Hey Everyone, This is My first post on here, so a big hello! Looking forward to getting to know a few of you and getting lots of expert help on this project of mine. I have never grown before but have been reading up about it on and off for the last 10 years so I would say I have a decent amount of basic knowledge but have yet to put it into practice. So here goes! So as i mentioned, this has been a long time in the planning. I dont have a lot of space for this, it's the height that is the problem, I only have about 170cm so i have opted to go for a DR60 grow tent. I was planning on going for an auto flowering lowryder hybrid but I got a few seeds of Voodoo form a friend so thought i may as well have a run with those first. DAY 1 - 1st Feb I germinated the seeds using the paper towel method. 2 of the seeds sprouted within 24 hours, the other took another 12 hours for it to split. DAY 3 - 4th Feb I had read that its ok to plant as soon as they split so I mixed up some John Innes No. 1 Soil, Perlite and Vermiculite (7parts /2 Parts /1 part ) and popped them into small planting containers and under a 125W (actual wattage) Blue CFL in a small disposable Propagator (Lid off when lights on) under an 18/6 lighting schedule. DAY 5 - 6th Feb Only 2 of the seedlings are growing well. The other one looks a bit of a mutant!! The biggest one... The runt on the left... Another Shot... And the last one... Anyway, thats all for now, I'll post more in a couple of days when there is more to tell, Abe.
The roots have started to creep through the fibre pots on 2 of the seedlings. I was a bit worried the pot was gonna be too strong for the roots to grow through and i was planning to completely repot, but as they were sprouting through i decided just to repot the fibre cell right into the soil... The little runt has started to grow a TINY set of first leaves and the roots are just visible through the fibre pot so i'm keeping it going in case it pulls through. Here's a few photos.. family photo... No 1... and No 2... Thats all for now... Abe
Sorry for lack of updates... now that my tent has arrived it means could put them onto 18/6 as planned. Here's some shots from a few days ago: And here are some more pics from this morning. I have noticed some browning/yellowing on the first set of leaves but have read that this is quite normal. You can see it one of the pics up there.. The tops of the plants are doing great. plenty of growth and they are staying nice and compact like i wanted them to... Any thoughts on the discolouration folks? should i be worried? thanks for any feedback! Abe
Not sure about that browning, maybe the soil you started with had to many nutes in it for your seedlings. I've never heard of that kind of soil so I don't know...
thanks guys... yeah, its a seeding compost so maybe there are too many nutes. gonna re-pot into the No 3 soil in the next week. will keep watering, should be ok. the top leaves are looking good. Abe
aberweed, your seedlings look good. I wouldn't worry about the browning on the lower leaves. What is your plan for keeping them short?
You know, you'd think the title of the journal would have clued me in to the LST angle. I guess not. I'm a big LST enthusiast. I tie down all my plants. For plants that have grown from seed, I employ LBH's 4-Way LST Technique, which is stickied in the Advanced Growing Techniques forum. It works really well if you like short, wide bushes with many, many tops. And if you are flowering with CFLs, that's what you want. I have not done a SCROG grow yet. Yes, actually, I do think you've gone into big pots too soon. But that's OK. I've done the same thing myself, and as long as you are aware of the potential issues, you will be fine. Issue number one: watering This is the real issue. You need to water seedlings with frequent light waterings. In a big pot, you can't tell if the time to water draws close by hefting the pot in your hands and feeling the weight of the water. The seedling cannot use most of the water in the pot, because it does not have the root system, so the weight of the pot stays the same, regardless of the state of the soil in the immediate vicinity of the seedling. So, you will just have to guess when to water, or try to poke around without disturbing the seedling. You just need to keep the soil around the seedling moist. Once you have the fourth leafset coming in, you can start to let her dry out between waterings. The seedling stage has ended and you are now in the vegetation stage. The remaining issues are minor, but real. Issue number two: settling Over time, with repeated waterings, your soil will settle and compact. The soil line will drop. The plant will drop with it. Lower leaves will be in darkness. If you are tying stuff down to the edge of the pot (LST), the edge of the pot is higher up on the plant than might be ideal. This is not a big deal but it is an inconvenience and a constant reminder that you screwed up going to the big pot too early. Who needs a constant reminder that he screwed up? Not me. If I need a reminder of my screw-ups, my wife will always oblige. I don't need my pot plants chiming in. Keep it down in there! Bitches. Issue number three: perlite Over time, with repeated waterings, the perlite in the soil migrates to the surface. Perlite is lighter than water. This is because perlite is suffused with the lightness of being. If you have enough perlite in there (I likes me sum perlite), you end up with a plant encased in a rock shell. Try stuffing your finger into that up to the second knuckle. I don't think so. And if you repot at that point, the sexy rootball shot is ruined by that unsightly perlite crust. Sure, your GC friends won't say anything, but you know they are tittering at you behind your back. Little bastards. So those are the pitfalls associated with premature transplantation that I am aware of. There are no show stoppers, and I would not recommend repotting now to undo what was done. The less you stress the leetle seedlings, the better. You can always repot later. Or not. I didn't, and it worked out OK. Except for the tittering.
hey Alatar.. many thanks for your post i was just doing some reading on the root systems not reaching down that far. Its quite cold at night here so i might get a heat blanket which may help dry out that bottom soil until the roots get down there. I have some other seeds that i think i might use if these feck up... im in no hurry,, just want to nail the technique so i can get max quality yield from my small space. I'll keep you up to date! RE: wife - HEHEHE Abe
Hey folks... more photos.. more brown edges on the bottom leaves. mmm. heres some pics of the plants; one of the tent and my tambourine airflow generators (T.A.G.'s) hahaha any more thoughts on those brown patches? starting on the tips of the next row... N deficiency maybe? cheers guys! Abe
It seems early in the game for that. What is the pH of your runoff? That's always question number one in a soil grow. Assuming the pH is dialed in, you could start feeding, perhaps at one quarter of the recommended dosage. I wonder if the early transplant has anything to do with it? Root issues, perhaps. If so, then a little time should sort that out. You've got your 4th leafsets coming in. I don't think those are seedlings anymore. You've got yourself a couple of pot plants. You can start to let the soil dry out between waterings. I have the same issue. I do use a heating pad for cuttings and I plan to use it for seedlings. But I don't think a heating pad will do anything for those plants in those big pots. There is nothing to be gained by drying out the bottoms of the pots with heat. The plants would probably really like warmer soil, but I doubt the heat put out by a heating pad could travel so far. I have resorted to running an electric heater on occasion.
I'm lost too. Did you top it? Fim? I cut leaves all the time, but that's really more for aesthetics than anything. Oh well, the plants look fairly healthy, I wouldn't be too worried. It does sound like you're at the right point for topping though.
looks like your off to a good start. if you got a minute check my grow out http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/522604-first-grow-clf-bagseed-lst-commenced.html