shot glass / paper towel - germinating by moon phase (organic soil)

Kweku Ananse · May 6, 2016

i have 14 (probably 12 viable) s1's from a proven strain. one plant has been born and is kicking nicely as a test of the beans. seem nice. anyway, this will go into a small phono hunt (i enjoy the resin from the strain this bag seeded out of, but could use better flavor.) but for now, we are going to compare the difference between germinating on a new moon (when the moon is in taurus - an earth sign / root day) vs. halfway between new moon and full moon (moon in virgo, - earth / root)... the seeds will be soaked for "12 hours" - and then put into paper towels the next day (moon in gemini/libra - air signs / flower days) where they will sit for a couple days til i see root tails and be placed into solo cups with starter mix (moon in cancer/scorpio - water signs / leaf days)

this thread should demonstrate how to germinate seeds using shot glass / paper towel method and also a decent seedling mix using common products. organic soil. this is my preferred germination method, though once pheno hunts are completed, i like to dial in my strains in coco.

S.eeds in S.oil
C.lones in C.oco

ill post a pic of the shot glass tomorrow.

I wanna say the "mother" is a nepali/og/indica/kush genotype kinda dealio.

looking for a male to BX, or just a better keeper from these seeds, to design a new strain... gotta name already to fit these traits.

anyway. should be a short and sweet thread. but who knows, might blossom into something greater.

Later.

KA

burningfire · May 6, 2016

you're going to need more than 14 seeds to come up with something conclusive

Kweku Ananse · May 6, 2016

I think we will see a difference. Six seeds in each group all from herm, should be fairly homogenous. Looking for difference in germination speed, root speed, and health of seedling.

Seeds will be put into shot glasses today at 5pm

Kweku Ananse · May 7, 2016

So six out of seven sunk since 5pm (about 13hrs in shot glass.

Going into paper towels. I'll post a few pics once roots pop

Kweku Ananse · May 7, 2016

Paper towel is wetted, then allowed to drip dry. Once the paper stops dripping you're in business. Folded the seeds up along one edge of the towel and folded over the sides and top to prevent seeds/roots popping out. Then put the paper towels inside an unsealed sandwich bag (top folded over once) and then inside of "closed" brown paper bag, for darkness and humidity.

MicroRoy · May 7, 2016

Thats how I like to pop my seeds.

Dirts ok but I like knowing sooner if they have rooted.

Kweku Ananse · May 9, 2016

By noon today 5/7 germed

Kweku Ananse · May 9, 2016

Going into solo cups w/ starter mix this afternoon.

5 parts light warrior
3 parts Roots greenfields
2 parts added pearlite
1 part Roots big worm EWC

Put a Lil pearlite (about 1/2" to cover drain holes) at the bottom, then add starter mix, water to runoff (approx 1/2 a solo cup) to moisten. Let stand for 30min-1hr.

Push pinky nail deep for seed hole, gently drag soil over seed and splash water over seed to "settle" the top soil. Be careful not to use too much water or you'll float the seed out the hole.

I do all this with dechlorinated water as to preserve living microherd.

Kweku Ananse · May 9, 2016

planted into cups at about 1:30pm today with apprx 1/4" long roots going. here are some pics to show my process.

^^^ i poke four holes in the bottom and four on the sides under the 1oz line on the solo cup using trimming shears, good drainage

^^^put a lil bit of pearlite at the bottom, helps keep drain holes from clogging

^^^bout that much...

^^^stir up my seedling/start mix in a tub

^^^pack it in lightly, all the way level to the top, as it will settle lower in the cup when watered

Kweku Ananse · May 9, 2016

^^^gently water the soil in the cup, perlite floats to the top, so best to water slowly.

^^^i use about 1/2-3/4 of a solo cup worth of water to saturate the soil

^^^the runoff will start brown like this...

^^^watered enough once runoff is clear

^^^settles just the right amount after watering

Kweku Ananse · May 9, 2016

^^^seedhole is pinky-nail deep

^^^put the root down, below the seed "cap"

^^^another pic of germinated seed in hole

^^^gently, very gently cover the seed with the surrounding soil

^^^and very very very slowly put a splash of water onto the seed, careful as to not float the seed, which could turn it upside down, or expose it to too much light or dry air.

will post pics of ground-break when we get there.

-KA-

Kweku Ananse · May 11, 2016

woke up this morning to 2/5 breaking ground.

that makes it 4.5 days from shot glass to breaking ground.

will post again when another comes up

Kweku Ananse · May 11, 2016

for my own notes:

round 2 seeds go into shot glass at 3am may 16

into towels 11:30am may 16

into soil 2am may 19

libra is slightly longer than gemini, so the second round seeds will be in towels approx 8 hrs extra... which will mean slightly longer taproot, but the plants don't grow too quickly that early, we are probably talking 1/32-1/16 of an inch extra... negligible considering the amount of control (or lack thereof) in this experiment.

I've decided "time from shot glass to groundbreaking" is an area of comparison, a longer root before placed in cup might indicate slightly shorter time from cup to ground break, and another comparison being "health/vigor" of seedlings once all in cups/transplanted to 1 gals by the end of may (11-21 days in solo cups)

time of root development (or root binding if left too long) and life time in solo cups could influence the amount of growth in 1 gal veg stage.

perhaps 3weeks in solo cup will be too long and run out of food. maybe 2weeks won't be enough root development, and then 1 gal transplant won't be as effective...

these are the comparisons being made. within my method of germinating before full moon, and then transplanting out of solo cups by the next new moon, which phase is best for germination? new moon to first quarter or first quarter to full moon?

i will have an answer to THAT question by the end of this thread.

hope you guys like my start mix. shit is bangin...

Kweku Ananse · May 16, 2016

So round two got put into paper towels today, will check them tomorrow morning.

Got one larger plant from a month ago, with round one in cups.

looking good so far

heres a close up of a baby

later guys

Kweku Ananse · May 18, 2016

Again, 5/7 germed in equal time to round one (30hrs in towels).

So far, no discernable difference.

Kweku Ananse · May 18, 2016

7/7 of round two germed... and a few of these root tails are already longer at T+48hrs than round one was at T+72

honestly, i believe that 1/7 in round one was a dud, and I'm surprised ALL 7/7 round two germed. i believe we got better germ rates on round two due to the waxing gibbous (growing moon, between 50-99% illuminated), and increased lunar gravity and energy.

to keep this experiment equal, they get one more day in these towels before soil... suddenly, interesting so far...

Kweku Ananse · May 19, 2016

Well, I can say that this round two seems to be developing faster. The roots are longer when put into cups... higher germ rate too. I wouldn't be surprised if these broke ground T-12hrs sooner (4 days shot glass to groundbreak vs. 4.5 days). Round 1 took about 42hrs to break ground after being placed in solo cups. I'm expecting to see at least 4/5 of round 2 in about 30hrs. Right on!

We shall see how much effect the extra ten days in solo cups has on the transplant to one gallons.

All seedlings will be transplanted may 30th 11am

Kweku Ananse · May 20, 2016

I see three bent necks this mornin.

So far, still coming along about 8-12hrs sooner than round one

Kweku Ananse · May 22, 2016

Of the 7/7 that germed in round 2, 4/5 broke ground faster than round one... 1/5 has stalled, I dug a Lil bit... I believe I maybe have sunk one too far... oops! 2/7 germed later but had stronger roots than 1/5 (i'm thinkin 1/5 stalled... it had a significantly shorter root tail). So the fifth seed to break ground (2/7) replaced still subterranean seed (1/5) in our comparison as "J" - for anyone who sees the outcome of this experiment.

For the record. I will be experimenting with light schedule on this next grow. I'm thinking gas lantern once all plants are transplanted on may 30th. 12 on, 5 off, 2 on, 5 off = (14/10) 24hrs VEG, then 11/13 FLWR

My main comparison within this method compares the germination point. Any growth past transplant is to be considered homogeneous and consistent. Upon my next germination in the phase that is concluded to be favorable, I will be able to anecdotally compare the difference between my current 18/6 regiment vs. my aforementioned gas lantern schedule. From my studies it is forecasted to be a blatant improvement in plant health and vegetative growth speed.

My reason for wanting to change my VEG lighting regiment:

I currently have a "purple Thai F x white widow M" seed going that shows serious wilting for daylight times longer than 15hrs. I will set an alarm to check. But it's insane. My guess is anything longer than 13hrs daylight and this bitch be trippin.

Really, first time I trusted my instinct: she ain't REALLY thirsty... she lyin' - sure enough, slept her 6hr dark period and was all 45 degree angles...! Good thing I didn't overwater

nawmeen

rockymountainJ · May 30, 2016

Hey kweku!! Yeah were close lol!! Cheers from the foothills!! Wasn't sure if you where "forcoco" or well.. you know lol!! Happy harvests neihbor!!

shot glass / paper towel - germinating by moon phase (organic soil)

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