quickly plants grow when powered by sunlight but being able to work outdoors is a true pleasure. Nonetheless, to be successful with outdoor growing you need to accomplish some key tasks within relatively tight time frames. Not only must you get your plants started indoors over the winter months, but you also need to have right tools on hand when its finally time to plant your outdoor crop.

While outdoor growing can be deeply rewarding, it can also be really hard work. Thinking ahead and gathering tools like wheelbarrows can be a real game changer when it finally comes time to transplant outdoors. Moreover, using fabric nursery bags and garden plant labels while your crop is still indoors will set things in motion for smooth transplanting in the early summer. In the end, being proactive with planning in the spring and winter is the first step in working towards a large yield when harvest season finally arrives in the fall.

AC Infinity is the foremost name in air delivery systems, designing and developing the latest innovations in cooling and ventilation technology. They offer a suite of quiet inline fans that automate the growing progress and track key metrics. Visit acinfinity.com or contact [email protected] to learn more.