Hi folks,

Complete beginner here, getting frustrated with trying to grow something that should grow like a weed!

My seeds (Royal Queen Seeds automatics) all germinate well (damp tissue method), and when their taproots are 1-2 cm long I plant them out in small pots, approx 0.5-1 cm deep. Compost is mgc24 “bio-hanf” peat-free brand. They grow, possibly a bit stringy, but maintain a nice green colour, on the windowsill. When they have another couple of pairs of leaves, after their cotyledons, I move them outside, to a SW facing patio with a wall behind them. It’s been warm, but rarely >30 C, and I’d say it’s been sunny enough - the rest of the garden is fine….

Then the plants stall - they get a few more leaves, never show any interest in e.g. the stalk branching, and turn a uniform paler green. They do not grow taller than approx. 10 cm, with my oldest plant from late May having started to grow a single tiny bud (is bonsai cannabis valuable :-) ).

The water here (Berlin) is quite hard, but still tests as having a pH of ~7. I’ve also tried watering with rain water and acidified (citric acid - it’s what’s in the Biobizz pH down) water.

I’ve tried Root Juice, Fish Mix and Alg-a-mic fertilisers from Biobizz, nothing seems to make any difference, and with such small plants it’s difficult to not overwater. I’d also expect the compost itself to still be providing enough nutrition for such young plants?

All help/suggestions gratefully received - thanks! Sorry for lack of a picture - for some reason it’s not letting me upload anything.

I had an iPhone 3G, then 4, then switched to a Nexus 4, LG G4, LG G5, Pixel 2 and then Pixel 5. Just in case anyone else is thinking of moving from a Pixel, I moved (back) to using an iPhone because:

Pixel 5 reaching end-of-support for OS/security updates. Battery life starting to show its age. Pixel 8 is (still) too big. Really, really not a fan of the camera bar on the later Pixels. Apple’s physical presence in my country makes repairs etc. quicker and easier. Switch to USB-C meant cables and chargers could be kept. Although not limited to Google, OS features are often US specific. Started getting adverts in Google Feed. Fed up with Google deprecating things (bitten by stadia). I realised I didn’t actually customise my phone much.

The Good: Pretty much identical in size to the Pixel 5. OS is fast and polished. Apps are generally very good quality. Anecdotally, there seem to be more apps with (albeit expensive) lifetime purchase options. Nice touches like reminding me that I’ve left my iPad behind. 80% charging limit is nice to have. Video quality good. Photos seem fine but maybe blurrier than Pixel? Seems to be easier to have apps from two different country’s stores installed on the phone. Notification system not as bad as expected.

The Bad: The glass back is a constant source of worry. Muscle memory for the volume buttons and fingerprint reader will take some time to forget. Volume opposite power button means I keep accidentally taking screenshots. Slightly jealous about Pixel 8’s new camera abilities. Can’t use credit cards from two different countries with Apple Pay (I think). Anecdotally, more apps seem to require subscriptions.

The Ugly: Losing Threema and Signal chat histories. Have to keep the Pixel to keep my late mum’s original chats. Just let me put app icons where I want, please. App settings are all over the place. Notification volume much louder than ring volume but (often) can’t be individually changed? Notification system not as good as it could be. Ancient and irritating limitation on using own ringtones. Let me remove, not just blank, sources in the News app. Needs to learn that I swear continuously much more quickly. I miss Öffi.

Despite the bad/ugly points, the good, in combination with my original reasons for switching, mean I’ve no real regrets.

If I find any other points I’ll update this. Please let me know if I’ve got any of the iOS limitations wrong, and apologies in advance if my formatting is crappy, or anyone considers this sort of post pointless - just trying to add some content to Lemmy - being the change I want to see… :-)