Steve McStoferson
New Member
So i finally got around to starting my first grow.
I started germing 12 seeds yesterday using the paper towel method. I'm going to document everything I do in this journal in hopes you guys can tell me what I'm doing wrong, or where I could make improvements.
To start germing, i folder a piece of paper towel into 4's and wet it with warm water and placed it on the plate. I then laid out 12 seeds, and put another warm folded piece of towel over them, covered them with another paper plate and put them in a dark cabinet. I checked it every few hours and put a fresh piece of warm towel over them. Any recommendations on this method? I haven't seen any sprouts as of now, but I know it can take a while.
Materials:
I constructed a grow box which measures 4'H x 55"W x 30"L.
I am running a shop light with 2 40W cool white bulbs outputting 6400 lumens
I'm also going to run 2 45W CFL's which are soft white and output 5200 lumens
I picked up some potting soil yesterday but haven't really gotten to look at it yet. I got an organic soil without any nutrients.
I have to go back and pick up some 5 gal buckets, but I'm not in a hurry for those as I plan on just using party cups until they're big enough to transplant.
I constructed the box with 1" pvc pipe and will be ordering some mylar to wrap it in. Pics will come when it's completed.
as far as fans go, I plan on picking up a cheap box fan in the next couple of days, along with humidity and ph meters.
The setup is in my basement which gets a little humid, but is mostly just stale air. I will have a more accurate reading when i get the humidity meter. Do you think having a box fan circulating in the room will be sufficient for them? Unfortunately there isn't a window in the room that can be opened.
I'm sure I'm missing something, but ill come back and update the thread with my progress and pictures when I get everything planted.
I think I'm going to just veg and flower with the cfl's, as I wont have enough funds available to pick up a HID lamp until probably early next year. I will stick with a 400-600W MH/HPS combo lamp and continue to use the smaller CFL's for the sides.
I don't plan on growing all 12 plants to maturity as I don't have anywhere as much light as I would need, I'm just hoping for 2 ladies, and the rest is just my cushion. Considering my lack of lighting, do you think 11,600 lumens properly placed would be good to veg these small babies until i can sex them? I'm also not banking on all the seeds successfully sprouting, so that will reduce the number quite a bit also. I know during flowering, the plants need a lot of light, so if I am only flowering 2 ladies, do you think 11,600 lumens is sufficient? Again, I'm not looking for a huge harvest, just something decent to carry me over for a few months until the next harvest.
Anyway, it's been great learning here, I'm really excited to start growing my own, i think I'm more excited to actually grow something from seed than anything
Buckle in and enjoy the ride
7/26/2009 3:30pm
12 seeds of a random bag of mids have started germing
I started germing 12 seeds yesterday using the paper towel method. I'm going to document everything I do in this journal in hopes you guys can tell me what I'm doing wrong, or where I could make improvements.
To start germing, i folder a piece of paper towel into 4's and wet it with warm water and placed it on the plate. I then laid out 12 seeds, and put another warm folded piece of towel over them, covered them with another paper plate and put them in a dark cabinet. I checked it every few hours and put a fresh piece of warm towel over them. Any recommendations on this method? I haven't seen any sprouts as of now, but I know it can take a while.
Materials:
I constructed a grow box which measures 4'H x 55"W x 30"L.
I am running a shop light with 2 40W cool white bulbs outputting 6400 lumens
I'm also going to run 2 45W CFL's which are soft white and output 5200 lumens
I picked up some potting soil yesterday but haven't really gotten to look at it yet. I got an organic soil without any nutrients.
I have to go back and pick up some 5 gal buckets, but I'm not in a hurry for those as I plan on just using party cups until they're big enough to transplant.
I constructed the box with 1" pvc pipe and will be ordering some mylar to wrap it in. Pics will come when it's completed.
as far as fans go, I plan on picking up a cheap box fan in the next couple of days, along with humidity and ph meters.
The setup is in my basement which gets a little humid, but is mostly just stale air. I will have a more accurate reading when i get the humidity meter. Do you think having a box fan circulating in the room will be sufficient for them? Unfortunately there isn't a window in the room that can be opened.
I'm sure I'm missing something, but ill come back and update the thread with my progress and pictures when I get everything planted.
I think I'm going to just veg and flower with the cfl's, as I wont have enough funds available to pick up a HID lamp until probably early next year. I will stick with a 400-600W MH/HPS combo lamp and continue to use the smaller CFL's for the sides.
I don't plan on growing all 12 plants to maturity as I don't have anywhere as much light as I would need, I'm just hoping for 2 ladies, and the rest is just my cushion. Considering my lack of lighting, do you think 11,600 lumens properly placed would be good to veg these small babies until i can sex them? I'm also not banking on all the seeds successfully sprouting, so that will reduce the number quite a bit also. I know during flowering, the plants need a lot of light, so if I am only flowering 2 ladies, do you think 11,600 lumens is sufficient? Again, I'm not looking for a huge harvest, just something decent to carry me over for a few months until the next harvest.
Anyway, it's been great learning here, I'm really excited to start growing my own, i think I'm more excited to actually grow something from seed than anything
Buckle in and enjoy the ride
7/26/2009 3:30pm
12 seeds of a random bag of mids have started germing