[Mikey]

Well here we go. Currently, I am germinating 10 seeds of Mandala's seeds. 5 are hashberry and 5 are Speed Queen. Seeds were put in the soil 3 days ago and i have 4/5 Hashberry's up and no Speed queen's.. I didn't use any pre-germination methods just straight into the soil...

Normally i always soak my seeds overnight before planting but i did it like mike said to do. Against my better judgement. Hopefully the speed queens will pop the soil soon..

I really don't have any pictures to show as of yet..
These plants are being grown in Baccto Organic potting mix..
Also the nutrients i will be using are the Metanatural's line.
Apple Cider Vinegar will be used for pH adjustments and baking soda and of course i added dolomite lime to the soil they are going into. Also a lot of added perlite..


I will be using some added black strap molasses this go around as this will be the first time using it in my grow .... I will be trying to establish a mother from each strain ... The plants will be grown in a two stage closet that has a 250 in the top stage and a 150 in the bottom stage.

Both stage 's of plants will be grown using LST, to keep the lights low and also to decrease plant #'s and increase main flowering tops.. I am skilled in the LST so no worries there...

All Plants will be grown in 2 or 3 gallon containers i haven't decided yet... and the temps in my flowering closet always hoer around 80 degrees..no higher no lower..

They will vegetate for about 2 weeks in the veg cab before going into the flowering closet but will keep vegging until i see fit... I am a very patient person ..anyways i will vegetate the plants on 18/6 once they go into the closet they are currently on 24/0 light cycle.

As soon as something big enough to be proud of is above the soil i will begin posting pics..maybe in about 3 weeks or so...we'll see.

I have pledged to grow mandala's stuff from now on as long as it doesn't let me down.. I am about through with the Nirvana WW and it's pathetic really the pheno's are just shit... but i will still get about 3 ounces off my plants ..and it looks like some OK smoke...we'll see..

Got 10 seeds left 5 of SQ and 5 of HB if the Speed Queens don't pop then i am going back to the soak method again as i know it works time after time..the only problem comes when you leave them for more than 18-24 hours and begin handling the tap root...

again we'll see on that later.. I will update this thread in a couple weeks or so..just wanted to start things off.

[Mikey]

It's been about 5 days now and the seeds for the Speed Queen still haven't popped.. I watered them again..and will give them 2 more days.. if thye don't pop i will replace them with some more, using my germ method..i usually get 90-100% germ rate, and using mike's method i have only accomplished 40% so far..as one of my Hashberry 's came up wierd and deformed and is about dead..but it may make it..but still even 50% germ rate is low..

I will soak them the next time around if they don't pop soon.. we'll see...

[Mikey]

Well i thought that i would drop in and share a few thoughts with yall. I made a post over on Doc's site concerning Mikes germ method. I tried it and got 30% , long story short.. (never mind can't post link's here i guess..lol what a joke that is)But site is good otherwise...

Now I am going back to my method of germing seeds. I will def do an update on this thread coming up soon on the difference % wise ...and also just keep this thread going,. As complete and easy to understand as possible... anyways thanks for the good product Mike...and i hope to see ya drop in on my thread from time to time...

can't wait to see what your strains do under lower wattages.. 150 HPS and 250 HPS..as i have.. i hear great things about your seeds and this little germ hickup isn't anything i can't overlook.... i have mucho faith in you my man..

[MandalaMike]

I got this sorted out at the other forum. According to the info there Mikey "misted" the soil after planting the seeds. However, you have to WATER the soil otherwise the seeds are not getting enough moisture to germ. The embryo can't absorb enough water, expand, and crack the shell.
So please everyone read our instructions carefully and water the pots lightly so that there is enough moisture surrounding the seeds.
It's very easy to germ our seeds...our method is based on what mother nature intended in the first place and the best choice for fresh seed stock.
Soaking seeds was basically popularized so that old seeds germ. It's not a standard necessity for cannabis seeds with the exception of some equatorial land race strains.

[Mikey]

Again i thank you Mike for taking the time and answering my posts on both forums, I hope to see you from time to time, and hope to get some coaching on your strains.. I hear they are easy easy easy to grow so I am hoping for the best..

until I get some good pics up of them i'll take some time to browse the site.. its' a nice place you guys got here!

[Mikey]

Again Mike thanks for the compassion and kindness you and Jasmin have showed me. I am a Mandala seeds customer for life. I am ordering a strain from you guys tonight to thank you for the kindness. Hopefully one day I can own all of your wonderful strains.

ANd to all people out there wandering what to order... get yourself some of Mike's genetics.. the customer service is so far above excellent that it puts them at another level of customer satisfaction...

Thanks again mike and jasmin and keep up the good work.. Tonight I am getting another one of your awesome creations..

[Harry Gypsna]

Definately cant fault mandala, Mikes been really great to me, after i had what was a light-leak induced hermie incident with kalichakra -as i say the cause was a lightleak(or more presicely LED's on power strips) and not the genetics, but anyway Mike still insisted on sending me someHashberry and satori for free, even though it was my fault and i fixed it with femenizer and was still happy with the fantastic smoke which was great happy active sativa goodness. That is going above and beyond.
not to mention how resiliant mandals stuff seems to be, i mean ive got freezing tempris which would be ruining lesser strains but the Hb's dont seem to care that much lol....
so good on Ya mandala, gives urselves a pat on the back.
Hope your hashberry and speed queens turn out great Mikey,
Be lucky

[MandalaMike]

Mikey, many thanks for your awesome support and understanding!

I want to correct my previous statement for the benefit of the readers.
After looking into the matter closely with Mikey we both couldn't find a plausible explanation for the low germing rate. It had nothing to do with the watering, as Mikey did provide enough for the seeds to crack. So bottom line is that it remains a mystery and, thankfully, an isolated case. I found it appropriate however to replace the pack because a customer deserves to get value for money.

Harry, I see I can count on you for Xtreme cultivation.
Freeze 'em now but keep them buds warm. ;-)

Mike

[WeedKrazy420]

i always use jiffy peats i will see if hashberry pops in them after my k2 gro is over

[Mikey]

Okay guys well i figure it's time to rectify this thread once and for all. I have had to take a step back and re examine everything that i was doing to recieve such a poor germination rate.

Now first and foremost I just want to tell you guys how I found out what was wrong.
Now after Mike sent me plenty of seeds to replace my no poppers, and I also ordered some White Satin from the doc and some Lockdown's came with...

Okay... well since I figured it had to be the soil, i just planted these straight into the soil. I figured that I had to have it fixed... well...10-15 seeds later I found the problem.
Upon digging out the no poppers ..which was all of them this go around.. I found a funky weird green fungus or mold growing just on the seed... Some of them had barely cracked and some had never made it that far before the fungus attacked it.

So i took a step back and really examined the germination environment and tried to see what the problem was. I cleaned everything, threw that old soil out. I also washed the cups out with disenfectant soap and some h2o2 water.. I opened up a new bag of my Baccto soil and mixed up some perlite.

This time i also added some extra holes to the bottoms of the cups for them to drain faster.Also , the cups were watered with a light mixture of hydrogen peroxide in the water to sterilize the soil.

Now this time I went back to what worked for me with great success.. and that's the paper towel method.However this time i used paper towels in baggies, all marked which strain was which and then i put them into a mason jar and forgot about them for 2 days...

Now this isn't where this ends so just hold your rants for a second...okay... so what I figured was that the seeds were getting attacked before they had a chance to sprout. So now with sterilized cups, and soil, ...and with better faster drainage ..and soaking the paper towels in a slight hydrogen peroxide/water solution too I packed all the seeds up in their respected paper towels and put them in the jar.. I opened the jar on the second day, and all the seeds had atleast 1/4" taps.. one seed had a 1" sticking out of there!

Now ... i was worried that the fungus would get them again even though they had sprouted already... but i planted them anyways.. tap root down... as i used to do..

Well people I am proud to say that after being up above the soil for about 3 days now that I have a 100% germination rate again. Except for the new White Satins I have, which took the longest to pop too .. so i figure these may take a couple days to get above the soil.. so I am waiting on them.. But I am proud to report that I have had the following germination and sprout rate with your seeds..

your gifted experimental P-1's got 100% germination and 100% sprout rate(above soil and healthy)

the new Speed Queens - 100% germination rate, 100% sprout rate
White satins are just being a tad slower but it's okay.... if they don't come up it's probably my fault somehow...

so let's recap.. basically due to the soil staying wet just slightly...slightly like 4-6 hours longer then it should have... and due to the heat being up in the higher 70's and sometimes low 80's never above 84 though.... but the soil got too warm, it seems, in combination with remaining too wet, and the seeds taking a while to pop above the soil if you jsut throw them in there....it all combined to be a perfect situation for disaster...

But I am not having one single problem now with the plants, all of them are above the soil, under mixed blue and red spectrum lighting.. The P-1's are just ridiculously looking Indica even in the little seedling stage.. The speed queens are showing more sativa leaning first leaf sets... and the white satins are just taking a while.. anyways mike i jsut wanted to tell you that it was MY fault in part, but then again it seems that just planting them in there was a disaster waiting to happen for me... so I am back to the paper towel method... with the same soil but pre stearilized first... and better drainage.. the pants are growing faster and faster everyday and some of them have just fat ass stems even this young... the F-1 genetics is showing through for sure...

Oh and also .. Mike I will be more than willing to pay you for those seeds you sent me to replace the speed queens that didn't pop... I have lots of them left, and plan on giving a fellow grower some to start his growing adventures off right...I also didn't pop all of the p-1's as I want to preserve them for a while.. they are some hardy little shits they are.. so anyways.. again like I said I am a Mandala customer for life...

I wish you long and happy lives together Mike and Jasmin.. thanks for being patient with me ...and again I will keep detailed reports up on this grow and will def be asking for your input if I run into problems..

Now one last question.... is the p-1 a Nitrogen Hungry strain? The reason I ask is because the cotyledons are beginning to yellow from the tips back but is also on it's second set of leaves.. I normally don't add nutrients and haven't, the soil is just slightly fortified with organic nutrients... any input on the feeding schedule on the p-1s' would be nice...also thse plants are in soil now but will be going to coco coir in hand watered grow bags soon. Using Metanaturals nutrients... In 1 gallon grow bags at first and then going to 3 gallon grow bags of the coco coir and perlite mix.

Basically I am eliminating the soil all together now, as me and a few other growers have been talking about it for a while. I can't wait to see these plants take off in the COCO and how much easier it's going to be.. Any input on the coco or PH level reccomendations for your strains in the coco coir would be nice.. again Mike thanks alot for your kindness..