RVgrowers 1st Stealth Grow of Afghan Kush Ryder and Kannabia Special

[paw-paw]

just had a thought....how close do u have the lights to u're plants? they need to be about an inch or two above the rim of the cups.

 

[RVgrower]

Okay everyone, here's those pics like I promised:

First here's the tools we came up with to make the holes in the cups, a candle and a nail did the trick real nice!

So then we had our nice holes for drainage...

Then we added the perlite in the bottom half or more like third of the cup, above the hole...

Then we took and mixed about 60% FFOF with 40%, or less of perlite and filled almost the rest of the cup, leaving room at the top...

Then we topped it with a 1/4th inch or so of pure FFOF for the seeds to sit in...

So then I put lil' miss AKR in this one, you may not see her reddish husk, but she's in there, just barely covered with soil..

And here is Miss Kannabia, who has a greenish husk, and again, she's probably sitting under a bit of soil so you may not see her in there....

And then I put them under the light next to the veggie sprouts....

Soo, I have actually removed the veggie sprouts from all extra lighting and the MMJ babies are going to be in there all alone, which is kinda good, cuz now they each have their own light...but they STILL have not cracked fully open and shown their first leaves, the Cotyldons I guess they are called....AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!! I am SO losing my patience with these 2 girls!!! I can't believe they haven't sprouted in over 15 days now! But, I have to admit, I am to blame....I should have let them soak for at least 24 hours, and I didn't....my fault. And I probably shouldn't have used the cheaper, but recyclable, pressed paper seedling & germination tray and cells...they can't take the higher heat/lighting dryness and then repeated wetting so next time I'm doing that different as well...

In fact, I soaked 10 more bag seeds , in Superthrive infused water, and in total darkness, from 2:45pm the day before yesterday until about 5:45 yesterday afternoon, making that a 28 hour soak, and they ALL sank, YEAH!!! So then I took them and put them in the wet paper towels, folded in 4ths, and I put them in between the middle layers, and put them in a quart sized ziplock bag, squished out the air, but didn't try to zip it, after squishing out the air, it is making a vacuum of sorts anyhow...
So I looked just now and saw that they are starting to crack, 4 of them have so far, anyhow..but I put them back in the dark after misting the towel once more, and back into darkness........mu-ah! ha ha ha ha!!! So I will pull them out for a look again tomorrow afternoon, and if they are showing bigger tails, or roots, that is, then I will snap a pic for you all, but I'm REALLY hoping I have some good news on the 2 late late late bloomers....

Till then, yawl, keep it green!

 

[Mr. Krip]

RVG, my entire first journal is about failed germinations, so I feel your pain! Once you get your "technique" down, it will go much easier.

 

[paw-paw]

they may have rotted w/so much moisture & so little warm air. don't despair,it's like mr krip says u gotta' get u're technique down. i been growin' since the early 80's....of course, i've been tryin' to grow since the 70's..LOL! my old handle was BLACKTHUMB THE BARBARIAN! i was a plant killin' machine! LOL! hang in there, u'll get it!!!!!

 

[paw-paw]

almost forgot....hempy cups look nice.

 

[RVgrower]

Thanks for the support you guys, it really makes me feel better right now...I have to report, it's over for my first try...the other seed , Kannabia, was rotted also...okay, so I am not going to cry into my Hempy cups! I am already shaking it off, as I am DETERMINED to get this done! I am working with about 5 bag seeds right now, probably some Mexican brown, who knows....we will all see if they sprout and live...Now as of 7:30 pm, tonight, the 31 of March, I am actually starting 5 new seeds, the others are all dead, and this time, I went with the paper towel method, in the dark, trying to keep it in a warm spot, but even tho it gets hot here in the day, we get real cold at night still, so I am always fighting temperature fluctuations and low humidity....
So let me ask you guys this, I am saving my last 2 Afghan Kush Ryders till I have successfully stated some bag seeds and feel secure knowing I am not going to waste seeds that are worth a LOT, since they are my future medicine! Anyhow, srry, butI am trying to ask you, since Iam actually starting a second grow now, doing things different, should I close this journal and start a new one for the new grow? I feel I should...but if you say yes, can you tell me how do I link my first journal in a link on the bottom of my posts by my signature like you guys do?
And thanks again for all your support everyone, I am a bit disappointed and embarrassed, but I have to press on, and I am trying so hard to match your success with these skills such as germinating, which for me, is THE hardest thing to do when I am TRYING to do it, but when I toss a seed off the front door and thinking it's crap hoping it will be reclaimed by the earth, only to find the damn thing sprouted in dry rocks a week or two later! So I think that's a big thing, I over water...so I am letting these new seeds dry out, in fact I remembered that I wanted to put plastic wrap on top of my lids, as I saw a guy do that and his started that way, plus I taped it on, so I can't mist it till they sprout, but do you think that's a good thing to do? I mean putting the clear plastic wrap on it...one seed has already risen to the surface and is splitting across the back seam, wouldn't be surprised to see that a sprout by tomorrow or Sat...I only planted them about 1/4th to 1/8th inch in the soil, and just pushed the surrounding soil up against her sides then covered her on top with a tiny amount, enough to just cover her...
All input on my questions is GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks everyone for all you did!

Much love and Bright Blessings to all of you!!!

 

[HempRocket]

High RV, I vote to keep this journal going. No sense in starting another one when all the background is here already.

Don't be disappointed or embarrassed, we all make mistakes. One thing that I have learned growing vegetables and cannabis is to just let the plants be. Tend to them every so often but other than that, just let them grow. You are absolutely right in that sometimes seeds sprout and flourish in dry rocks!!! I know there is a fine line between neglect and too much attention...you have to find that and you will have a great grow.

 

[RVgrower]

High RV, I vote to keep this journal going. No sense in starting another one when all the background is here already.

Don't be disappointed or embarrassed, we all make mistakes. One thing that I have learned growing vegetables and cannabis is to just let the plants be. Tend to them every so often but other than that, just let them grow. You are absolutely right in that sometimes seeds sprout and flourish in dry rocks!!! I know there is a fine line between neglect and too much attention...you have to find that and you will have a great grow.

High back to you HempRocket! Wow, thanks so much for that vote of confidence, it sure helps right now! Yeah, like I said, I wasn't going to give up, but I was disappointed, can't say I didn't try, but then again, I got going too hasty, and after all that planning, I let my inpatient get the best of me from day 1! At least journaling helps, especially when we are all kind-of anonymous, but are all after the same goal, to grow the best medicine/ herb we all can, and doing it by sharing all our experiences is just genius to me! I mean, you're talking I can't imagine how many thousands of years of experience growing we have on here just with you more experienced growers that have been growing consistently great medicine/ herb...

Okay then, I will take your advice HempRocket, and keep the journal, so this is now the beginning of the 2nd part of these, hopefully, only 2 part journal, full of the drama of my early failures followed in the end by the joy of my eventual success and the eventual results for me medically, which I can hardly wait to report on....

Well then, here's my 1st part 2 question, officially, HempRocket, or anyone else who wants to answer:

DO you think that covering my "Hempy-style" cups with clear cling wrap is the right thing to do? I mean this way I figure they will retain enough moisture that I won't have to worry a bit about them drying out....But then again, I'm worried about that retaining TOO much moisture as well....SOooo, what do you vote?

And on a funny note...I have been worried about the light at night shining up a bit thru my skylight at night, especially since my RV park is next to a main highway running north out of town, and we are lower than the highway next to us, and my place is, OF COURSE!, backed right up into a spot right NEXT TO the highway! LOL! SO! I never looked this last 4 or 5 days, as I was trying to get those seeds to go, and I didn't think it was too bad, I thought, "It probably just loos like we just left our bright light on in the shower or bathroom...and then tonight I went and started my wife's car as she was getting ready to go to work on the night shift, and she said, "Honey, turn around and look at the top of the trailer." And so I did, and to my horror, I had about what looked light 9 billion candle power shining straight up and through the 25-30 ft tree that kind of hangs over that side of our RV!! It was BAD! I mean, it was almost like a spotlight signaling a carnival or circus! I almost died and ran in and shut those lights off! SOO! Tomorrow I have to come up with a way to keep the light from shining through the skylight above the plants at night only...and as usual, it has to be removable and can not alter the RV in any way.... So, here goes...gotta think on this..

Again, thanks so MUCH, HempRocket! You are awesome, and I really really appreciate your attention to my grow, even this it's taking longer now and all. But I won't give up, I can't, so I will figure this out, one step at a time...

 

[Mr. Krip]

RVG, there's nothing wrong with using plastic wrap as a humidity dome, but you should poke some holes in it to allow air circulation. For covering the skylight, you can try some panda film with velcro. This will allow you to easily remove it if/when needed.

 

[HempRocket]

. For covering the skylight, you can try some panda film with velcro. This will allow you to easily remove it if/when needed.

That's a really good idea.

 

[RVgrower]

RVG, there's nothing wrong with using plastic wrap as a humidity dome, but you should poke some holes in it to allow air circulation. For covering the skylight, you can try some panda film with velcro. This will allow you to easily remove it if/when needed.

Thanks HR! I really appreciate your continual involvement with my grow, it is really encouraging to read your journals and especially to get your advice personally. Thanks for the tip on the holes in the humidity dome, I had forgot that part! So then nix on watering until my seeds pop up green, right? And with the daytime temps steadily increasing, today we hit about 80, and the lights on as well, I am getting day time temps up in the low 90's.....doesn't that seem a bit high to you guys?

So I fashioned a makeshift skylight cover, which will work in both ways: 1, it will keep the light IN at night, and 2. It will keep the excessive heat OUT during the extremely HOT summer temps I have where I live...and now that I am in an RV, my mitigating factors have increased exponentially, such as my excessive temperature fluctuations...

SO I still have 2 AKR seeds sitting by and waiting till I make progress with the bag seeds and KNOW for SURE I won't botch another set of expensive and very important seeds that are supposed to be my much needed medicine..

And on a really nice note, I got an AWESOME deal on some more medical seeds, I know we have to be careful how we speak of some things, and some people have right out listed their seed suppliers, and some have said you can't, so if anyone wants to know about the AWESOME , I MEAN AWESOME deal I got, that's only going on for 3 more days they say, then PM me... I will say this though, I found them thru this site/ mag....and I got a 10% discount for putting in the discount code, "420"......

Okay, so far, no green showing yet...and another question....if a seed for some reason ended up on top of the soil, is that OK to leave it there, on top of the soil? Or should I keep them covered up always? I've never even accidentally started some by leaving them on TOP of the soil, I ALWAYS had pushed them down into the dirt....so when I found a few of the the germinated bag seeds that I planted in the "Hempy soil cups" a few days ago, on TOP of the soil like 24 or 36 hours later, I didn't know why it was like that, but I didn't want that little half germinated bag seed to get cooked under those super bright CFL's, being all exposed like that, so that's why I pushed a bit more soil up against the sides of the seed ever so gently, then a tiny bit on top, but I DIDN'T "pack" it in or "tamp" it down all hard , I just dropped a tiny bit on top of it just enough to cover the seed, just barely. Then I had it under the lights for about 36 hours before I put the plastic wrap on it yesterday morning. Then this AM I poked those holes in it after reading your post. So I will take pics later tonight, and post them and another update tomorrow.

Thanks again for all you do, HempRocket, and Mr Krip! And paw-paw! You guys are all awesome, to me! Thank you all so very very much!

 

[HempRocket]

Thanks HR!

It was really Mr. Krip's idea...

 

[Growing247]

Hello RVgrower, I noticed you are growing Afghan Kush Ryder. I too am growing a feminized World of Seeds Afghan Kush Ryder and also a Feminized World of Seeds Afghan Kush (non auto flowering). I got both seeds for free with a purchase from Single Seed Center, a 420 Magazine site sponsor. Both seeds germinated very quickly and this is my first time growing an auto flowering strain. I usually only grow clones. I am a medical marijuana patient but have rencently started growing my own medicine. Around the fifth or sixth cycle I started growing this Afghan Kush Ryder. I put in under 20-4 for around 15 days and then had to put it under 12/12 because I only have 1 flower room with a 1000 watt HPS where I was flowering a bunch of normal strains. I have been flowering the plant under 12/12 and the only difference I see is is it takes longer for the plant to mature. Although I am not an autoflowering expert it seems like it should be done by now but it is not. Here are a few photos of my Afghan Kush Ryder...sorry for the ones that are blurry. The lower buds...

Notice how large this plant is for a ruderalis...

The pepsi challenge. Pic is blurry...bud looks much better in real life

I have some pix of the non autoflowering feminized "BIG SISTER" to this plant in my gallery. Check it out if you are a fan of the Afghan Kush. They look exactly the same except the Big sister has much larger colas.

 

[RVgrower]

It was really Mr. Krip's idea...

OOOPS! Thanks for the heads up, HR! and I'm SO sorry, Mr. Krip! Gotta give credit where credit was due! That's what I was TRYING to do in the first place! But with you guys posting back to back I get you confused, and that's MY fault, no excuse for not making sure who the hell you are talking about! So again, thanks, HR, and THANKS! Mr. Krip! You guys BOTH rock, and I really appreciate all you guys are doing to help me...when and IF! my seeds ever sprout, this will be a success share by us ALL! And with the help of my wife too!
WHY do you guys think it is that I'm seeing so many stories of people getting their's to crack at three days, or less, just like mine, and then when they put them in soil, just like mine, their's grows into a true little sprout with a node or 2 on the 3rd day in the dirt, but mine does not?...I will have put MY latest cracked seeds into the dirt just 3 days ago tomorrow, and I see NO sign of anything going on. I re-covered those 2 seeds that seemed to have wiggled up to the surface and were almost completely uncovered...and I thought they needed to be in the dirt to keep cracking, germinating, whatever, and so I did that, and just barely pushed a tiny amount of soil mixture up against the sides and a tiny bit on top, just a tiny bit, I mean, if you blew on it hard, you'd uncover it really easy! But still no sign of life from those or even the other 4 that have been planted in the last 2-3 days and NOT touched in any way..I did 4 the 1st day, 2 more yesterday AM...I have them in the "humidity domes, taped up so no one can touch them, with holes for air flow...If these don't go I don't know what I'm going to do...maybe buy some rock wool cubes...I just don't get it, I am trying SO hard to just get a weed to grow...crazy it seems to me right now in the most frustrating of times...This is good for all of us to journal like this with our grows...we are sharing each other's knowledge and mistakes, I love it, I just wish I could get this sprouting thing down like you guys! LOL! Oh, well, if you guys have ANY ideas on why I can't get my sprouts to appear, please drop me a comment! I'm worried about the high temps, maybe bad medium for the seedling, I just don't know....Till I hear from the sprouts, or one of you guys with any new ideas, I will be waiting...patiently...Got a book to read, and am trying to read more of your journals too right now....Thanks guys! TTYL!

 

[Mr. Krip]

OOOPS! Thanks for the heads up, HR! and I'm SO sorry, Mr. Krip! Gotta give credit where credit was due! ...

LOL...No problem...I probably learned it from Hemp anyway!

 

[RVgrower]

Wow! Cool pix and a very nice looking AKR you've got going there! Yeah, I am so thankful for the pix! At what day of growing are you at at this point? And also, you say yours sprouted so quick and easy, PLEASE! I beg of you to tell me, what technique are you using to germinate your seeds? I can get them to crack, & even had tap roots a 1/4th an inch long or so on the AKR I had and the Kannabia Special that I got as a freebie when I got my seeds thru WOS myself...After 15 days I just saw the seeds rotting it seemed, and I checked & they had rotted sprout "embryos" or whatever it's called when it's still in the partially opened husk...I guess I kept the soil too wet, I never "watered" tho, just misted the soil when it got dry everyday...but that was "seedling" soil mix, 50/50 spaghnum peat moss & vermiculite, ( with a dash of lime as a "wetting agent" the package said....) at first & I didn't get them transplanted into my "Hempy soil cups" that I learned about from BlueDog...they work fantastic for him! He had cups packed FULL of thick, healthy, white roots after just one week in those cups!!!! That's what I am trying so hard to do! I just don't know what piece of the puzzle I am missing, since this is my 1st serious try at a real grow indoors in 25 plus years....I can throw the one's I think are crap out the door & into the driveway gravel, or stick some down into the Pothos houseplant's pot and it doesn't even get watered a lot, & the dang things end up sprouting all the TIME when I don't want them to!!! I appreciate any ideas and info, and thanks for stopping by to check out my grow...yeah, I NEED this AKR for the medicinal values, I am coming off narcotic pills after 5 years and 6 surgeries...I HAVE to have this medicine, and I'm tired of taking my chances with people and products I have no idea about! I WANT to be the one to raise it, love it, take care of it, and then harvest it and let it nourish me and heal me and come full circle.... WE already gro our other veggies and herbs as much as we can, so I especially want to grow THIS! Besides, I don't drive so I can't always go to the dispensary, if they even had one around here, to get what I need for the whole month, and then, I can't afford their prices! I am on a small monthly income, and don't even make my share of the bills and food as it is because of the herbal medicine costs....I need to and have the right to, grow my own and I am going to get this right some how, some way.......thanks so much, and "Nice to meet you, Growing247"!

 

[Mr. Krip]

RVG, it sounds like we've had many similar problems. I had numerous seeds sprout a taproot and never do anything from there. Because of this, I have read a ton on seed germination and solicited a lot of advice from experienced growers (I'm not one of 'em!).

So, first let me say that there are numerous ways to germinate seeds, so what I'm about to say is not the "right" way, but really what I've learned and what works for me...

Also, I think, you basically already know the best advice I could give (aside from STAY AWAY FROM STG GROW CUBES AT ALL COSTS! ):

I can throw the one's I think are crap out the door & into the driveway gravel, or stick some down into the Pothos houseplant's pot and it doesn't even get watered a lot, & the dang things end up sprouting all the TIME when I don't want them to

With MJ, less is more!!! It is a weed, and doesn't need much to survive. Just some air, light, water & nutes. As growers, we can easily do more to hurt them than to help them, especially if we overdo anything. So, as a general rule, always make small adjustments, see how the plants respond, and go from there.

Chances are, as you suspected, you were probably overwatering. Hemp or one of the soil growers can give you better guidance than I regarding soil, but you can let the soil dry out quite a bit before you need to water.

When the seed first comes in contact with water (when you soak them) it basically triggers a chemical reaction and the seed starts the germination process. At that point, you just need to make sure the roots stay out of the light and don't dry out and it will continue to germinate. At this stage, it does not need nutes, since there's no roots to uptake them and plain tap water works fine, since you're not worried about nute lockout yet.

Also, and a LOT of people will disagree with me on this, but I do not believe the "paper towel germination method" is the best way to start a seedling. Numerous growers have great success with this technique and I would never recommend they switch, but many experienced growers will warn against it for several reasons. These include that the roots can grow into the paper towel and get stressed when they are pulled out, the paper towels can contain bleach and other chemicals, etc.

So, I now soak the seeds for 12-24 hours, and when I first see them crack, I put them right into a rockwool cube. I understand Rapid Rooters also work extremely well for this, but haven't used them personally. I put the cube in a small plastic container, cover with plasic wrap, secure the platic wrap with a rubber band, then use a knife to slice some slits in the plastic wrap for air circulation. I do not need to water again until after the plant sprouts, and then, just to keep the cube moist. Get into the mindset that you want to give the seedling as LITTLE water as possible to keep it alive. Then, the plant will sprout strong roots to start searching water on its own. If all the water it needs is easily accessible, it's got no reason to spread its roots.

If you don't have rockwool or rapid rooters, you could easily plant directly in soil, perlite, and I've even seen some great growers who put their seeds right in hydroton and let them germinate there!

Just don't get frustrated, but think of what adjustments you can make to your technique and you WILL find one that works well for you. And, I will NOT at all be offended if it's using the paper towel method!

 

[paw-paw]

krip's right, everybody does it different. i scarify the seeds, paper towel 'em, put 'em in rockwool, never put hum. dome on seeds & keep the light about 1"-2" above the medium on 24/0 till i get them rooted. i do use a dome on my cutting/clones, but i keep it well ventilated. u just had too much moisture on the seeds...i believe. that doesn't mean this is the only/best way...just my way. alotta' this has to do w/strain...what they like best. google mandala seeds & read what they say is the best way to germ & root "THEIR" seeds. it'll be totally different from what other seed cos. recomend. i've grown mandala's strains & they're right "about their seeds". IMO u're 1st babies were just too wet. of course, i could be totally wrong. i'll bet at least one of these growers on this thread will disaggree w/me altogether. whatcha' think folks?

 

[RVgrower]

Hey guys! I have 3 seedlings to report on! All came in in last 18 hrs or so....they are about an inch tall already, on their first day! I took pics and will have them posted later tonight or tomorrow am, but I hope you think they look s healthy as I do. Remember, I have NO idea what they are going to be. I am betting on some strain popular in the regions south of our American southwest....I think it's Indica because it does help me sleep and helps my ADHD/ADD symptoms as well. So-so on the pain relief side, and worst of all it has no legs....it feels fine about 5 minutes into it then drops off sharply and is gone after about 30 minutes or so...Okay gotta go sleep for a while, be back up tonight late and will try to post those pics then.
Okay have a great Saturday night everyone,
And thanks to all of you who've helped me....I owe ya one!

 

[RVgrower]

OH! forgot to say they just shed their husks today and have not yet opened their Cotyldons yet, but I can see a pretty dark green inside the slit on eight side of the Cotyldons....so I think I might have some viable seedlings on their way! Oh, One thing, they have little brown spots on the ips of their Cotyldons, all 3, and the area around this 1 tiny dark brown spot is slightly yellow compared to the light, but getting darker already, green Cotyldons...does that sound like nothing bad to you? Has yours ever had that? I can't remember or not if I've noticed this on other seedlings I've inadvertently started over the last 25 years, but they are in the hundred thousands I guess.....but I was never trying to GROW it as my much needed medicine as I am now. So I noticed this. But the spots aren't getting bigger, and I think the yellowish brown color at th top of each side of the Cotyldons re starting to fade a bit already as well, I think, so I will just monitor that, and monitor her, and once those 1st or second set of true leaves is first day of veg, for any plant, so that's when I will call it. That could be in the next 24-48 hrs at this point.
We will see, okay,
goodnight again,

RVG