Fuzzy Duck
Well-Known Member
Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow
Germination is always going to be an individual choice & i see you have chosen the paper towel method i've not used that myself as i will generally start in peat/coir pucks like these.
I wait in till roots start showing through the sides before potting up in to these small pot, germination can take any where from a couple of days to several perhaps longer.
Once your seeds show a tap root or signs life you could pot up into a small like this with the seed sown about 5mm or 1/4 inch deep it should take a couple of weeks or so for the seedling to fill a container this size up with roots & then you could pot up into your final size pot.
Over watering a seedling can be detrimental to plant health as it may cause dampening off, the key to this is keeping the growing medium moist but not over watered... a pot that size with a seedling like that & my conditions grown in takes several days to nearly dry out a once week watering for me & will water in till run off shows from the base of the pot.
You can govern watering by the weight of the pot a well watered pot will be heavy when compared to dry pot a very dry pot/medium will be extremely light & may show a gap between side of pot & the growing medium to which when water is applied you may experience a lot of run off at this stage you may need to sit the pot in a bowl/saucer of water to allow the medium to rehydrate for a few to several hours.
Ya get the hang of it just watch learn & observe
In general i'll germinate seeds with an average room temperature between 20c to 25c not sure about soil temp tho to which may be in the late teens ? I just run a 125w giant cfl 6500k (blue spectrum) on 16/8 light timing for this whilst germinating it provides warmth & light when the seeds pop with the method i use.
Warmth helps seeds germinate plus they also like high RH / relative humidity 60% to 80% should be alright, you can make a humidity dome from a clear plastic bottle & just leave the lid off for air exchange etc
The cold will slow things down & may stunt growth below 16c might prove a slight issue, i personal keep an ambient night time temp of 19/20c for a good reason with lights on temp ideally around 25/28c for good growth.
RH in veg growth between 50% to 70% should be pretty good.
Rh in flowering needs to lower between 40% to 60% as high RH above 70/80% may cause bud rot problem.
Lighting choice, well it is about the right spectrum of light for growth stage for good results
Common practise for seedlings & veg growth would be a blue light spectrum measured in kelvin of 6500k this supports veg growth very nicely but could get away with 5000k with reasonable results
In flowering you may need 2700k & ideally 2100k is best as it promotes flowering a lot better.
Whilst your lighting rig should be ok for seedlings & perhaps veg growth you may need more for flowering for a suitable harvest.
Training methods should not be over looked to increase yield & suspect you might just go for a standard bush grow being a first timer, but ye scrog is a popular choice & may take a little longer whilst vegging, tucking branches into the mesh screen etc.
Mmm soil mix a home brew !
Depends on final pot size & how much you need to use ?
You can get away with 2 to 3 gallon size pots some where between 10 to 15 litres popular choice by the mass is 5 gallon by most growers, know that is a fair amount of soil/compost & being on the cheap i might suggest a smaller pot to start with.
Perlite is used on average between 10%, 15% to 20% of total volume of the mix to aid drainage etc.
Because it aids drainage it does mean you can not over water as every medium used may hold a moisture retention value... for a moment lets just think about how much water sands hold when compared to clay, ye a good point ah !
So dirt is just not dirt as it has characteristics
Cow manure or organic soil amendment i'd say no more than 20% of total mix.
A bag of peat ah, from what i understand peat or peat moss is acidic in nature this may well cause nutrient lock outs due to PH value.
MJ will happlly grow in a range of between PH 6 & 7 with out being to anal retentive about PH values.
No name bag of peat might offer questions whether it is PH buffered, you could get a liquid PH test kit or a soil probe to check PH value tho to be on the safe side.
If it checks out between PH 6 & 7 ya fine, this will be the rest of home soil mix.
If acidic well below PH 5 we may need to use dolomite lime or garden lime to buffer PH value this stuff generally buffers the soil mix back to around PH 7 on average.
Germination is always going to be an individual choice & i see you have chosen the paper towel method i've not used that myself as i will generally start in peat/coir pucks like these.
I wait in till roots start showing through the sides before potting up in to these small pot, germination can take any where from a couple of days to several perhaps longer.
Once your seeds show a tap root or signs life you could pot up into a small like this with the seed sown about 5mm or 1/4 inch deep it should take a couple of weeks or so for the seedling to fill a container this size up with roots & then you could pot up into your final size pot.
Over watering a seedling can be detrimental to plant health as it may cause dampening off, the key to this is keeping the growing medium moist but not over watered... a pot that size with a seedling like that & my conditions grown in takes several days to nearly dry out a once week watering for me & will water in till run off shows from the base of the pot.
You can govern watering by the weight of the pot a well watered pot will be heavy when compared to dry pot a very dry pot/medium will be extremely light & may show a gap between side of pot & the growing medium to which when water is applied you may experience a lot of run off at this stage you may need to sit the pot in a bowl/saucer of water to allow the medium to rehydrate for a few to several hours.
Ya get the hang of it just watch learn & observe
In general i'll germinate seeds with an average room temperature between 20c to 25c not sure about soil temp tho to which may be in the late teens ? I just run a 125w giant cfl 6500k (blue spectrum) on 16/8 light timing for this whilst germinating it provides warmth & light when the seeds pop with the method i use.
Warmth helps seeds germinate plus they also like high RH / relative humidity 60% to 80% should be alright, you can make a humidity dome from a clear plastic bottle & just leave the lid off for air exchange etc
The cold will slow things down & may stunt growth below 16c might prove a slight issue, i personal keep an ambient night time temp of 19/20c for a good reason with lights on temp ideally around 25/28c for good growth.
RH in veg growth between 50% to 70% should be pretty good.
Rh in flowering needs to lower between 40% to 60% as high RH above 70/80% may cause bud rot problem.
Lighting choice, well it is about the right spectrum of light for growth stage for good results
Common practise for seedlings & veg growth would be a blue light spectrum measured in kelvin of 6500k this supports veg growth very nicely but could get away with 5000k with reasonable results
In flowering you may need 2700k & ideally 2100k is best as it promotes flowering a lot better.
Whilst your lighting rig should be ok for seedlings & perhaps veg growth you may need more for flowering for a suitable harvest.
Training methods should not be over looked to increase yield & suspect you might just go for a standard bush grow being a first timer, but ye scrog is a popular choice & may take a little longer whilst vegging, tucking branches into the mesh screen etc.
Mmm soil mix a home brew !
Depends on final pot size & how much you need to use ?
You can get away with 2 to 3 gallon size pots some where between 10 to 15 litres popular choice by the mass is 5 gallon by most growers, know that is a fair amount of soil/compost & being on the cheap i might suggest a smaller pot to start with.
Perlite is used on average between 10%, 15% to 20% of total volume of the mix to aid drainage etc.
Because it aids drainage it does mean you can not over water as every medium used may hold a moisture retention value... for a moment lets just think about how much water sands hold when compared to clay, ye a good point ah !
So dirt is just not dirt as it has characteristics
Cow manure or organic soil amendment i'd say no more than 20% of total mix.
A bag of peat ah, from what i understand peat or peat moss is acidic in nature this may well cause nutrient lock outs due to PH value.
MJ will happlly grow in a range of between PH 6 & 7 with out being to anal retentive about PH values.
No name bag of peat might offer questions whether it is PH buffered, you could get a liquid PH test kit or a soil probe to check PH value tho to be on the safe side.
If it checks out between PH 6 & 7 ya fine, this will be the rest of home soil mix.
If acidic well below PH 5 we may need to use dolomite lime or garden lime to buffer PH value this stuff generally buffers the soil mix back to around PH 7 on average.
