Makeshift Greenhouse Problems

[brown_thumb]

I trimmed and topped the plants yesterday. I didn't raise the lights because when I topped them, the tallest plants lost 1-2 inches in height. Still... the lights will need to be raised in another day or two.

Of the 16 new seeds I started, only 6 popped through soil thus far. I worry that I overheated some seeds during the germination stage. I'll hate to lose 10 expensive seeds but it will be a learning process... no need to warm germinating seeds beyond room temperature. Of those which survived, warming only made 1 day difference in germination. That's certainly not worth losing 65 percent of viable seeds!!

 

[Levitationofme]

Thats assuming they were all viable. Not all expensive seeds germinate.

My last few tries some good some not so good. None of my classic Strawberry Diesel seeds popped at all, but all the equally Old from same place Chem-Dog 4d jumped out of their seeds.
Reservoir seeds I believe. They were all gifts and understood that they may or may not be great.

The guys who sell me my seeds would replace seeds if there was a quality issue. Would still be a PIA but they are fair. Really it seems there are plenty of good people out there to get seeds from. Especially the companies that have representation in their own threads here.

In fact, they should be able to guide you better then most, as far as growing their genetics.

The secret is, they know we all will become Bean Crazy and we wont be able to stop ourselves from buying awesome genetics once we get started.

I am no Joe Homeboy for any company and I don't want to make recommendations as really there are sooo many choices here.

Other then that, It's not too hard to make up for it over time, you can clone......... 1 or 2 plants may surprise you and you can keep your favorite until you find a better one

You can also be patient some seeds just take a long time to pop.
But that's not much fun either.

 

[brown_thumb]

I'll find out soon enough. The first eleven seeds all popped with the damp paper towel method but only six have broken through soil. One of those had a strange tiny pointed leaf break through first, before the main leaves... weird. Those first eleven are Pineapple Haze and Critical Mass. The other five, started one day later, are Cherry Bomb. I kept those in the damp paper towel only two days. I thought I saw tiny white tails poking through but I didn't have my eyeglasses on so now I'm not sure. I'm keeping the soil very damp and have plastic cups covering the seeds until they're all broken through. If some of these fail then I'll start more and won't try warming them anymore. I was warming them because the inside house temperature is in the low to mid 60's F right now.

Does anyone know why that one seed had that oddball pointed leaf poke through before the main leaves? Is it a mutation?

 

[Levitationofme]

You could put them on top of the fridge. Its usually warm there.
My pop does everything in his cold basement with minimal heat and has few problems
with germinating seeds or anything. He is far older and has patience unknown to me yet and seems to have a touch with weed.
Growing in slo mo.

 

[brown_thumb]

Thanks for the advice regarding the top of the fridge being warmer. Unfortunately, mine isn't. Maybe I can make room in the grow box to place a plate of seeds next time... I stack disposable aluminum baking pans so they're light-tight.

I woke to find one more of the seedlings broken through soil. This one is a Cherry Bomb so I didn't kill them all. Maybe the others will pop out soon.

I'm a bit worried especially for the little seedlings because the ambient temperature is a bit cold here and relative humidity is low. So the heaters are running quite a lot. What concerns me is the humidity inside the grow box must be extremely low. I suppose I could hang a couple of wet bath towels inside where the heaters will blow on them. For now I'm just keeping clear cups on top of the seedlings to minimize evaporation.

 

[Levitationofme]

Spray with a foliar. Mist with some plain ole water. Keeping um covered as you do is smart.

Im thinking how your issues will change once its summer....

It's rippin hot where I live in summer. I dont grow
In summer unless its in my garage w AC

 

[brown_thumb]

Spray with a foliar. Mist with some plain ole water. Keeping um covered as you do is smart.

Im thinking how your issues will change once its summer....

It's rippin hot where I live in summer. I dont grow
In summer unless its in my garage w AC

I am misting with a weak seaweed and humic acid spray. I also ensure the soil doesn't dry too much especially at the delicate roots.

Summers here are very hot too... 100-105F afternoon temperatures. The strains I tried to grow greatly suffered both from the heat and from my poor gardening skills.

I probably won't try another summer grow until I have an inside closet ready in which I can control everything. I'll probably adopt a hydroponic method at that time... DWT buckets look interesting. I 'might' try another summer grow if I can find some heat-friendly strains.

 

[brown_thumb]

I purchased a 4-channel temperature/humidity monitor. One sensor is in the grow box, one is in the greenhouse, a third is outside only protected from rain and the fourth sensor is built into the main readout inside.

The sensor in the grow box is averaging about 73F at 20 percent relative humidity. It's definitely far too dry in that box at the moment. When I feel better I'll hang a couple of wet bath towels in there to provide more moisture.

 

[TrueReligion]

I got 100% germ on my recent run, if you don't have Any humidity domes wherever you're starting your seeds cut a water bottle or two liter soda bottles bottom off and that's a cheap home made humidity dome just be sure to spray the insides and remove once the top cap whenever it sprouts so it can get acclimated to the humidity before removal of the dome.

 

[brown_thumb]

I got 100% germ on my recent run, if you don't have Any humidity domes wherever you're starting your seeds cut a water bottle or two liter soda bottles bottom off and that's a cheap home made humidity dome just be sure to spray the insides and remove once the top cap whenever it sprouts so it can get acclimated to the humidity before removal of the dome.

That's good advice. I have some small clear cups that allow light in but retain humidity. They fit precisely/snugly into the pots completely covering the soil. The pots are coconut fiber so the sides breath but the tiny new roots are far from the edges of the pots.

I added two soaking wet towels to the grow box and the relative humidity is already up to 32 percent. I realize that's still too low but it's better than 20 percent.

 

[brown_thumb]

I'm liking this multi-sensor temp/RH monitor. It's showing (rounded up/down) 70F/40% inside, 60F/33% outside, 65F/29% in the very leaky greenhouse and 72F/32% in the grow box. All the data right by my side at the computer desk.

I can set temp and RH alarms if they go out of ranges I define. It'll remember and recall the lowest and highest temps/RH for all sensors within a 24 hour period. If the heaters lose power and the temperature in the grow box drops too low an alarm will sound.

EDIT: I reset the thermostats to 68F at the roots.

 

[brown_thumb]

I soaked the towels again plus I soaked all the bedrock and sandy soil at the floor of the box/greenhouse. I used cold water from the garden hose so the temperature in the box plummeted to 66F and the RH is now 83%. The temp inside the box will very soon rise to 68F at the roots and RH will slowly decrease throughout the night.

I hate hate HATE HATE fighting the outside elements. I'm DEFINITELY moving my grow inside before summer!!!

 

[TrueReligion]

That's good advice. I have some small clear cups that allow light in but retain humidity. They fit precisely/snugly into the pots completely covering the soil. The pots are coconut fiber so the sides breath but the tiny new roots are far from the edges of the pots.

I added two soaking wet towels to the grow box and the relative humidity is already up to 32 percent. I realize that's still too low but it's better than 20 percent.

Thats not bad I've started some in mid 30s rh when I was getting my room situated and its definetly way better than 20%rh. Just make sure to keep the soil nice moist and around 68 for your soil temp to prevent root rot.

If you do choose to use the clear cups lift them up to give them fresh air by lifting it every now til sprouted.(or you can poke air holes either or)


The wet towel trick I used to use myself it certainly does magic. I'd use the towels for 2-3 days before washing to prevent air quality issues

 

[TrueReligion]

I soaked the towels again plus I soaked all the bedrock and sandy soil at the floor of the box/greenhouse. I used cold water from the garden hose so the temperature in the box plummeted to 66F and the RH is now 83%. The temp inside the box will very soon rise to 68F at the roots and RH will slowly decrease throughout the night.

I hate hate HATE HATE fighting the outside elements. I'm DEFINITELY moving my grow inside before summer!!!

That's pretty regular temps for night it should survive as long as its short it shouldn't really affect germ time try to keep it above 68 for optimal germination.


My Grow currently sits between at a min 62.4 lights off 37% RH, max 74.5 62%RH for this weeks temp its been hitting the low thirties outside so I'm glad they haven't hit under 60

 

[brown_thumb]

I lift the cups every day to spritz the seedlings and top of the soil with a weak solution of seaweed extract, fulvic and humic acids. The sensor in the grow box is currently showing 67F and 48% RH. I lowered the temperature settings on the thermostats last night but I probably should have left them at 72F for lighted time.

Should I set the thermostats higher during the day and a few degrees cooler at night? Maybe 65F dark and 75F lit?

 

[Levitationofme]

I cant say. In my box the temps go down to room temp only at night. Thats 74 at the moment.

I have been keeping foliar at 6.5 PH and it seems to be workin.

Are your nutrients able to be used as a foliar as well? Some of mine are and there are a few combos depending on what you are trying to do.

I move up to a Foliar with more nutrients in it as they got a little bigger. If my inhead math is correct it is about 1/4 strength of normal dose I water in, but it's missing a few of the bottles that would leave a crust on the leaves when dried. Like the Bone Meal product.

The dude who makes the nutes I use has a guide for using them and apparently he is EXTREMELY enthusiastic about foliars and has a bunch of different recipes.

Not much point in dropping the mixes here as they mostly involve his products and I usually get Flamed when I post any of his stuff LOL

 

[brown_thumb]

I know some of the nutrients I'm using can be applied foliarly but I don't know if they all can. I'm only spritzing with a weak solution of seaweed extract and fulvic/humic acid. Most of the nutrients I'm using are for hydroponic systems (Emerald Harvest) but I was told they work well in soil too (by the store owner, of course). They seem to work okay as long as I water to about 20 percent run-off every time. I'll research foliar feeding.

Regarding foliar feeding and PH: It seems to me it should be done at a PH of 7.0 because that's the PH of rainwater, isn't it?

 

[brown_thumb]

I knocked over one of the new pots while removing the wet towels to wash them. The pot went kerplunk sideways on the rocky ground and the seed was lost. It's too bad but at least it wasn't one that had already broken through soil.

How long should I wait before giving up on the seeds that don't break soil... 7 days... 10 days... 14?

 

[Levitationofme]

Well, I would ask the peeps you got them from

In my very limited experience I would say leave them.

You could take them in your house and keep um dark n warm and moist and just wait n see.

No need for light yet.

Its cold so things slow down, unless its a seed that's been bred to germinate at cooler temps.

I usually pick um out of the soil and put them back in damp paper towels and keep them warm in a zip bag and wait till they either pop
or rot.

I hear the Humic and kelp can be added to water you use to wet the paper towels it may help.

 

[brown_thumb]

I'm spritzing the soil above and around the seeds with the seaweed/humic solution so they're getting plenty of it while in their pots. Next spritz will be with plain PH-ed water to avoid build-up.

I'll wait at least 14 days before recycling the soil and pots. I've only been growing cannabis a short while but I've never seen a seedling take longer than 3 days to pop in damp paper towels and another week (total of 10 days) to break through soil. They're planted only 12-14mm deep and I'm very careful to avoid disturbing them when I water.

I removed the plastic cups I was covering the seedlings with because I think the soil is holding a little too much moisture. I might replace them later but, as you suggested, will cut breathing holes.