1st Grow: Grow Log... and how do they look?

Hey,

My friend finally decided to give growing a shot. Did a lot of reading and prep work and now finally has a little something to show for it. Had 32 seeds total: 10 California Orange, 10 Ice, 10 Bubblicious and 2 Sour Diesel Seeds (found in a bag of sour diesel's... he'll keep an eye on these).

Anyway, he planted the seeds in rockwool almost 6 days ago. The rockwool was soaked in tap water for 15 minutes. Since then he found out you're supposed to soak it for 24 hours in a pH adjust, nutrient enriched water. So, he's been misting them a few times a day with water with a pH between 6-6.5 and .25/.25/.25 nutrient enriched with General Hydroponics nutrients (.25 teaspoons of FloraBloom, FloraMicro, FloraGrow per gallon, adjusted to the size of the spray bottle). The rockwool is very damp, but there's no water pooling underneath or in the tracks of the tray. He has slowed the misting to only a small amount (2-4 sprays) once or twice a day with pH adjusted water with 1ml h2o2/gallon.

2 days ago the first seedling broke the surface and within the next 24 hours 21 more broke the surface. They grew fast for the first 24 hours and got to almost the size in the picture. At that point they were placed a little over 5 feet below a 1000w MH lamp 24/0.

During the next 24 hours (yesterday until now) their vertical growth seemed to slow down a lot, almost to the point of stopping. He thinks that it might be because they stopped stretching when they were moved from the 100w Halogen to the 1000w MH, which obviously puts out a lot more lumens). However, the first two leaves (which will, from his understanding, turn into the first node) have fanned outward and are growing slowly.

The temperature is around 70 degrees with a humidity around 40% right now. He attached a terrarium heating pad attached to the bottom of the tray (supposed to heat 5-10 degrees) so hopefully that'll bring the plants to a higher temp.

I have a few questions (if you'd like any additional information or pictures he'd be more than happy to provide them)...

How do they look?


Is the slowed growth normal until the first leaves get bigger and, if so, when can he expect growth to accelerate?

Is the nutrient enriched misting okay, being I know you shouldn't give nutes for the first 3 weeks or so? He was just worried because he didn't initially soak the rockwool properly.

When should he transplant the seedlings into soil? The soil is ~60% Miracle Gro (he know the stories, but he already has it and a lot of people seem to say it's okay) 20% perlite and 20% vermiculite, just in case your wondering.

Images are attached below and this thread will be updated as they grow... hopefully! The first one was taken yesterday, the rest were taken an hour or two ago and the last one is of a seedling that didn't look so hot (there's only one or two like that, the one pictured being the worst by far and looking a little better now).

Thanks in advance for your help,

Sk8

 

Thanks for all the replies, and I do know a lot about my friends grow .

In sixteen hours he would have planted the seeds one week ago and the first seedling broke the surface 3 days ago (with almost all the rest coming up within the 24 hours after that)

The first true leaves are about 50-75% bigger than they were last night and all the seedlings poking through are now open and above the surface.

As for the nutes, they aren't getting any anymore. The only reason he was giving them was because the rockwool wasn't soaked any any at the beginning. Now they're just getting a mist of 1ml h2o2/gallon of water when the rockwool starts to feel dry (which it hasn't since yesterday).

The light is still a little over 5 feet away. He's nervous about moving it any closer in fear of burning the little guys. He knows that 1000w isn't enough for 22 plants, but he's only gonna transfer the strongest 20, and is assuming that in a week or two he'll be down to 16-18. And if a lot of them look strong, can always add another light a little down the road.

He sucked some water out of the rockwool and it had a pH ~8. He knows this is high, but is it okay until they're transfered to soil? From what he understands the pH is mainly for nutrient uptake and since they're not getting any nutes now, should it be a problem? He obviously wants to bring the pH down, but is not sure how to do it while they're in the rockwool without drowning the seedlings.

The temperature is now ~78, so seem to have that problem under control.

The pictures are from about a half hour ago, the last one being of the guy that didn't look good last night. And, once again, if there's any other info or pictures you'd like just ask.

I'll keep updating this thread as the guys grow up.

 

My friend transplanted 20 seedlings yesterday and 5 more (that were lagging behind) today. They all seem to be progressing nicely and looking better everyday! Ended up with 9 Ice, 7 Bubblicioius, 7 California orange, and 2 Sour Diesel.

I've included some new pictures of the little guys , and will keep you guys posted on further progress, and to post more pictures.

- Sk8

 

My friend hasn't done anything to the little guys since they were transplanted two days ago, but they're looking strong. The leaves have started growing noticeably faster and a second set of leaves are starting to become visible. They're starting to actually look like plants! As always, more pictures.

He put a metal tin with some water in it to help raise the humidity and now it's up to 36%. The light is at about 4.5 feet and the temp is ~71 and ~74 when he's in there with them. (He know, but it's really cold there and there's not much he can do about this until the it gets warmer).

How do they look? One of them has a twisted leaf and a few look a little yellow. Should he be worrying/doing anything about either?


- Sk8

 

sorry man, didn't mean to offend

 

there's a lot there now, but once the 1kW is not enough for all of em we're gonna kill the weak ones. probably only end up with 9-12 by the end.

 

Not much new to report. The leaves appear to be growing faster now than they have been and the second set of leaves are becoming easily visible in most of the plants. The soil is starting to feel dry, but it's moist an inch or two down so gonna hold off until late tomorrow to water. Instead I misted them all today, only 2 sprays of water+h202 each.

The pictures are, in order: california orange, sour diesel, ice, bubblicious, and an overview of a few pots

-Sk8