Spring's 4 Separate Auto Strains - Soil - T8s - CFL - Closet Grow

[spring2012]

I'll just add a bit of my experience in regards to impatience. TRY TO NOT BE!!

I personally murdered 5 plants this year with my overeagerness.

Wait until you've got your setup pretty solid and READ READ READ!! As you're well aware of I'm sure there are a LOT of great growers on here and they're all extremely helpful if you first try to help yourself I've found. And my confidence in my ability to reach a fine harvest has exponentially grown (no pun intended) knowing there is this fantastic resource with such amazing people on it to help guide through the trouble and cheer you on through the good times! You'll thank yourself, really.

That said, I'm in! You've got a great start! and I'm looking forward to your reward too!

Peace!

Korloin - Former Plant Killah!

Thanks for checking out the Journal! I am trying so hard to be calm and collected! Thank you for reminding me. In business I have always been told it is easier to back off then to be passive and calm. I feel the reverse is necessary for growing! I keep trying different ways to keep the closet well ventilated. I feel comfortable with that now.

 

[spring2012]

Quick update. I am germinating now!! cant wait until the next step!!

 

[GreeenFingers]

Quick update. I am germinating now!! cant wait until the next step!!

I'm excited for you

Can't wait to see how this grow turns out

I'm subbed

 

[spring2012]

I'm excited for you

Can't wait to see how this grow turns out

I'm subbed

Thanks!

 

[Fluffy Haze]

Thanks Fluffy! I am thrilled you stopped by. I value your opinion! I Moved my fans around some today and it helped. I may have to leave the door cracked a bit. That works 100%. At this point all I can do is research and experiment with the lights, temps, and ventilation. I really wanted to have my grow going by now. I still have yet to see my seeds! I am a bit inpatient. We had a hurricane in this part of the states that slowed everything down.

Bless ya, thank you but I've no idea why...I have no idea what I am doing! LOL. I would definitely echo what Korloin has said though. I am a bugger for rushing headlong at things sometimes, and I am glad with this that I've taken the time to get myself together (as much as possible) before the grow. Patience is most definitely not one of my qualities so I feel your pain!

I have decided to stop being so bloody fretful all the time over it though. (Remind me of that when I've made some almighty cock up, won't you please?!). I am going to watch my plant and see what it is telling me it needs, and use the numbers on the temp gauge etc as a guide only. I am just so incredibly grateful to the more knowledgeable among us sharing their knowledge otherwise I wouldn't have gotten past germination!

You'll do great, I know you will. All that was meant to be a bit of moral support for you, not a ramble about my own grow, sorry!

 

[spring2012]

Bless ya, thank you but I've no idea why...I have no idea what I am doing! LOL. I would definitely echo what Korloin has said though. I am a bugger for rushing headlong at things sometimes, and I am glad with this that I've taken the time to get myself together (as much as possible) before the grow. Patience is most definitely not one of my qualities so I feel your pain!

I have decided to stop being so bloody fretful all the time over it though. (Remind me of that when I've made some almighty cock up, won't you please?!). I am going to watch my plant and see what it is telling me it needs, and use the numbers on the temp gauge etc as a guide only. I am just so incredibly grateful to the more knowledgeable among us sharing their knowledge otherwise I wouldn't have gotten past germination!

You'll do great, I know you will. All that was meant to be a bit of moral support for you, not a ramble about my own grow, sorry!

Its all good! What we lake in experience we make up in innovation. Sometimes the beginner does the best!

 

[spring2012]

Update! I started the germ last night at 9 pm. On Que all the seeds are showing the tap root 24 hours later. I will be placing them in soil shortly ( Fox Farm Ocean 70/30 mix with pearlite ) this is for 2. The other two are a mix suggested by Smokemup. I will have the ingredients list in a few. I am going straight into 3 gallon pots.

 

[Fluffy Haze]

Update! I started the germ last night at 9 pm. On Que all the seeds are showing the tap root 24 hours later. I will be placing them in soil shortly ( Fox Farm Ocean 70/30 mix with pearlite ) this is for 2. The other two are a mix suggested by Smokemup. I will have the ingredients list in a few. I am going straight into 3 gallon pots.

Rocking and rolling there Spring...

It's a good sign those tap roots showing so quickly. We like those omens!

 

[spring2012]

Rocking and rolling there Spring...

It's a good sign those tap roots showing so quickly. We like those omens!

Now I will be bored as you were for a few days waiting and watching for signs of growth!!

 

[Fluffy Haze]

Now I will be bored as you were for a few days waiting and watching for signs of growth!!

If you are anything like me you will practically be watching it every minute, sitting over it like a loon waiting for it to break the soil

(just to clarify I am allowed to use the phrase loon on this occasion as I am most definitely referring to what I did )

 

[spring2012]

Silly question and yes I researched for a good half an hour and could not find a decent answer. When I set up my soil in pots I may have screwed up. I watered the soil even though it was not all that dried out. Its Fox Farm Ocean. I let them sit for a few hours then placed my germinated seeds half inch down. Should I have left the soil as is? Can it be fixed if not?

 

[Fluffy Haze]

Silly question and yes I researched for a good half an hour and could not find a decent answer. When I set up my soil in pots I may have screwed up. I watered the soil even though it was not all that dried out. Its Fox Farm Ocean. I let them sit for a few hours then placed my germinated seeds half inch down. Should I have left the soil as is? Can it be fixed if not?

Now I may be wrong...

I don't think you will have done anything wrong (although I don't know that make of soil) as far as I know new seeds do need plenty of water to germinate and sprout. The Root Riot cubes I used, for example, say to gently squeeze and for the moisture to come to the top, but not to be dripping from the bottom. I'm trying to apply the same thoughts to my pots of soil...I've never even grown plants before so actually have no idea if this is right or not.

Will be interesting to see if someone in the know can confirm if I need a pat on the back or dunces hat

 

[spring2012]

Now I may be wrong...

I don't think you will have done anything wrong (although I don't know that make of soil) as far as I know new seeds do need plenty of water to germinate and sprout. The Root Riot cubes I used, for example, say to gently squeeze and for the moisture to come to the top, but not to be dripping from the bottom. I'm trying to apply the same thoughts to my pots of soil...I've never even grown plants before so actually have no idea if this is right or not.

Will be interesting to see if someone in the know can confirm if I need a pat on the back or dunces hat

Thanks. I keep looking around the threads and it seems I may be ok but not 100% sure. I have officially entered the overly protective expecting parent mode! I have a feeling your right!

 

[donpaul.p]

you done everything right mate, it just means you wont need to water the pots for a while, the only thing i can add is next time dont bury the seeds so deep, the only need to be as deep as the seeds, so i bury mine twice as deep as the size of the seed and i lie my seeds on their side in the soil, so they only need to be a few mil under the top of the soil, the deeper you bury them the longer they take to sprout and this means the grow takes a while longer, i wouldnt disturb them now, but next time you plant seeds poke a small hole with a pen and pop the seed in, just make it a few mil deep and you should be ok.

the seeds you have planted will still sprout they will just take a while longer thats all, only talking days and not weeks so its not much different,

but sounds to me like you done everything right, all i do once ive planted seeds is to get a spray bottle and spray the soil where the seed is every could of days just to keep the soil moist around the seed, if the soil dries out then this can slow the seed growth down some, so make sure the soil is moist where the seed is, but dont over water as this can give you problems,

you should have some plants sprouting in a few days, then the veg stage can begin

 

[Korloin]

you done everything right mate, it just means you wont need to water the pots for a while, the only thing i can add is next time dont bury the seeds so deep, the only need to be as deep as the seeds, so i bury mine twice as deep as the size of the seed and i lie my seeds on their side in the soil, so they only need to be a few mil under the top of the soil, the deeper you bury them the longer they take to sprout and this means the grow takes a while longer, i wouldnt disturb them now, but next time you plant seeds poke a small hole with a pen and pop the seed in, just make it a few mil deep and you should be ok.

the seeds you have planted will still sprout they will just take a while longer thats all, only talking days and not weeks so its not much different,

but sounds to me like you done everything right, all i do once ive planted seeds is to get a spray bottle and spray the soil where the seed is every could of days just to keep the soil moist around the seed, if the soil dries out then this can slow the seed growth down some, so make sure the soil is moist where the seed is, but dont over water as this can give you problems,

you should have some plants sprouting in a few days, then the veg stage can begin

Spot on!

I've never used FF Ocean, so I'm not sure how well it drains, but you could add some clean sand to the top and a watering or 2 will mix it into your soil to give a little more aeration, if it's at all needed.

One thing I have found to be true though. If the seeds aren't set deep ENOUGH they may have trouble shedding the film that surrounds the cotyledons when they break ground and you have to do a lil' surgery. I'd follow donpaul's advice close to the letter and you'll be fine.

 

[spring2012]

DonPaul thanks for the feedback. I was a bit upset because I have done so much research just to realize I did not research about setting up my new soil!

Korloin thanks for your advice as well. I added a 30 to possibly 40% mix of pearlite to my Fox Farms. The organic mix that Smokem suggested I added less pearlite to as it seemed airy already. All four pots seemed to have drained well after the initial set up.

 

[spring2012]

Well... Here is the set up so far with seeds in pots. I know its hard to see the whole set up. I was planing on running the 10 CFL's as well as the 6 T8's as soon as they sprout. I will lower the T8's. My only fear is that the CFL's face at an angle for future side coverage. I wonder if this will cause the seedlings to stretch toward the CFl's instead of straight up to the T5's?

 

[spring2012]

Well... Here is the set up so far with seeds in pots. I know its hard to see the whole set up. I was planing on running the 10 CFL's as well as the 6 T8's as soon as they sprout. I will lower the T8's. My only fear is that the CFL's face at an angle for future side coverage. I wonder if this will cause the seedlings to stretch toward the CFl's instead of straight up to the T5's?

Damn!! I forgot to attach the pic!

 

[Smokemupm8]

Hey mate
Soz took me while to get back to ya.. Well ive had a quick peep thru your journal, and its looking good mate
Thats no worse than my space atm!! I dont know exactly what ur query is about the soil.. When it comes to flower, you can basically cut out Nitrogen, and keep other nutes up, i use poatash sulphate and such to mix up what nutes i think it will need..
I mix my soil with Humus, potting mix,some sand,pea straw mulch and some slow release fert. I try to use a bit of Humus as its 100% organic and has great nute retention and water also. Takee it easy mate, if ive gotten this wrong im soz bro! Catch ya , smokem

 

[donpaul.p]

looking good mate, if your looking for nutes then the best by far is blue planet nutrients, the bloke who makes the product is a top bloke and answers any questions, his products work well as well, i use the 3 part plus bloom booster, so thats 4 bottles of liquid, their is a grow/micro/bloom and bloom booster, you follow a feeding guide and mix certain amounts of each one, so you might use 2.5ml per gallon of each, then corey at bpn has perfected his product and given a feeding guide, so you start of with low amounts of each and the amounts slowly go up and when you go to flower it changes the mix to a flower mix, this gives the plants all they need, plus bpn is really cheap compared to other brands and a lot of growers use it on here so its worth checking out.

i had a problem with fast draining compost a while back, i was watering my plants and i was getting plenty of run off, but then my plants started suffering and i couldnt work out why, it was only when i dug down into the soil that i noticed it was bone dry even after watering, i soon found that it was draining to quick and the soil was not getting enough time to soak the water up and this left my plants dry, to solve that problem i put my plant pots in small dishes then when i watered it came out the bottom and filled the dish up, then i left the pots in the dish for about an hour to soak it all up, then if their is any water left in the dish then i tip it away as the soil has soaked up what it needs, but i found that my plants where dry and soaked up all the water in the dishes for the first few waters so clearly my plant where under watered, so when the plants are bigger just make sure your soil is not doing the same, mine was going in the top then just running strait out the bottom of the pot, so i was thinking it was getting plenty of water when in fact it was getting hardly any,