FrostAies Budget Bag Seed Grow Journal/Tutorial

[FrostAie]

In the process of gathering up some more cash to order the TRI Pack of WW NL5 and BB I decided to germinate and veg four seeds of some of the best weed I have found over the last year. I maybe have found 1-2 seeds every couple of ounces of dank that I have bought. I plan to veg these plants indoors for 3 weeks and then put them outside middle of April or around 4/20 . I bought everything at Wal Mart for $8 I bought the CFL light at Big Lots for 2$ on discount I purchased 2 circular ones for 4 plants.

I chose 20 ounce Styrofoam cups but would of preferred 24-32 ounce because they allow for more root space. $1.00

I chose some basic organic soil which should hold me over until I am able to purchase some bags of Fox Farm Organic soil. $4.00

Seeds= Free

Razor $0.50

Light = $2.00

I will be adding more pictures as the process goes along and this is just information in my opinion and not everything may work for everyone. This is just what I have gathered from a few years of growing. Any suggestions questions are appreciated.

The First step after purchasing these items is to put down a trash bag or some sort of newspaper to pick up soil that may find its way to your carpet. I usually start out by picking the healthiest looking seeds you can get your hands on. Most healthy looking seeds are usually bigger and black or brown with sometimes a tiger stripe sort of appearance. Some seeds you get in your usual "sac" may be premature and will not germinate as well as healthy ones. Some seeds may be white especially feminized seeds I have noticed to be white and somewhat smaller. If you plan on growing several plants you should save the healthy seeds you come in contact with over the year of the best bud you have gotten. I keep mine in a film canister and keep it in my cool closet. It is important to keep in a cool dry place to have them germinate a long time after the original harvest.

Next thing to keep in mind is to have a location even though it is temporary it must be in a safe secure location and be patched off from all lights when your plants will be in a dark part of a light cycle. I have used a old work desk and set up my operation under it. I might be able to grow 4-8 small plants under here but I will try it out with 4. You may want to try a maylar or white cardboard on the walls around your grow location as it helps the light reflect. In my case I need as much reflection as possible because I have a somewhat weak light source. I suggest You purchase several CFL lights if you are unable to afford a more powerful light. The key is the more light the better.

After you are prepared to begin the first thing i usually do is cut small drainage holes on the bottom of the cups. This ensures proper drainage if you were to over water it would protect against the roots getting drown. I chose a solid color cup because direct light is not good for roots if yours were to end up on the side of your cup you may come into problems using clear cups. Gordon Food Service carries various size cups from 7-32 ounce in Styrofoam cups the 32 ounce cups have a wide base which makes them great for using for a somewhat long beginning vegetation stage.

After the holes are cut in the bottom fill them up 4/5 of the way with your organic soil. Be careful not to purchase soil with to strong of nutrients as your plants will burn and suffer while they are young. Also watch out for time released feeding soils such as Miracle Grow. Now with your finger swirl around the center of the cup and form a crater about 1/4 of a inch down in the soil. Take your selected seeds and place the open ended looking part face sitting downwards. Now with some loose soil sprinkle it over the top of the seed so the soil level is the same across the cup. There should be a couple of inches left to add more soil which you may have to do weeks down the road. Now take some distilled or some spring water but not tap water as it contains chlorine and other things we don't want for our plants. I used warm water and a dropper and dropped water on the surface of the water to make sure its pretty moist and warm as that is how the seeds will germinate. Try to keep your room temperature pretty warm during the first few days as well as keeping it humid will help in the germination process. Add water but be careful not to flood your soil you want it moist enough so your seeds can open up. Some people prefer using the wet paper towel method but I have found from experience that transferring sometimes shocks and causes weak seedlings. I usually get around a 8-9/10 success rate germinating directly from cups.

Now move your cups to there grow room or what ever you have constructed to use. Keep them in the dark for 2 days and on the third day put your CFL light or lights directly over the tops of the cups. Keep your lights on for 24 hours of light and 0 of complete darkness. After 3-5 days you should see a small seedling pop up and eventually fold outward showing leaves. This is a good sign you will soon be needing to water these a little bit more because as they vegetate they drink water but not nearly as much as when they are budding. I usually have to water every other day but you should check the soil with your finger to see how moist it is as you get towards the bottom of the cup. After 2 weeks I usually switch the light cycle to 20 hours of light 4 hours of dark.

You may want to try using a small fan once your plants are around a week old as this will help build stem strength and help prepare them for outside. If your rooms seems somewhat dry I suggest using a vaporizer (no not the the kind for the herb) but one for when your sinus is acting up. They shoot moisture in the air and will help your plants especially when trying to germinate.

Depending on your state you will have to start your plants according to when the last frost date is for your location and how much you want to vegetate your plants before putting outside. If you have a weak light source Id suggest waiting later in the spring to start as your plants might outgrow your light source before the temperature is warm enough outside. You can check here http://www.almanac.com/garden/frostus.php

Once it is time to move your plants outside you will want to find a secure remote location that receives as much sunlight as possible and a spot that wouldn't be stumbled upon from a hiker or fisherman. I will be putting my plants in rural corn fields way out in the middle of no where. If you live near a woods a clearing inside or the edge of the woods that has a open view of the southern sky would also work as the sun rises from the south. When choosing spots it is wise not to grow in a common pattern as that wouldn't look natural to the human eye. I usually plant 4-8 plants per corn field and use a random sequence that scatters them out. You want to have a couple of locations in case pests or someone finds your plants your season wont be ruined. If your able to find a personal friend who you can trust not to talk about or say anything about your grow he could come in handy. I have a partner who helps me by dropping me off in the remote locations late at night is the best time to go. I usually go on a weeknight around 2-330 am. I always wear black and its important to use duct tape on the bottom of your shoes as that will lead to less evidence. The first thing to do is to find a nice shovel and to purchase large bags of organic soil. I usually go to my location a day or two ahead of time and dig into the ground at my spots about 2 feet down and 2 feet across. I take out about half of the natural soil which is pretty good because its been used for crops for years and I replace it with a good organic soil such as fox farm. I get the soil really broken up and mixed well and then I level it out.

The last step to getting your plants in the ground is pretty crucial. In my experience I have watered the plants pretty well right before moving them outside this helps the soil stay together as your transplant into the ground. I carry my small plants inside of a water cooler that fits inside of my partners truck bed perfectly. Once I am dropped off at the location I use my GPS to find my previously dug location out. If you don't have the money or a GPS already don't panic you can use markers on the side of the road such as a tree or small sign sticking out. From that you can count lets say 150 feet forward and 25 feet to your direct right. This will make it so your able to find your plants easy to see under the dark night sky. Bring a small flash light and once your to your dug out holes you will want to use your razor blade in a moment. First you will have to take about the size of the cups worth of soil out of the middle of your dug hole. This will make it easy to slide the plant with its current soil and roots into the ground so it is very level. Now with your razor cut down the side of the cup starting at the top and once you get to the bottom cut a circle around and pull the top part of the cup off. You should have the bottom of the cup in tact holding the soil. Take both hands and pick up the soil and roots and plant all at once and place inside the newly dug hole. Hold the plant at the base of the roots with one hand and with the other add soil around the plant so it is level with the ground. Thats it your plant is now in the ground and all you have to do for the night is water pretty well and walk away.

After a few days come back and check to see how well your plant is adjusting to its new home you may see its getting bigger. After a couple of more days this is when i would suggest to top your plant. Topping your plant will cause it to grow more than one main cola as well as become more bushy then tall. You will need to take a clean razer blade and on your plant cut right underneath the 3rd set of leaves from the top. Cut your plant at a diagonal angle kind of like this / . After a few days your plant should start forming 4 new growing colas. With the topped part of the plant you can create a small clone of the female mother plant by taking it by the stem and placing it in a cup of warm water and misting it here and there. After a few days a small white root should pop out of the bottom. Once this occurs you are able to move this newly rooted plant into another cup or directly into the ground using the same methods you have already learned. This plant will produce buds but wont be quite as big as the mother plant because of the time its had to grow. If you encounter animal or bug problems I suggest getting a small bottle of piss and sprinkle it around the base of your plant in a circle thats about 5 feet from the base this will deter small animals from chewing up your crops. For bugs I have used a mild mist of plant safe bug spray from ace hardware. Dont spray to much on your leaves as it will hurt your plant just a quick mist or mixing it with water should keep the little creatures away. :-*This would be a good time to purchase some nutrients I suggest advanced nutrients but the key is to get at least a vegetation stage nutrient and a flowering stage nutrient. Once you have purchased your nutrients you will want to avoid the directions on the bottle. You never want to use the recommended strength for your cannabis plant as it could be harmed with the chemicals. For the first time giving it nutrients I would use 1/4 of the strength it recommends and see how well your plants respond. After a while you can switch to 1/2 or a little more depending on how you see the growth develop. I usually water my plants every 4th or 5th day there is no rain and I give them nutrients once to twice a week. More during flowering but it all depends on the nutrients you have bought they should have a chart along with them. By the end of July you will now be able to start seeing the sex of your plants. You will want to look for small white hairs for the female plants and small little sac looking things will be on the males. It is very important to detect the sex of your plants as leaving the males to mature will cause their pollen sacs to secrete pollen which will then pollinate your females which causes them to produce seeds which we don't want in this case. The wind can carry pollen very far as well as your fingers so be careful while examining. Once you find all the males Id suggest pulling them and killing them. I know it sounds horrible but they just ruin the lesbian orgy your females have been taking part of. Depending on the strain of your plant and whether its a Indica Or Sativa dominate plant will determine how long it will flower for. It will start flowering around the time the natural sun cycle turns to 12/12. Sativas tend to take longer to flower and are more skinny leaves. These plants will produce a energetic type buzz but the Indica will produce a more stoned couch lock type high. I usually harvest my plants from the end of September until the middle of October. The best way to tell when your plants are ready to be pulled is to watch the frost cycle as well as checking the trichomes of your plant. The trichomes are the gooy looking bubbles thats on the buds of your plant. It will be to hard to see from using your natural eye so I suggest buying a hand held microscope. I Usually harvest when the trichomes are somewhat cloudy and amber as well. If you want a energetic high pull your plants when the trichomes are cloudy but if you want that couch lock high I would let them go for a while longer until most are amber or red in color.

Once you are ready to harvest it is important to flush out your nutrients from your plants to prevent chemical tastes. I usually start flushing 2 to 3 weeks before I am ready to harvest. It may take several waterings but make sure you don't harvest unless you want to taste bad weed. It will be important to find a remote house or basement because a place like this will be needed to dry and trim your freshly harvested plants. I usually pull the plants directly from the roots or use a knife to cut them at the base of the stem. It is a good idea to harvest at night and bring large trash bags to put your entire plant inside of. My partner has a truck so it is pretty easy for me to load a 7 foot plant into his bed of his truck if i cut it in the middle. The next step once your plants are in there safe locations is to hang them upside down in a dark cool place for 4-7 days depending on how dense the buds are some will dry quicker than others. When the buds snap at their stems they should be about ready. The next step is kind of a bitch job but the reward is worth its weight in gold. Trimming can take anywhere from a hour for one plant to days for hundreds of plants. Be careful if you are having people help you trim as they may be tempted to jack it from you out of greed. I usually use a small scissors and a larger one. I use the larger one to take off all the big leaves and start from the biggest to the smallest. When only small leaves are around your buds I like to use my small scissors to trim down until there is no green leaves only crystals and denser buds. Don't trim to close as a lot of strains of weed have a lot of crystals on the leaves and you will want to keep them on there. Once the buds are all trimmed up its now time to cure them correctly. The difference between a cured bud and a fresh bud is huge. Properly curing a bud effects its taste and how it smokes. Depending on how big your harvest is I would suggest buying several mason jars or saving up your big jars from GFS. Craft stores also sell mason jars. You will want to make sure your buds are not to wet even though they have been drying you don't want to put to moist of a bud in a jar because then mold can occur. After putting the buds in the jar open and close the lids several times during the first couple days of the curing process and then open them once every other day. After about 2 weeks the bud will be cured well enough to smoke. The longer the buds have time to cure the smoother and more stronger the bud seems to get. I hope this will help some of you who don't understand the hard to grasp concepts of rural cannabis growing.

[FrostAie]

You can just read through it quick and then when u decide to grow you can follow along.
I made it pretty simple because theres so many stupid books where authors wrote about bullshit and expensive shit So I figured I should make something that almost anyone even a monkey could accomplish

[FrostAie]

Well hopefully this can help at least one person out there grow at least one plant

[giroldo]

thanks a ton man. ill definetly check in to this.

[Blink]

Helped me man, but you posted in my thread, so yeh. This is a good tut for those of you starting. One key is the low cost.

[cannabisblunt]

this is a great thread. exactly what i needed to read a few months ago.
thanks man +rep

[FrostAie]

I never thought I would write something let alone something that can help people I will add pics as things go and include each step as I typed. That should make it even more easy to follow

[AbsoluttADDY]

Im looking forward to see the results and progress. When I'm home from school in April I plan on following this guide.

[T3h C0rps3]

awesome man... I am, right after I write this, going to start my grow journal. I too am using a cheap budget grow, it's my first one, and just wanna grow one, cuz I love plants. If ya wanna see how I'm doin stop on by. I'll be checkin up on yours too.. oh, and are you going to using any nutes? cuz I noticed that everyone else does, and uses PH meters and all that jazz, but I ain't money for fancy shmacy crap like that. so if you are gonna use nute, then I would guess they would be cheap ones, like what you and I are using for everything else, so lemme know please

good luck on this grow homie

[T3h C0rps3]

oh yea... and what is your lumens for your CFL's? I have 3, 23-watt CFL's but right now I only have 1 set up.. the lumens for each one is 1600

[FrostAie]

what spectrum are your CFLs?

[FrostAie]

I am using two 100w which is 1600 lumen's Circular lights for 4 plants

[FrostAie]

I will be using nutrients once my plants are in the ground which will not be for a little while.

[T3h C0rps3]

Originally Posted by FrostAie

what spectrum are your CFLs?

hmmm.. not sure... it says soft white on the package.. is that a spectrum??

[FrostAie]

that should be fine for a short vegetation period. How many are you planning on starting. I just noticed a seedling popping out of one of my cups