also, if you are using straight perlite, its obvious the vermiculite was just supplying them with extra water psst you can direct sow to vermiculite too :wink:

and try a 50/50 mix of verm/perlite you can get this pre bagged too, i think they call it jiffy mix its made for sowing seeds :-D your on the right track, but mix that verm evenly into the perlite babe! Perlite holds humid air, some water........verm. adds water, some air.. perlite is used to aerate a soil and yes, is manipulated and used to sow seeds for hydro by pot growers...on the other hand, verm is more of a moisture retention thang and if not familiar with its water-holding properties use with caution as it can even hold too much water and cause rot... i have had this happen with cuttings from houseplants... sowing veggie seeds in str8 verm, if given the right care and conditions is a wonerful thing but promix is just way too easy and gives them that little bit of a head start, also peat pellets or oasis cubes are great ways to start seeds for dro, chk yer pm

be well ambre, good growin!

cj

[3legdog]

Sounds great i'll be taggn' along also. The JB has interested me since i first saw/heard of it. Best of luck & i'll be enjoying the show ....from the back row. Takr' easy yf 3ld

CJ-

Thanks for the suggestions. The cups are full of pre-moistened perlite, I just tried mixing a tiny bit of vermiculite in around half of the seedlings as an experiment. A mix of 50% vermiculite is way too much - vermiculite retains too much moisture. The perlite drains very well and wicks water up only at a certain rate, so it's pretty hard to over-water. They're standing in less than 1/4" of water, just enough to allow the perlite to replace what evaporates off. Since the cups are about 5" deep, the moisture level in the perlite at seedling level is just fine.

They are in the small rubbermaid tub garden I built that has a muffin fan built in the lid and PVC elbows for air intake (a link with pics is in my signature block). I'm also opening the container several times a day to check for germination so I can remove the plastic wrap from the cups. As soon as I saw the first seedlings coming up, I turned on the lights and fan full time. RH is down to 75% with the lights & fan on.

The heating pad I am using is a fairly expensive one that has a thermostat and 10 temp levels unlike the normal ones that only have three temps. Low is really low; you can barely feel any heat when you touch the pad directly. I also have the entire system plugged into a GFCI protected power strip as well as GFCI protection on the outlet, so if there is a short or any problem, the GFCI system will cut the power immediately.

*Passes to GN* sry 4 hoggin the popcorn Ambre LOOKIN GREAT!! Im always experimenting 2, I think its half the fun of growing!! Keep up the AWSOME work!!

Can't wait for things to take shape!
Hey! don't HOG it awl, TSD!
cj

This looks like we may need a few bags (of popcorn) hehe Hope this helps!!!

8 of 10 seeds sprouted, 4 with vermiculite in the mix came up on Friday and 4 without vermiculite in the mix came up on Saturday.


10-28

6:30 pm - JB9 had completely popped out of the perlite, root & all. I placed it back into the medium with the seed just below the surface.

10 pm - It looks like the seeds in vermiculite are germinating quicker. JB 7, 8, 9, 10 are showing on the surface; none of the perlite-only seeds are showing. Temp in garden 80-84F, RH 95%.

2 am - 4 of the JB seeds in vermiculite (7/8/9/10) have sprouted with seed above surface. Uncovered the 4 sprouted seeds & turned on 2-15 watt 6500K CFLs and the fan. Heating pad on 2; temp 80F.


10-29

10 am - Temp 84F, RH 75%. Turned heating pad back to low.

Noon - JB 2 & 3 starting to show; removed covers. Temp still 84, RH 75; turned heating pad off.

5:30 pm - 4 of the JB seeds (1/2/3/5) in perlite (no vermiculite) are showing above the surface. Uncovered these seeds & used baster to dampen the top of the rest of the seeds. Removed seed casings & membranes from some of the seedlings. The seeds not sprouted yet are JB 4 & 6. Temp 82F, RH 65%.

10 pm - Temp 80F, RH 60%. Added two more lights (now 2-15w 6500k & 2-13w warm)

Midnight - with lights on in the other garden, room temp is higher. Temp inside is now 86 - too high. I turned off one warm light and removed some carbon so the fan pulls more air through the container. Max temp 87F; min 77F; max RH 78%, min 54%.


10-30

JB 4 & 6 still have not sprouted. Temps running in the low 80's depending on room temp; RH 50-60%. Growth appears slow compared to other varieties I'm used to growing, but this variety is more sativa than I am used to. Cotelydon leaves on some are not yet opened completely and initial real leaves barely showing. It could also be just that I'm so eager and want them to be big NOW!

Here are two of the seedlings that came up Friday - photo taken at 8:30 Sunday:


Here are two of the seedlings that came up Saturday - photo also taken at 8:30 Sunday:

[DrLongbottom]

hey Ambre I like the way you log the details. Ive got 4 johnny blazes(out of 5) at about 21 days . Forget about pulling up a seat, Im pulling out the sleeper sofa! peace. D.L.

[Red]

Very detailed! Nice job Ambre!

I'm not giving up on the two that haven't sprouted, but at this point, I'm calling it 8 out of 10. Here is a pic as of this morning:


The 5 in the top row are the ones with a bit of vermiculite that came up on Friday (10-28), the 5 in the bottom row are the ones without vermiculite mixed in that came up on Saturday (10-29).

10-31 (v2)

Initial set of leaves growing on all seedlings.

High 87F, 91%; Low 73F, 52%

Still no seedlings from JB4 or JB6.

Lights on 24/0 for a couple more days, then I'll switch to 18/6 for vegging. We had a thunderstorm knock out the electric yesterday, so they got an unplanned dark period for a few hours.