Supppp people. I guess I'll start one of these journals so ya'll can folllow along with me. A disclaimer: this might be the most ghetto set-up you've seen but hey, whatever. I'm in college. Ive got the hook-up in case my project fails. Bite me. So when I started growing, I used a seed-starting mix in a 6x6 germination container as shown here: After I got back from the weekend (spring break) i saw this: Day one baby. One problem: I was poorly prepared. All I had was one low watt fluorescent that was the wrong color spectrum too. I had spent all my money on spring break so I would have to wait. After they sprouted (about 2 or 3 days) I cut out the best looking one and put it in a pot. At first I left the other two for dead, then I thought, why not? A little extra ganja never hurt nobody. I cut up some Ron Carlos rum bottles I had lying around from some bad times and voila: DAY TWO Then I eventually came up with a plan: 2 plants in the closet (got the right bulbs) and one on the window sill just to experiment. Compared to everyone elses, mine seem to be growing slow. I've attributed this to the wrong lights at the beginning so from now on, I just subtract 3 days from the actual days since that's how long it took me to buy those expensive lights! Anyways...prepare for ghetto setup DAY THREE Yeah it's ghetto. Thanks. And now... DAY FOUR After this, I decided the stems are way too long. I read on another thread to keep them covered by an "anthill" of soil...so I did. DAY FIVE Windowsill: This one looks like it's doing alot better than the other two. Closet: Also, I normally just cut out the biodegradable unit from the seed starters and planted that in the new soil, but for this one ^^^ I cut away the paper and put the seedling in the soil by itself. The other two still have the paper and the seed starting mix around them. I read that seed starter has like no nutrients so I was like...experiment! Also moved lights closer. Aaaaand I'll keep this more organized and updated as I go! Thanks. To recap: 3 bagseed seedlings: - 2 closet seedlings under 2 Daylight 100W bulbs, 18/6 light cycle --1 planted right in soil --1 in seed starting jiffy unit - 1 windowsill seedling under regular sunlight cycle - 1 fan - No nutes yet, just seed jiffy seed starter and Miracle Grow Moisture Control Potting mix Ya Any comments?? All photos taken with my iPhone.
lol at your disclaimer you'll be surprised how ghetto some of our setups are, like mine but hey man u need to bring your bulbs way closer, it looks like your seedlings are stretching very severely. 2-3 inches is the optimum distance for cfl bulbs, but really i think anything farther than 4 is way too far. good luck, ill be watching
Thanks, brah. Ya actually in the last pic of the closet jiffy mix plant, at the top left, you can see the lamp after I moved it. The lights are like super close now. Soon, I will be investing in and AC-to-2 socket cord so that there won't be any pesky lamp shades. Lol, just clicked your sig and realized I'd already read your thread hahaha. I don't think I'm nearly as productive as you though, making that whole grow box and everything. At least until I have to...Right now, I think my only other purchases will be nutrients, the socket, some mylar for the front and back walls, a ph tester....aaaaand, thats it. I hope my stems haven't stretched too far already...=/ I don't even know who to call for some seedy mids, lol and I don't think I coul bear one of these dying soon...or ordering seeds online and waiting for them to arrive...lol I'm so impatient. This week has gone by sooooo slow just thinking about these little (hopefully) girls.
Hey man this is what I suggest you do Cover the stem with soil until they're back at a good height again. The buried stems will eventually become root so don't worry. And while you're waiting for the socket cords, supplement ur plant with sunlight, it helped so much with mine, plants LOVE sunlight. good luck, your girls will survive and thrive if you show them you care
Thanks for the advice dog. Yeah so this is what the setup looks like now, proper plant pics come in the morning. Notice I've tied the blue lamp to the closet shelf so I could lean it closer without it falling completely over. Also, the white lamp is now directly over one seedling instead of in the middle of both: But yeah, I'm definitely gonna add alot more soil too them right now. Only problem with sunlight is that I usually work every day from afternoon till late at night so I like to leave them in the light for when I get home. But seeing as the sunlight plant is doing so well without 18 hours of artificial light, I'm gonna start moving my plants out for at least the few hours that I am home. Then put them back under the artificial for when I'm away. Only thing is...my windowsill is completely full with a planter of cucumbers, tomatoes, and hot peppers, lol. I think I'll move those to the balcony or something. I have roomates so I wanted to be cautious about the plants I made public. Thanks!
hey man, Ya, ghetto setups work, mine has been less than $100 to date, with that moisture control soil i didnt use nutrients for over three weeks, you wanna wait a lil till they more mature, seedlings are sensitive to nutes, the biggest thing is light, with a fan like that blowing directly at the light i was putting my CFL bulbs as close as an inch to the seedling, i have heard of guys putting seedlings right inside the coil, but personally i think that is way too close,
Lol, that'd be ridic...not trying to start any fires here haha. Anyways dogs Day 6 has started and here's how they look! Here's Sunny: She's doing pretty well for only 12 hours of sunlight everyday. I wish I could be home more often so I could put the other two 18-hour-ers on the sill too, but alas. All is not lost though, they're growing pretty well too. Here's the "clothed" seedling (jiffy cell planted) Probably the most progressive of all three. And the "naked" seedling (taken out of jiffy mix and cell starter) The slowest but I'll stick with her! Picked up a cord and some sockets today at Lowes. Hopefully today's lighting will more efficiently reach em than having to pass through a lamp shade first! Gonna give a little water and add some soil, then I'm off to right a speech outline and go to bed. But for my girls, the day is just beginning. =p
Much better setup. Im subbed Theyre gonna need more light sooner or later. Either put another y adapter on each side or put bigger bulbs on.
Thanks! Yeah, I'll definitely be buying some more lights soon...probably next week. I saw this GIANT bulb at Lowes today that was like 20 bucks, daylight, and put out I think like 9000 lumens or something lol. There was definitely nothing COMPACT about that CFL, it was like double the size. Also, after taking pictures and doing plant stuff, I'm now seeing little green splotches in my vision for like a minute afterwords...looks like i'm gonna have to grow some grow room eyes for this project lol
ha yeah man thos light splotches mess with my eyes too sunglasses next time make your plants think your cooler too. cool grow btw your girls are a few days behind mine lookin good
ya its lookin a lot better, one thing though, you should find a way to tie that plug in outlet and Y splitter to that cord(like with a zip tie, nothing metal), it would be really shitty if your lights fell on your plant, i have already read so many stories of lights and fans falling on plants because they were not secured properly
Ohh crap! I do have zipties lol, thanks for reminding me. I got a pack of them like 2 years ago to secure a tag to a scooter and never used the other like 29 left in there! I'll definitely do that. Here's a quick update on Speedy Gonzales Day 7: Oooops didn't turn the fan off! Oh well, not that blurry right? Sunny's doing good too, it's dark now though so I'm not gonna disturb her anymore than she already is by the streetlights, etc.
Quick question: I read something about giving your end product flavor by feeding it flavors mixed with its regular water (orange juice, vanilla extract, etc.) Anyone heard of this and if so, when do I begin the mix?
i have never heard of that, i did read that some of the guys who use mollasses have reported "sweeter" smoke. but the only thing i know of to manipulate taste is to control your micro-nutrients (not macro-nutrients N-P-K) what i read was a two page high times ad for botanicares line up,( i do not remember specifically what additives they were advertising but i am 85% sure Liquid-Karma was one of them.) the ad had a fairly long scientific paper explaining how the plant uses its micro-nutrients to process certain carbohydrates and other nutrients better/differently and how it effects photosynthesis, Ten it explained how even with use of their regular line up the plant does not get the right amount(of micro-nutrients or carbs) in the right combination to process those carbs as efficiently, then the part of the ad that made me remember it, i actually plan on looking it up sometime soon, The ad then claims that if you use this additive line up in conjunction with your choice line up of botanicare nutes and follow all recommendations to a T that you will not only be able to change your flavour but you can get schedules for the additives that allow you to even choose your flavour!!! the end line of the ad was "how would you like to be able to turn a bag seed from your skunk into beautiful buds that taste like cotton candy or bubblegum" im not sure if the ad is true or just claims, but it was really really LEGIT good luck on your search for a flavour change, hope this is useful and is not just nonsense.
Shit...we got gnats people. On speedy my prize! =[ And thanks for the advice dyenasty. I'll definitely be researching that
Lady bugs, neem oil, sand layer on top of soil are all ways to fight them. They lay eggs in your topsoil.
Sweet, thanks. Yeah I read in some other threads that a little bit of soapy water should do the trick. I think it worked a little bit. Just until I can get some good stuff. Anyways, I came home today and Speedy's definitely shootin' up! So is Sunny, but it's dark now. The red-headed step child is still taking her sweet time though =p DAY 9 Lol I feel like I'm neglecting the other one, but she's just not behaving =p
Just read somewhere that the faster plants are usually males...=( Speedy isn't really THAT fast is she? I like to think my other one is just a little on the slow side...ughhh i can't wait until she pre flowers! The suspense! So what if he's a male...i chop him down...and do what with it? I might plant it in my college's garden one night or something =p