Germing seeds...

[JackTheGrower]

With all the change I hope we can organize some genetics savers out there.

If I can I will have the collective maintain genetics as part of the mission.

Also three of the 5 Tiki jo are up but I assume it will be 100%

So far they look like the Bubba X OG in their slower style. "The Doctor" was a quicker seedling oh but the color is purple like "The Doctor"

How goes yours?

 

[growclean]

Well, I have SSH and really want some BW. I have a couple of other breaders that I have targeted... well to tell you the truth I have got kinda hooked on "collecting" some of these strains while I can get them! I have more strains than I can grow for quite awhile already!

So besides MR. Nice Shit and SSH...
DJ Short: Flo and F-13
Tom Hill: X18 and Deep Chunk
BOG: Life Saver and a few more on the way!

Just put in another order a couple of days ago too! Ahh! Buying seeds is an addiction... one that I can't afford either! I read and read and read and get "sold" on some of these guys strains. Am I making a mistake, or is this a good "collection" and an OK idea to buy and stash????

 

[BurnOne]

Paradise Seeds makes some good strains. Serious Seeds AK-47 is the biggest seller. I've just had the best luck with Mr. Nice. And yes, you can get hooked on buying seeds. But each seed is different. A clone is always the same and it's as old as the plant. Some guys keep the same plant for decades.
Burn1

 

[growclean]

Well, in my area it seems like AK-47 and WW are everywhere. This is one of the reasons that I targeted BW, I was hoping that it was a "cut above" the rest. If we go with AK-47,where is the best source?

 

[growclean]

Update:
Ok here we are today. What should I be doing now? Should I flip on one or two of the cfls that I have in this box? Should I start venting the little grow box that they are in? Everything seems to be going well, the only hiccup has been that I didn't know that my heating pad had an auto shutoff for awhile, and then even after I found out, still had to deal with it for a bit. So there have been some temp fluctuations (as low as 69!).

So do I let them go for awhile? Should I vent? Should I light (one or both?)

Thanks!

 

[ScrubNinja]

You want a cfl like 6 inches away from the tops and move it closer over a few days to however close you can, usually close to touching. They need to be very close or they'll stretch. You should be venting all this time. Lose the dome, turn on the lights. Is it just a small cfl either side? Not gonna be enough. You want them right on top of them. Fluoro doesn't travel far. Err on the too-dry side when watering. Best of luck.

 

[growclean]

You want a cfl like 6 inches away from the tops and move it closer over a few days to however close you can, usually close to touching. They need to be very close or they'll stretch. You should be venting all this time. Lose the dome, turn on the lights. Is it just a small cfl either side? Not gonna be enough. You want them right on top of them. Fluoro doesn't travel far. Err on the too-dry side when watering. Best of luck.

Ok, sounds good. I am popping the lid now then and turning on the lights! Thanks!

 

[growclean]

Done. So how many watts do I need in this stage? I thought for seedling, clones, and mothers, that minimal wattage was desired? I have a cfl sitting right on top right now with the other facing sideways inside. I was planning on just having the two inside, even once I transplanted to larger cups for awhile. Is this not correct?

Thanks!

 

[ScrubNinja]

No worries man. Minimal lighting is do-able but not desireable with fluoros in general. I find even in a well lit fluoro situation, they still get leggy compared to sunny weather outside. It depends how minimal you want to go. A 45w cfl or so would cover those fine. A 23w will get the job done for a while, and they may be stretchier. Sooner or later you will need more. Depending on the size of your box, you will want like maybe 25w per square foot as a barest minimum for veg.

I'm not sure if you wanna flower in there too but you gonna need like 50w or more (up to say 75 to 100 if you can cool it) per square foot for decent results, and you'd want those bulbs placed optimally/evenly over the canopy. You'd also want to be doing scrog or LST style training, not trees or bushes. Aim to keep the bulk of the plant matter in that zone close to the lights. Look up the inverse square law, it becomes more important with weak sources like fluoros. Peace.

 

[growclean]

For Veg we are currently using a 600w MH and for flower we have a total of 4 1500 HPS waiting to fire up. This little box I built is just for these seeds and clones. When do you think that they will be ready to through under the MH??

Thanks for the advice!

 

[ScrubNinja]

Oh phew, I was hoping you'd say something like that I've not used big lights, but I think it's ok whenever you want, once they start growing? Just raise the MH a bit at first to be on the safe side and see how they react. Hope it goes well. Edit: actually I will pass on that one...I'm not sure if that's right.

 

[growclean]

Ok, thanks for the help and honesty! Anyone else know for sure?

 

[BerndV]

You can put them under the MH as soon as they sprout. Keep the lamp three to four feet away at first and gradually move it closer, watching your air temps at plant level. Try to maintain 72-76 degrees. Once a seed has sprouted, you will want to remove it from any type of heat mat. As Burn1 stated, you will need to get your seedlings some extra soil support around the base of the plant or they will sometimes tend to push out of the RR hole. Personally, I pack a bit of Fox Farms Light Warrior in the seed hole. This helps force the taproot down into the RR and also helps to shed the shell as the seedling pushes up through the soil. By doing this, I have never had to worry about the seedling heaving out and falling over. Don't worry, your 600W MH is not as bright as the sun, and plants grow naturally from seed in direct sunlight. My seedlings go straight under a 1000W MH and are very happy.

 

[Organi-class]

I also am a fan of seeding directly into pellets, avoiding the moving from paper towel issues. From my observations the moon has a VERY strong effect on the germination, if it can shift the oceans of the world, think about the movement of fluids in your plants.. There is a nice thread on gardening by the moon around here.

IMO, the most important aspect, and i have not seen it discussed here, is using Mycorrhizal inoculation for your germing seeds.

This symbiotic fungi is crucial in an organic garden, and one of your best enhancements when germing seeds, along with other correct practices of temp/humidity etc.
Best of Luck.

 

[growclean]

Update:

Update:

OK here is an update:

Germed the seeds in straight RR wetted down with seeds slightly pushed in to RR with tweazers. Tap water. They went into a tray that held individual RRs perfectly. We put 9 of them right in the middle of the tray (holds around 50 total) and then put them under a sealed hood made for the tray inside of custom made grow box and covered completely so that there was no light. Within 48 hours they had ALL germed. Some were already popping above the RR. Within those first couple of days they were all looking great. I did wet the RRs once. Then I had read to let them "dry out" so I l didn't water them again right away. I looked at them one night and they looked great. The next day I planned on planting them in LC#2 mix in 16 oz. clear cups. Drilled the cups, bleached and dried them, moistened soil, filled cups, cleaned up and then went to get the germs.... NO GOOD. The girls were all gone. It was about 91 F with the RR completely dry by that time. They were all wilted and the biggest ones were hanging all the way into the empty spaces. So I moped and called my partner. We decided to plant some of the freebies that we had got (Skunk X Haze). We have 2 packs of 10 and I planted one pack in the method described by B1. I did rewet the RR that were already planted and left them out on the counter and then later put them in amongst the new seeds. I covered the new seeds with card board and turned the lightst on.

Low and behold... 24 hours later, some (not all) of the shit seeds pulled it out and looked good. I was shocked! I did think that they were all gone from looking at them, I mostly kept them as an "Oh well" expermiment. So then I drilled out some new 16 oz solo cups and inserted the RRs in moist soil.

Well so far so good. At least 5 of the 9 original Shit survived (one of the one that died was the fastest seedling) and the new seeds look like some are popping after 48 hours. Not as fast as the shit though. Anyways here are some pics and ask me some questions if needed, because I am sure that I forgot some details, but the whole thing has been enlightening!
Thanks!

 

[maryjohn]

Hey, let me know how you do with skunk x haze. I don't have trouble starting seeds in general, but these ones were funny. Ridiculous stretch. Keep an eye on them.

my success rate was downright horrible. 2/10. Actually, i'm not sure if I planted all 10 or lost the packet... been smoking too much.

 

[growclean]

Hey, let me know how you do with skunk x haze. I don't have trouble starting seeds in general, but these ones were funny. Ridiculous stretch. Keep an eye on them.

my success rate was downright horrible. 2/10. Actually, i'm not sure if I planted all 10 or lost the packet... been smoking too much.

Only 5 of 10 skunk x haze popped. I was kinda bummed, becuase all of the first round of shit had germed (before I killed a few off!) I modified my box and now have it dialed in well. I just am trying to do another set of both the shit and the skunk hazes right now. Just for experimentation, i tried soaking them for 24 hours and then putting them in wet papertowels for 24 (that is where they are now) and then I will put them directly into the soil or RR.

I will let everyone know how it turns out!