~Kief Junkie & QueenKief's 250w Organic Medi-Cab (soil) Grow!~ ~Pure & Blue Mystic~

[K.J]

No need to open them up and take a look.

The fragile new roots don't like being exposed. In addition, the newer roots don't like being jostled too much when they are so young as they are trying to spread out and grab on with those tiny little hairs.

There's actually a taproot on only one of the Spice ladies we opened the cube up to take a look at. So the ones that we know are forming (or have formed) roots, we'll not open up.

Looks like you might be able to bring the lights a bit closer to the girls from the stretch you're seeing out of the first one.

They're pretty close now, but I'll see if we can get them closer.

Also, I would suggest getting them transported into a small container very soon. Depending on the strain, they'll be looking for room to spread their roots quickly.

We will be transplanting them once our soil is done (another week or so) and once the roots start showing out the sides of the cubes, which I imagine will take some time still.

In addition: the middle one looks like it's trying to shed it's seed casing. If it's still on there: you can gently pull it off. Normally wind, animals, or rain would have probably knocked it off in nature by now. The first day or so it's protection. After that: it's just getting in the way of the plant reaching up. I believe I picked up that advice from Soma's book; but I don't remember at the moment.

There actually isn't a seed casing on any of the Pure ladies. They all fell off already (underneath the rockwool I presume).

Looking really nice though man!

Thanks for the props! It's so good to have you along for the ride. You've been an inspiration for us, that's for sure.

 

[K.J]

Yea I second the closer light. Cracking them open can be good for air movement and a little light/warmth hitting an un-cracked seed is a good thing IMO.

If seeds can take the full on sun I think they can take your floro at 10" from the tops, probably closer.

Yeah, I'd think so too. We'll see if we can get them closer!

The tall one will probably be sending roots through the cube soon too so be ready to give them a place to go.

Our soil should be ready to use in about another week, so hopefully we have until then!

Thanks for all of your great responses!

 

[organicmunk]

i still waiting to see this hella expensive cab any ETA on the pics or completion

 

[K.J]

i still waiting to see this hella expensive cab any ETA on the pics or completion

I wish I could give you an ETA or even just a few more pics right now. We are still working on it though. In fact, we finished all but 1 frame yesterday. As soon as the framing is complete, we'll be putting the holes in place for the ventilation, then sealing/painting and assembling. We hope to have it finished in the next 2 weeks at the latest (pretty ambitious!).

 

[K.J]

Well folks, I may be doing one last update this morning if anything interesting has happened overnight (and if I have the time). I won't be able to make any updates for a few days as I have a few obligations that are taking me away. But no fear, my wife will be here to update and add pictures if something interesting comes up!

I'm glad you all stopped by and decided to hang out. I'll be back soon! Stay tuned.

 

[K.J]

Well folks, I'm back and it's time for a long overdue update. My wife wasn't able to make an update while I was away, but there wasn't too much to show and tell anyhow, so that's okay.

First, the good news. Our Pure ladies are getting bigger every day. The true leaves on each of them are really starting to grow. I was surprised (yet, not) to see how much they'd grown while I was away. Cannabis is such an amazing plant! Watching them grow is peaceful and therapeutic for me.

The runt of the pack is Purdy; her with the slight curl to the cotty's. She's looking healthy and is trying hard to catch up with her sisters. Petunia is the middle one of the bunch and has stretched nearly as tall as her big sister Peanut (who is looking absolutely stunning, if I don't say so).

Purdy, Petunia and Peanut; week 2 under the CFL.

One other bit of good news: Petunia's root (it looks like the radical to me) has broken through the bottom surface of her cube. None are coming out the sides yet, and no roots are showing on her sisters either. This has us thinking maybe we'll transplant all of them this weekend into soil, as it should be done cooking by then. But maybe we should wait until at least a few roots are coming out the sides of the cubes? What do you all think?

Petunia's first roots! I apologize for the blur, I'm still a noob with our camera.

Now for the bad news. Not a single one of the original Spice beans have sprouted. Only one even opened up to reveal the smallest sliver of a radical root. The other two never even cracked beyond a slight hairline. We decided to germ 2 more Spice beans while I was away, so my wife popped them into a cup of water/LK solution, just like we did last time. They've been sitting in the water for about 48 hours now with only a slight sign of opening on either of them.

What's wrong with these beans? I know it's not our germ method as we used the same one we did with our Pure girls. Any thoughts on what we should do?

For now we've decided to move on to another strain as 5 germ failures is more than enough for the moment. In the interest of time, we need to get 3 more going soon. I'm not sure which strain we'll go with yet, but personally I'm leaning toward GD's BubbleDust. We'll decide tonight.

As for the cab, we plan to finish the last wall panel frame tonight. This means we'll be ready to begin drilling the ventilation holes and installing the PVC this upcoming weekend (if not sooner). Who knows, maybe we'll even get to stain and paint this weekend as well! We really need to, because the cab needs to be finished by the weekend following next if at all possible.

Thanks for visiting us and don't be shy, let us know what you think!

 

[j.guit.err]

Two things man. Plants are looking good, definitely time to move to soil. Next, with your camera, most of your shots get out of focus because you are focusing on something else. Notice in that pic how the pages are in complete focus? That's because your reticle got centered on the books, not the root. Next time pay close attention to where your camera is focusing and you'll have much better results. As far as the germ failure, I don't know what happened there.

 

[K.J]

Two things man. Plants are looking good, definitely time to move to soil.

Thanks! I understood that you wait for roots (more than one anyway) to be showing out the sides of the cube before you move to soil. Anyone else concur with j.guit.err? Just want to make sure we don't move them too soon.

Next, with your camera, most of your shots get out of focus because you are focusing on something else. Notice in that pic how the pages are in complete focus? That's because your reticle got centered on the books, not the root. Next time pay close attention to where your camera is focusing and you'll have much better results.

Thanks for the tip! I wondered what the hell the red box in the center of the display screen was for. Doh!

 

[j.guit.err]

Well now you know, and knowledge is power!

 

[K.J]

Does anyone here know if there's an HTML tag I can use on these forums for a strikeout? You know, where a line is drawn through a word? Also, if there is one, do you know if it can be used in a thread subject line?

 

[K.J]

So last night we decided to toss out the non-germing Spice beans and start over with a different strain. We prepared our water/LK solution and popped in 3 BubbleDust beans. They were placed on top of the cable box last night. This morning the seeds needed only the slightest prodding and they fell immediately to the bottom. I just now checked them and they haven't cracked, but I fully expect to see something by later this evening. I hope we have better luck with these!

As for the Pure ladies, they're doing quite well. I don't have pictures to show you, but Petunia is really starting to catch up to Peanut. Purdy still remains the runt of the bunch, but she's doing well. Peanut's second set of true leaves have really started to define and are now in the fast growth stage, though they remain small at the moment.

We still plan to transplant them into 4" Airpots this Saturday. Is that still a good idea even if not all of them are showing roots out the sides of the cubes (or at all)?

 

[K.J]

Where'd everyone go?

More bad news. It's now been 30 hours or so since we put the BubbleDust beans in our solution and they are showing no obvious signs of popping. Could it be that the Pure's popping was an anomaly and there's something wrong with our method? Or do we really have two bad batches of beans from different breeders?

I'm half tempted to just forget another plant right now and go with the 3 Pure ladies we have, but that would sure be a crappy decision to make. What do you all think?

 

[organicmunk]

what the ambient temps were your germing and how much light is getting to them and what do you mean solution you should soak the seeds in water for 24 hours then place them in a paper towel one a heating pad on low and the will pop in 24 to 48 hours oh and how that box coming along what the ETA on it

 

[K.J]

what the ambient temps were your germing and how much light is getting to them

The ambient temps where we keep the beans in the cup are 68 degrees at night and maybe 70 in the day. Now, they are stored on top of the cable box which likely adds another 1-2 degrees. As for light, the beans don't need light prior to actually germing, but they do get whatever sun comes into the room during the day.

and what do you mean solution you should soak the seeds in water for 24 hours then place them in a paper towel one a heating pad on low and the will pop in 24 to 48 hours

Well, there are many different methods of germination. The one we're using is this: we put filtered water into a cup, let it warm to room temp, and then add just a few drops of Liquid Karma. We then place the beans inside the cup and store it on top of our cable box. Within 24 hours, if all goes well, we should have sign of the radical. This is the method we used for our Pure ladies and it worked fantastically, so I can't see how its the method that's at fault, but maybe it is?

oh and how that box coming along what the ETA on it

I wish we could give you an ETA. We plan to have it done by next weekend, but that might be pushing it. We put the final frame on the center panel last night and are prepared to cut ventilation holes and install the PVC pipes tomorrow (and possibly even stain and paint). Then it's assembly time and building the doors after that. So hopefully we can get it done in the next week and a half or so.

 

[organicmunk]

i think you should scrap your germ method and give mine a shot i have been germing seeds like this for years with 99% germ rate i just got 10 out of 10 in 3 days the temp on the seed should be about 78-82 just give it a try and i promise you won't go back

step 1: place seeds in a cup of only water for 24 hours
step 2: get a moist paper towel place the seeds inside fold the towel over the seeds get them nice and snug in there then place them into a zip lock bag
step 3: place them in a DARK place on a heating pad on low i use a cheap one from dollar general it works great its like 10 bucks

 

[K.J]

i think you should scrap your germ method and give mine a shot i have been germing seeds like this for years with 99% germ rate i just got 10 out of 10 in 3 days the temp on the seed should be about 78-82 just give it a try and i promise you won't go back

step 1: place seeds in a cup of only water for 24 hours
step 2: get a moist paper towel place the seeds inside fold the towel over the seeds get them nice and snug in there then place them into a zip lock bag
step 3: place them in a DARK place on a heating pad on low i use a cheap one from dollar general it works great its like 10 bucks

Do you think your method will work on the BubbleDust beans that have been in the water for about 36 hours now? I guess we don't have anything to lose, might as well try it (though, we don't have a heating pad...have to look into that).

 

[organicmunk]

just run grab one from the grocery or drug store 70 degrees is to cool to germ properly IMO go ahead and follow the steps with the bubbledust should be fine and do away with the liquid karma

 

[K.J]

just run grab one from the grocery or drug store 70 degrees is to cool to germ properly IMO go ahead and follow the steps with the bubbledust should be fine and do away with the liquid karma

Ok, we took your advice and they are now in a whetted paper towel, placed inside of a Ziploc. Since we don't have a heating pad right this moment and can't leave to get one, I placed it into the soil bin where it stays pretty warm I'd imagine (the bin sits in a room where the sun shines through the window most of the day, heating it up). We'll try and get a heating pad soon.

 

[K.J]

So we've finally posted the dimensions of our cab. Sorry it took so long! I updated the main post with them, but here they are for quick reference:

Here are the dimensions of our design-

Overall cab dimensions:
4.5' tall x 5' wide x 2.5' deep

Individual room dimensions:

Veg/mother/clone room-
2' tall x 2' wide x 2.5' deep (5 sq. feet) [25 watts per sq. foot]

Flower room-
4.5' tall x 3' wide x 2.5' deep (7.5 sq. feet) [33.3 watts per sq. foot]

Utility room-
2.5' tall x 2' wide x 2.5' deep

 

[K.J]

Now for some great news. Today was planting day for the Pure ladies; that's right, they finally went into soil!

The soil has been cooking for about 2 weeks and is smelling very rich, so it's ready to go. The ladies all have at least their 1st set of true leaves; Peanut and Petunia are developing their third already. Peanut showed this morning with her radical coming out the bottom of the cube, and Petunia now has a second root coming out the bottom of hers. They were definitely ready for planting.

We put our 4" Airpots together and filled them with soil, which we had spruced up with an extra sprinkling of mic's. Once we placed the ladies inside, we watered them and let the soil naturally compact, then we top filled each pot so that the cubes were nice and covered with soil. They then received a healthy misting which helped to slightly whet down the top 1/2" of soil.

Then it was back under the lights. We've had them on an 18/6 schedule, but now that they're in soil we're moving to a 20/4 schedule. I'm a believer that the plants need a down time/dark period of at least 4 hours per day and no less.

We have a few more pictures, but there's something wrong with the upload on the forums right now so we were only able to get one to work. That's okay though, it's the best one.

Purdy, Petunia and Peanut in their 4" Airpots surrounded by rich soil. First day in soil!

We'll add the other pictures as soon as we can.

We're going to watch them close to make sure the potting didn't stress them any.

Oh, and we're STILL waiting for the BubbleDust beans to pop (though truthfully, we both know they won't). I'm going to pick up a heating mat today, so maybe we'll start some new ones tonight with the method organicmunk suggested.