First summer grow-college boy

[gameon17b]

Home for summer after my first semester smoking that lovely ganja and I decided to purchase seeds online. I bought 4 of them and two days after they sprouted, the pot had been accidentally knocked over while I was at work and they were dried up when I got back. Really disappointed, I went over to my buddy's to talk to him about it and we ended up buying 6.5 for $60 with 18 seeds in it. I took them home and planted them out behind my yard. 14 sprouted after 5 days and after they reached about 1-2 inches collectively, which was yesterday, I planted them out in the woods about half a mile from my house. Kids used to go down there, but now its over run with ticks and poison ivy and the trails are pretty much nonexistent now. Checked back today and there are 9 left, have no idea what happened to the others, no trace of them. The 9 left have significant growth, loving that direct sunlight, especially since the past 2 days have been the sunniest its been in 2 weeks. I was hoping to hear some tips from you guys about keeping them safe from bugs and other wildlife and when to fertilize and stuff like that. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Shovelhandle]

best to fertilize when you plant. I mean, put the nutrients into the soil when you prepare your holes. The best thing to do is to prepare very large holes, this may determine the plant's growth more than anything else. Dense soil where a plant can't easily root out will stunt growth. Mix in peat moss , composted manure and/or a dry organic nutrient like Espoma Plant-Tone.
If you need to water in your nutrients I'd recommend Earth Juice or Age Old products for Bloom cycle and use that right from the beginning. There should be plenty of nitrogen (the main nutrient in the veg cycle formulas) in the freshly prepared soil. Mulch around the plants with cut litter from the area to keep moisture in and other weeds out.

[gameon17b]

Found two of my three spots were eaten earlier this week, leaving fortunately my best spot left with three plants. As of the 18th, their half a foot each, looking really good. I put down my fertilizer, touched up the soil with a great blend I made earlier, then watered.

[Shovelhandle]

that is so common wiht seedlings. Every little thing eats on them. I have five wee ones out and two that aren't much bigger. A little circle of chicken wire can keep some animals out but bugs can be a problem too.