An aquarium pH test kit is accurate enough, cheap and stealthy to buy from most pet stores. The little bottle of drops will last ages. If you get one with a reasonably small range (5.0-7.0) it will be more than accurate enough for your needs.
First time grower with 10 "Last seeds on Earth" advise?
- Thread starter RalphStanley
- Start date
An aquarium pH test kit is accurate enough, cheap and stealthy to buy from most pet stores. The little bottle of drops will last ages. If you get one with a reasonably small range (5.0-7.0) it will be more than accurate enough for your needs.
This only applies to containers of 1/2 gallon or larger...if doing a SOG style grow Ignore that
Nonsense "Another MJ Myth"....I have grown 100's of plants in Clear containers
Another "Myth"...any Foliage within 1 FOOT of a CFL bulb is receiving the "Rated Lumen's for that Bulb"....the lumen's of a Light Bulb are Measured @ 1 Foot from the Bulb.
That's Y the Lumen Rating on an HID bulb is Nonsense.....NOTHING can grow within a foot of a 1K Bulb
That's Y the Lumen Rating on an HID bulb is Nonsense.....NOTHING can grow within a foot of a 1K Bulb
Amon
Active member
My KISS method.
My KISS method.
I too have had issues with expensive or even awesome gifted seeds not germinating and it became so frustrating watching these lovely strains die off.
The hardest problem was not identifying hard shelled seeds, as these are the ones that will give you the most problems.
Step#1: Make yourself a scuffer using an old match box. Take some med grade sand paper and cut it to small pieces that will fit inside the box easily and lay down. Glue into place. Drop your seeds into the box and shake like hell. This helps thin down the out shell, some even take a razor blade to the seam and shave it down a bit.
Step #2: Freezer overnight dropping the seeds temp. 12hrs is fine.
Step #3: Presoaking seeds. I soak mine in spring water at room temp and a PH of 6.0 to 6.5. Many soak them to long. Once a seed has sank it has absorbed all the water it can and could actually suffer from early root rot.
Usually 12hrs. Give them a poke under the water, if they sink and stay down, they are ready for the next step.
Step#4: The ole baggie trick. Moist paper towel with seeds wrapped inside then placed in plastic baggie. I then put this setup on top of my Satellite Receiver as it's on all day and stays nice and warm. Then cover with paper towels to help keep heat in.
Step #5: Once a 1/4" tail has sprouted plant that little baby in some seed start mix like Ferry Morse Organic seed starter. No food for first 2wks then start feeding at 1/4 strength.
I get almost 100% now using this method. I even have luck skipping the baggie step and placing them directly into Rapid Rooter plugs and in a humidity dome. Just remove the dome the day of sprouting to avoid mold.
hope all comes out well.
My KISS method.
I too have had issues with expensive or even awesome gifted seeds not germinating and it became so frustrating watching these lovely strains die off.
The hardest problem was not identifying hard shelled seeds, as these are the ones that will give you the most problems.
Step#1: Make yourself a scuffer using an old match box. Take some med grade sand paper and cut it to small pieces that will fit inside the box easily and lay down. Glue into place. Drop your seeds into the box and shake like hell. This helps thin down the out shell, some even take a razor blade to the seam and shave it down a bit.
Step #2: Freezer overnight dropping the seeds temp. 12hrs is fine.
Step #3: Presoaking seeds. I soak mine in spring water at room temp and a PH of 6.0 to 6.5. Many soak them to long. Once a seed has sank it has absorbed all the water it can and could actually suffer from early root rot.
Usually 12hrs. Give them a poke under the water, if they sink and stay down, they are ready for the next step.
Step#4: The ole baggie trick. Moist paper towel with seeds wrapped inside then placed in plastic baggie. I then put this setup on top of my Satellite Receiver as it's on all day and stays nice and warm. Then cover with paper towels to help keep heat in.
Step #5: Once a 1/4" tail has sprouted plant that little baby in some seed start mix like Ferry Morse Organic seed starter. No food for first 2wks then start feeding at 1/4 strength.
I get almost 100% now using this method. I even have luck skipping the baggie step and placing them directly into Rapid Rooter plugs and in a humidity dome. Just remove the dome the day of sprouting to avoid mold.
hope all comes out well.
G
guest 77721
Good idea for a thread.
I can tell you that you have a lot to learn and this site is full of awesome people. Take it slow and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Getting seedings started, getting a good soil mix and learning to water and feed are the hardest skills to master.
I'd advise only starting 2 seeds at a time. That will give you a good chance at getting one female and you will have more chances to try again if you have problems. You can take cuttings and make clones for multiple plants if wanted so there is no advantage to popping all of your seeds at once.
I can tell you that you have a lot to learn and this site is full of awesome people. Take it slow and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Getting seedings started, getting a good soil mix and learning to water and feed are the hardest skills to master.
I'd advise only starting 2 seeds at a time. That will give you a good chance at getting one female and you will have more chances to try again if you have problems. You can take cuttings and make clones for multiple plants if wanted so there is no advantage to popping all of your seeds at once.
dlusion
Member
1] How the hell does 'do not overwater' vary from grow to grow? If soil is damp, there is no need for more water. A SOG would be affected even MORE by over-watering; the concept is that you have a bunch of small plants in place of a few large ones. How is that relevant at all?
2] Not true. Artificial lighting is less apt to root damage, but even here I've been told numerous times that light can damage a root system. Please provide some source to prove your point. Here is a scientific article exploring the effects of light on a root system. They find that root growth is inhibited when exposed to light, but is able to recover when removed from such conditions.
3] I advise keeping plants close (as I stated, within an inch - any closer may risk heat burns) to reduce stretching. Nobody wants a spindly plant, eh?
2] Not true. Artificial lighting is less apt to root damage, but even here I've been told numerous times that light can damage a root system. Please provide some source to prove your point. Here is a scientific article exploring the effects of light on a root system. They find that root growth is inhibited when exposed to light, but is able to recover when removed from such conditions.
3] I advise keeping plants close (as I stated, within an inch - any closer may risk heat burns) to reduce stretching. Nobody wants a spindly plant, eh?
T
theratings
I've found that keeping CFLs close to the plant helps a lot. Whenever I see people put them any farther than a foot away, the growth isn't as great (in flowering).
0p0rat0r
Member
I've grown healthy plants in transparent containers. The canopy shades the roots for the most part anyway. I haven't noticed a difference between transparent and opaque containers. Actually I like being able to see the roots grow.
M
masterKahn
Like you said try 5 first and save 5 just in case. But you should always flower out your females from seed, you never know what you've got till you smoke it
Man you and I are in the same boat! I had 30 good seeds but fucked up all 10 nl plus another 50 old bagseeds. Now down to 10 ww and 10 early misty. I've been weaning info from all the great people here and my idea is to start hempy style with either gh 3 part of flora nova 2 part. I really like the way red greenery does things and am planning on his cab with cfl as electricity is magic to me. Also going to try to make some seeds and try cloning (rez has a great way for that on here, I think). Best of luck brother and THANKS to all who post for a bumblefuck like me.
Definitely drop by the store and pick up a 1-3$ pack of seeds. Peas, tomato, corn, something that sprouts in 7-10 days. (It'll say on the back of the package) Cheap way to begin understanding how to germ seeds.
7$ germination tray and peat pucks will also go a long way toward making things easier for ya.
Just practice practice practice then follow the advice on here for germinating old seeds. I may even have one of those threads here myself, I forget.Oh, don't forget to work on an environment for them that is a constant 75F with fresh air. You'll have time to do that while you're learning germination with your veggie seeds.
Can u please show us some Budz u have grown?
I speak from a point of having done this Many times....
Not repeating "Something I read on the Net"
"Show Me Baby"
Both of my 72 plant SOG's R in Clear bottles.....so ya....anyway
I speak from a point of having done this Many times....
Not repeating "Something I read on the Net"
"Show Me Baby"Both of my 72 plant SOG's R in Clear bottles.....so ya....anyway
RalphStanley
New member
Hey guys,
I've been working on my grow environment and researching mediums/nutes.
I think I'm going to go with LC's Soiless Mix #1. I have found the peat moss and perlite locally. I can't find worm castings, but found some compost referred to locally as "biocomp." What questions should I ask about the contents of this compost to see if it's suitable for me? Also, I can't find dolomite locally yet, and I can't even find a place to order it online that ships internationally. I did find an online site in the UK that has carbonate lime and they ship internationally. Is this the same thing?
For nutes, there is very little available locally (at least that's how it seems, there's a bit of a language barrier though). So, I'm thinking I will order Neptune's harvest online. The Recipe #5 from the organic forum sticky is appealing to me because it's so simple. The only downside is I have to order online, but these nutes don't seem to be MJ specific so I don't think it's that suspicious to order especially since there doesn't seem to be much of a variety of fertilizers available in my country.
Let's get back to the main point of this thread which was how to maximize probability of not wiping out.
Here's an outline I have in my head for the grow. Please point out my errors.
I think I'll go with the suggestion of only germinating 2-3 seeds to start off. I'll probably use some version of the paper towel method.
Then put into the LC soiless Mix #1 in a germination dome with heat mat for seedlings. As I understand, I only need to water them by keeping the soil moist with a sprayer at this point.
Then into 1 liter wax paper milk cartons with the soilless mix. I still won't need nutes at this stage. Just water. After about 3 weeks it may be time for nutes? But by this time they should be ready to go into 12/12 for flowering?
Once I reach this stage without killing them, I will germinate more seeds and do the same thing.
For the flowering I will start using the NH 2-3-1 Fish/Seaweed nutes.
The plan will be to keep one male and grow out the females. Once I have some females pollinated and looking healthy enough to make it to harvest, I will start to figure how to do cloning on the newest plants in veg stage.
So, that's my rough plan. Pick it apart.
I've been working on my grow environment and researching mediums/nutes.
I think I'm going to go with LC's Soiless Mix #1. I have found the peat moss and perlite locally. I can't find worm castings, but found some compost referred to locally as "biocomp." What questions should I ask about the contents of this compost to see if it's suitable for me? Also, I can't find dolomite locally yet, and I can't even find a place to order it online that ships internationally. I did find an online site in the UK that has carbonate lime and they ship internationally. Is this the same thing?
For nutes, there is very little available locally (at least that's how it seems, there's a bit of a language barrier though). So, I'm thinking I will order Neptune's harvest online. The Recipe #5 from the organic forum sticky is appealing to me because it's so simple. The only downside is I have to order online, but these nutes don't seem to be MJ specific so I don't think it's that suspicious to order especially since there doesn't seem to be much of a variety of fertilizers available in my country.
Let's get back to the main point of this thread which was how to maximize probability of not wiping out.
Here's an outline I have in my head for the grow. Please point out my errors.
I think I'll go with the suggestion of only germinating 2-3 seeds to start off. I'll probably use some version of the paper towel method.
Then put into the LC soiless Mix #1 in a germination dome with heat mat for seedlings. As I understand, I only need to water them by keeping the soil moist with a sprayer at this point.
Then into 1 liter wax paper milk cartons with the soilless mix. I still won't need nutes at this stage. Just water. After about 3 weeks it may be time for nutes? But by this time they should be ready to go into 12/12 for flowering?
Once I reach this stage without killing them, I will germinate more seeds and do the same thing.
For the flowering I will start using the NH 2-3-1 Fish/Seaweed nutes.
The plan will be to keep one male and grow out the females. Once I have some females pollinated and looking healthy enough to make it to harvest, I will start to figure how to do cloning on the newest plants in veg stage.
So, that's my rough plan. Pick it apart.
Hey this is a great links for a reference points by Messn'N'Gommin
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=97792
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=97792
RalphStanley
New member
Cab design
Cab design
I thought I'd post my plan for my cabinet while I'm still able to make changes.
Keep in mind I am set on using CFLs and I think that sets me for SOG style grow. So I have a lot of extra height that will not be part of the grow space.
The fan is 10cm (~4 in) diameter. I plan to cut two 10cm holes for passive intake in the Veg and flower chambers. Also, I forgot to label the depth of the chambers. Each chamber is 48 cm deep. There is a 10 cm gap between the front of each chamber and the big doors that will close the entire cabinet. I plan to have doors for each chamber also.
In case someone has suggestions for changes, this is the basic cabinet I'm starting with and I really don't want to remove the center divider nor the one shelf.
Cab design
I thought I'd post my plan for my cabinet while I'm still able to make changes.
Keep in mind I am set on using CFLs and I think that sets me for SOG style grow. So I have a lot of extra height that will not be part of the grow space.
The fan is 10cm (~4 in) diameter. I plan to cut two 10cm holes for passive intake in the Veg and flower chambers. Also, I forgot to label the depth of the chambers. Each chamber is 48 cm deep. There is a 10 cm gap between the front of each chamber and the big doors that will close the entire cabinet. I plan to have doors for each chamber also.
In case someone has suggestions for changes, this is the basic cabinet I'm starting with and I really don't want to remove the center divider nor the one shelf.
NoSaint
Member
Can u please show us some Budz u have grown?
I speak from a point of having done this Many times....
Not repeating "Something I read on the Net"
Both of my 72 plant SOG's R in Clear bottles.....so ya....anyway
I too, have been growing plants in clear plastic paint buckets the past 9 months or so. Everyone said you have to cover it up, it will hurt the roots. Not a single problem have I had. People believe everything they read too much most of the time and don't spend enough time experimenting on their own.
Another advantage of clear pots is you can actually see for the most part when you need to water.
Also, I know people won't like this one, but I don't even bother testing my soil ph anymore. I never had a problem with PH until I bought that stupid tester and started messing with it. I finally put that thing up and my problems went away. I don't think its as critical in soil as it is in hydroponic methods or anything. Just my opinion
Also, don't over complicate this. Its really easy to grow pot with a little common sense. your plants will guide you as to what they need.
CaptainStoner
Member
That aquarium carbon you got, make sure you wash the dust off it first by rinsing it in water. Some people, i've heard alcohol brewers say that boiling carbon for a few minutes opens up the holes in it and can increase its capacity for filtration. I've never heard this in the canna community but i can tell you it WORKS for alcohol filters - have a quick google and decide if its for you.
Above all, be GENTLE with your young seedlings. It's at this stage they are the most vulnerable. When you do start feeding, always remember that with nutes, less is more. Your plant will tell you if you are underfeeding it but that won't hurt it like overfeeding can.
KEEP IT SIMPLE. Take notes of what you feed and when, light schedule, size of plant at flip to flowering, approx watering amounts.. anything you do to the plants. It will help you in future grows, dialling in the cab.. I'd advise storing these notes on an easily hideable USB memory stick, or memory card.
Your idea to just pop a couple of seeds is good, imo. If seeds really are that hard to find, pop a couple, if you do mess them up, its not the end of the world.
More important than anything anyone in here including myself has said, is *tell absolutely no-one*. Not your gf, not your mother, not your best friend since you were 2, not even your great-great-great grandmother. Don't appear to know too much about growing either. The amount of absolute bullsh*t people talk about canna is unrivalled by any subject barring sex.. but people don't like being corrected, and if you're always telling them the truth, they will become suspicious of you. This happened to me with a friend of a friend, it's taken a year of carefully constructed lies to get that one sorted out.
The first rule of grow club is never discuss grow club
at least the interweb gives us a little anonymity
Above all, be GENTLE with your young seedlings. It's at this stage they are the most vulnerable. When you do start feeding, always remember that with nutes, less is more. Your plant will tell you if you are underfeeding it but that won't hurt it like overfeeding can.
KEEP IT SIMPLE. Take notes of what you feed and when, light schedule, size of plant at flip to flowering, approx watering amounts.. anything you do to the plants. It will help you in future grows, dialling in the cab.. I'd advise storing these notes on an easily hideable USB memory stick, or memory card.
Your idea to just pop a couple of seeds is good, imo. If seeds really are that hard to find, pop a couple, if you do mess them up, its not the end of the world.
More important than anything anyone in here including myself has said, is *tell absolutely no-one*. Not your gf, not your mother, not your best friend since you were 2, not even your great-great-great grandmother. Don't appear to know too much about growing either. The amount of absolute bullsh*t people talk about canna is unrivalled by any subject barring sex.. but people don't like being corrected, and if you're always telling them the truth, they will become suspicious of you. This happened to me with a friend of a friend, it's taken a year of carefully constructed lies to get that one sorted out.
The first rule of grow club is never discuss grow club
at least the interweb gives us a little anonymity 
RalphStanley
New member
Thanks CaptainStoner,
I'll research your advice on the aquarium carbon. I didn't know about that.
Good advice on the security stuff too. I need to do a cover grow as well any suggestions for something easy? I just need something to point to and say this is why you saw me with the bag of peat moss.
I'll research your advice on the aquarium carbon. I didn't know about that.
Good advice on the security stuff too. I need to do a cover grow as well any suggestions for something easy? I just need something to point to and say this is why you saw me with the bag of peat moss.
counterculture.
New member
Your gonna have so much fun with this I can already tell. And you have great people in this thread. Good Luck
