Figured I'd keep a thread going on my first grow. It is going to be an adventure for me. I've never grown cannabis but I do garden and work at a garden store for the past 4 years so I have some plant knowledge. I set up my grow room/closet. It is a 5x5 room. I was on a budget so I had to go cheap as I could while getting the most out of it I could. (pics at bottom.) took a few pics of my grow area. And I just got my seeds in. Like the title says growing some Kalashnikov. ak-47 was a good dank smoke for me and I read it is a good not to hard plant to grow. I have purchased a carbon scrubber for smell, 2 24'' fluorescent grow lights, a four foot 80w 2tube fluorescent grow light with grow bulbs in them. A 24" fluorescent 40w cool tube light, a 300w warm CFL and a 250w warm CFL for flowering. I would like to eventually upgrade to an HPS light but like I said I was on a budget. Im gonna try 3 plants to start off with, growing in 5 gal buckets. with coco liners in the bottom and drilled drainage holes on water catchers. Room is painted flat white to save me money on panda or Mylar. I've got a humidifier and a reader to manage a good humidity during vegetative state. got ph soil test stips to check ph once a week. and I've got a very diluted fertilizer solution ready to give once or twice a week to promote growth. any advice on anything im missing or doing wrong will be greatly appreciated. I'm looking forward to an awesome grow. I will post some pics of the plants when they are sprouted and keep updating periodically as they mature. thanks beforehand blades for any advice and support.
yeah I just have them up at the moment. i will drop them when i get them transplanted into the buckets
So i'm about two days started in germinating. I put 4 seeds in a glass of water and got them sunk and they all showed some sign of a tap root showing. so I then put them in a paper towel moisted and put in my dark grow room and it is about 76 degrees F in there. 12 hours later and the tap roots have not got any longer was trying to get them a little longer before i put them in the humidity dome. hopefully they are ok. anyone have any idea how long I should keep them in the moist towel? I can post pics if necessary.
Once the tap roots show you should put them right into the soil. The tap root isn't growing any longer because it's not in a good environment for a tap root to grow, nothing likes to grow in a paper towel. If you have to germ in a glass of water, go straight from the water to your soil. All this moving germed seeds around from one place to another causes damage to the tap root, which is the last thing you want. Get them in some soil (carefully and gently) and they should be fine. Next time, plant them straight in the soil or crack them in a glass of water and then put them in soil. Your setup looks nice SE. Just make sure to keep those lights close. HTH
appreciate the advice. my first time germinating anything. maybe tonight then I will put them in some soil. i've got a humidity dome. I heard those are good for seedlings.
Humidity domes are good for seedlings, they like high humidity. I'm assuming you mean put the pots in the humidity dome, correct (just want to be sure). For future reference, skip the paper towel entirely. The only people I know who germinate seeds in paper towels are school children working on a science fair project and pot growers lol. Not trying to offend anyone, I'm just really surprised that canna growers do that since it's such an inefficient way of germinating and it's bad for the tap root. The tiny hairs on the tap root start to grow into the paper towel and it damages the tap root when you remove it from the paper towel (it literally "rips" all these little microscopic root hairs). Unless you actually plant that little bit of paper towel with the seed, it damages the tap root. This is why you don't see experienced conventional gardeners germinating their seeds in a paper towel. With your humidity dome, make sure that you leave the cover a little loose to allow for fresh air exchange inside the humidity dome. This is vital to help prevent pathogens from taking hold. Another big thing that will give your seeds a leg up is some gentle bottom-heat. If you have an old heating pad, set it on low and put it under the pot that your seed is in. You can also put your seedling pots on top of the refrigerator or the dryer (any warm surface). I start about 1,000 veggie and flower seeds inside every winter and the bottom heat really gives seeds a boost.
cool. i'll try straight to the pot with my next seeds. I don't have a heating pad for under the dome. but i assume it's ok to have my 300w warm cfl over it right?
awesome! thanks for the advice. I'm gonna keep this thread going with pics on there progress. will post pics when they break soil. wish me luck and thx again for the help
So I just got the 4 seeds I germed into their cups and put into the humidity dome. I went ahead and took some pics. Anyone let me know if anything looks bad or if I need to adjust anything. Dunno if its possible to have too much light or not. and do I treat seedlings like vegetative state and keep light on constantly or do they need dark time? At the moment I've got a 200w warm CFL above them and two 40w each cool light grow tubes above.
i just germed 5 seeds using the glass method, way too much stress with the paper towel method, I planted under my dome with the t5 light practically touching the top of the 7 inch dome, kept the humidity up around 70-80 percent, temp about the same around 70-90 using a heat mat with no light till first sprout popped then i tented a piece of paper over the non sprouted seed pots and went 24/7 light taking the tents off the pots as they sprouted, I am currently in week 3, all seeds are still alive and in veg, there all doing great headed into my third and 4th sets of leaves. This is my first grow as well. I used t5 lights for germ seedling stage and now have moved to 400 watt mh for veg. I purchased an Apollo 600 watt digital dimmable ballast with both mh and hps capabilities and bulbs it was less than 150 dollars on amazon, has great reviews. I will switch to 600 watt hps for flower, I am planning a scrog now due to the fact I have way more plants than I anticipated due to reading online that 3/4 of my currently alive plants should be dead by now. LOL good grow though man keep it up
Hmm i think Ive heard that before about the no lights until they break the surface. maybe I should go shut them lights off
The lights are fine. Think about how seeds sprout in nature. The sun shines on them all day and they come up fine. You don't want any light on your tap root, but if your seed is in soil, the tap root will be in the dark regardless of whether the light is on. Seeds in soil do better with a light on, it's how they are naturally programmed to grow-towards the light. HTH
makes absolute sense. Thank you very much. I think the whole germinating and seedling process is the most nervous part for me since I know that is when they are the most susceptible to perish.
I hear ya! Now do you see why the whole germ in a paper towel and keep them in the dark thing is so silly? The best way to do it is usually the simplest way, which is also the least stressful for the plant. It helps to try and keep in mind how things happen in nature. That way you can pick and choose which methods to follow. Your seeds are going to be just fine. Give them as close to natural conditions as possible, then don't mess with them too much and you will be harvesting beautiful buds in no time!
When I am germinating seeds i do use the paper towel method. This method has worked every time for me, and normally takes 3 days. If you do choose to use this method again, make sure your paper towel is soaked then fold in half twice. Place the paper towel on something that wont absorb the water, and keep in the dark, like a paper bag. Best of luck on the grow.
i used root riot to start mine so i was worried about light leaks and did the no light thing although after the first sprouted i did go light 24/7 and seemed to have no problems with the rest of them.
I sweated it too bro but like everyone is saying baby your plants, watch over them, enjoy the process, but don't rush to fix things that may or may not need fixing take the time to do Google searches and try to find the problems or let them play out, most things go away naturally. I just take care of the environment and let nature do its thing.