Prof's Lab: Diary Of A Bedroom Farmer

[MrSauga]

I have dropped the seed a couple times, but I always found it.

Could you put the block in a tupperware container or similar so if it falls it falls into the container?

 

[MrSauga]

I don't know how long they can be in water before the seed is damaged but I did ask Sauga and he gave me an answer which I can't remember lol. I think it was a couple of weeks.

I'm not sure if two weeks was the actual length. There are so many articles out there. Some say no more than one day or they drown. I have had mine in water for over a week until they cracked without any issue. The article below is great to read up on the glass cup method(and others). I don't wait for the tap to be exposed as they suggest though. I use a hybrid method between the cup and the paper towel. As soon as it cracks it goes into paper towel. If the tap gets caught in the towel, or sticks to the paper towel then the tap snap off.

The Complete Guide To Germinating Cannabis Seeds - Royal Queen Seeds

Time then to whip out our packages of seeds and get to work. But how do you best set to work, to get these tiny, fragile seeds to grow without problems into small plants?

www.royalqueenseeds.com

 

[Heavenly Hybrid]

Could you put the block in a tupperware container or similar so if it falls it falls into the container?

That’s a good idea! I figured I’d be ok since I’m not dropping them over someplace like.. the deck, but that’s great advice Mr. S.

 

[MrSauga]

I’m not dropping them over someplace like.. the deck

OMG... most stoner's don't remember 5 minutes ago.

 

[ProfessorFlora]

I'm not sure if two weeks was the actual length. There are so many articles out there. Some say no more than one day or they drown. I have had mine in water for over a week until they cracked without any issue. The article below is great to read up on the glass cup method(and others). I don't wait for the tap to be exposed as they suggest though. I use a hybrid method between the cup and the paper towel. As soon as it cracks it goes into paper towel. If the tap gets caught in the towel, or sticks to the paper towel then the tap snap off.

The Complete Guide To Germinating Cannabis Seeds - Royal Queen Seeds

Time then to whip out our packages of seeds and get to work. But how do you best set to work, to get these tiny, fragile seeds to grow without problems into small plants?

www.royalqueenseeds.com

Thanks for the link. I like the RQS site for this very reason. Lots of useful info with everything from germination to composting.
I have read several articles which say no more than 24 hours but that seems to be a load of rubbish. Quick question. What is the purpose of going from a glass of water to wet paper towels? I thought that you'd either do one or the other

There’s a million ways I’m sure. Lol Newty uses gravel in a pill bottle, Ive tried a piece of sandpaper in a pill bottle, but for me, the best way is on a sanding block. I gently scrape and roll it around with my finger along the topside of the block. I have dropped the seed a couple times, but I always found it.

I like the pill pot and sand paper idea. Seen a few growers on this site doing that. Do you scrape the whole seed or just the top and/or bottom?

That’s a good idea! I figured I’d be ok since I’m not dropping them over someplace like.. the deck, but that’s great advice Mr. S.

Have you not done the classic "handling seeds over the sink" yet? I dropped a seed down the sink and it came to a rest on the edge of the plug hole. Never again lol. I also dropped a seed on the carpet and couldn't find it. Then one day I just saw it lol. We'd vacuumed that room several times since I lost it as well. Time for a new vacuum cleaner lol.

 

[TriangleCheese]

Thanks for the link. I like the RQS site for this very reason. Lots of useful info with everything from germination to composting.
I have read several articles which say no more than 24 hours but that seems to be a load of rubbish. Quick question. What is the purpose of going from a glass of water to wet paper towels? I thought that you'd either do one or the other

I like the pill pot and sand paper idea. Seen a few growers on this site doing that. Do you scrape the whole seed or just the top and/or bottom?

Have you not done the classic "handling seeds over the sink" yet? I dropped a seed down the sink and it came to a rest on the edge of the plug hole. Never again lol. I also dropped a seed on the carpet and couldn't find it. Then one day I just saw it lol. We'd vacuumed that room several times since I lost it as well. Time for a new vacuum cleaner lol.

RQS website is amazing indeed. It helped me a lot throughout this whole pest thing. I've managed to overcome fungus gnat and thrip problem and RQS website is where I started.

Have you grown Blue Gelato 41 from Barney's Professor? I am flowering my BG41 and any advise would be great. I couldn't harvest that plant last time but this time buds are filling up nicely. This strain has built a bad reputation since its release but we'll see how my plant turns out.

 

[Heavenly Hybrid]

I’m sure someone will pop in and correct me if I’m wrong, but if you’re shaking in a pill bottle, I think you’ll want to shake it around for about 5+ minutes. I scrape all around that puppy, top, bottom, a little at the crack and at the two tips. I think that’s why I prefer to scrape manually, much faster and I can see where it hasn’t been scraped yet. I also had problem with the seed getting trapped in a fold of the sandpaper. Lol, maybe I just have issues? but that’s the whole rambling story.

 

[Heavenly Hybrid]

OMG... most stoner's don't remember 5 minutes ago.

Lol, I definitely remember because I’m still waiting for the day you post a pic of it sprouting right through the slats.

 

[ProfessorFlora]

RQS website is amazing indeed. It helped me a lot throughout this whole pest thing. I've managed to overcome fungus gnat and thrip problem and RQS website is where I started.

Have you grown Blue Gelato 41 from Barney's Professor? I am flowering my BG41 and any advise would be great. I couldn't harvest that plant last time but this time buds are filling up nicely. This strain has built a bad reputation since its release but we'll see how my plant turns out.

Hey TC. I have indeed but I never got to finish it properly because of mould. It could have done with a week or two more. It was the worst case of mould I have ever had. 4 plants and all were effected. I probably lost 50% of the crop. The BG was going ok though I did have some early hermie issues on one of the BG41's. A couple of weeks into flower it produced a lot of pollen sacks which I removed and just hoped for the best. I don't throw out any banana's later in flower. I seem to remember @Ganjagrandaddy having the same problem but that was many harvests ago and I can't quite be sure. Was it a dream GG?
What problems did you encounter on the first attempt?

 

[ProfessorFlora]

I’m sure someone will pop in and correct me if I’m wrong, but if you’re shaking in a pill bottle, I think you’ll want to shake it around for about 5+ minutes. I scrape all around that puppy, top, bottom, a little at the crack and at the two tips. I think that’s why I prefer to scrape manually, much faster and I can see where it hasn’t been scraped yet. I also had problem with the seed getting trapped in a fold of the sandpaper. Lol, maybe I just have issues? but that’s the whole rambling story.

Thanks HH. I might try scuffing some and leaving some others to see if there is a difference when I drop the next round of seeds which wont be too far away. I'm just deciding what to drop next. What do you think, 12 afghans or 12 Himalayans?

 

[Heavenly Hybrid]

Hmm, seems like a decision that can only be made by playing your dictator trumps game. Or I could just flip a coin?

 

[MrSauga]

What is the purpose of going from a glass of water to wet paper towels? I thought that you'd either do one or the other

I only use the glass of water to crack the seed. I let the paper towel take over until I had about 3/8" tap. Now I don't even use the towel. As soon as the seed cracks it goes into the medium.

 

[TriangleCheese]

Hey TC. I have indeed but I never got to finish it properly because of mould. It could have done with a week or two more. It was the worst case of mould I have ever had. 4 plants and all were effected. I probably lost 50% of the crop. The BG was going ok though I did have some early hermie issues on one of the BG41's. A couple of weeks into flower it produced a lot of pollen sacks which I removed and just hoped for the best. I don't throw out any banana's later in flower. I seem to remember @Ganjagrandaddy having the same problem but that was many harvests ago and I can't quite be sure. Was it a dream GG?
What problems did you encounter on the first attempt?

I had to cancel all of my grows due to some unfortunate stuff. I also harvested BG41 very early and couldn't get a clear opinion on that one. No negative comments on this strain yet.

So far, plant is incredibly hungry but on last week I saw some top leaves drooping. I cut down water for two days because I am sure that the 12gal. coco is pretty wet and I want it almost dried. I will give pH'd water until runoff next time and start introducing nutes two days later and water more frequently with fewer amounts. Nugs smell is pretty dank already and colas look promising. Try to imagine roasting shelled macademian nuts with sugar. That is how I describe the scent of my main BG41. Looking forward to harvest this one.

 

[ProfessorFlora]

Hmm, seems like a decision that can only be made by playing your dictator trumps game. Or I could just flip a coin?

We're not doing top trumps again lol.
The thing is that depending on how long the current flowering plants take to finish up I may be able to get another harvest in before Christmas if I go with the afghans. I think the Himalayan strains are going to take at least 80 days and maybe as many as 100. That will put us in mid January which I dont mind as it would be less work in the run up to the holidays. Chioces HH!

I only use the glass of water to crack the seed. I let the paper towel take over until I had about 3/8" tap. Now I don't even use the towel. As soon as the seed cracks it goes into the medium.

That is essentially what I am doing now. only difference is that I wait an extra day or two for the tap to emerge in the glass
which all have done recently. I'm not waiting for it to get to any particular length, just looking for confirmation that it is on it's way out.

I had to cancel all of my grows due to some unfortunate stuff. I also harvested BG41 very early and couldn't get a clear opinion on that one. No negative comments on this strain yet.

So far, plant is incredibly hungry but on last week I saw some top leaves drooping. I cut down water for two days because I am sure that the 12gal. coco is pretty wet and I want it almost dried. I will give pH'd water until runoff next time and start introducing nutes two days later and water more frequently with fewer amounts. Nugs smell is pretty dank already and colas look promising. Try to imagine roasting shelled macademian nuts with sugar. That is how I describe the scent of my main BG41. Looking forward to harvest this one.

I forgot to mention that I grew the BG41 and Strawberry Lemonade in a heavy sand mix. It was mostly sand with some soil added to it. The pots when watered were in excess of 25kg lol. Things were going very well until the mould happened. I had 2 very different BG's with one being a cookie looking plant with the most solid and compact flowers. She was the prettiest and had the best flavour. The second was larger yielding and was a more workable plant. I'll see if I can dig out a few pics from the journal for you

 

[TriangleCheese]

We're not doing top trumps again lol.
The thing is that depending on how long the current flowering plants take to finish up I may be able to get another harvest in before Christmas if I go with the afghans. I think the Himalayan strains are going to take at least 80 days and maybe as many as 100. That will put us in mid January which I dont mind as it would be less work in the run up to the holidays. Chioces HH!

That is essentially what I am doing now. only difference is that I wait an extra day or two for the tap to emerge in the glass
which all have done recently. I'm not waiting for it to get to any particular length, just looking for confirmation that it is on it's way out.

I forgot to mention that I grew the BG41 and Strawberry Lemonade in a heavy sand mix. It was mostly sand with some soil added to it. The pots when watered were in excess of 25kg lol. Things were going very well until the mould happened. I had 2 very different BG's with one being a cookie looking plant with the most solid and compact flowers. She was the prettiest and had the best flavour. The second was larger yielding and was a more workable plant. I'll see if I can dig out a few pics from the journal for you

Would be much appreciated Prof. You can also check mine from my sig. She is in fun to watch period now.

 

[Heavenly Hybrid]

depending on how long the current flowering plants take to finish up I may be able to get another harvest in before Christmas if I go with the afghans. I think the Himalayan strains are going to take at least 80 days and maybe as many as 100. That will put us in mid January which I dont mind as it would be less work in the run up to the holidays.

Imo, don’t do that to yourself Professor!! Holidays are crazy enough, don’t pile harvesting on top of it! For what it’s worth, my Afghani took 12 weeks and still wasn’t showing amber. I dunno, maybe I did something wrong. Maybe you’re looking at an after Xmas harvest either way??

 

[ProfessorFlora]

Would be much appreciated Prof. You can also check mine from my sig. She is in fun to watch period now.

I'll be over to check it out TC. For now I found a few pics of the BG41's from last year.

They are the 2 on the left....

This was one of the last pics taken before I discovered the mould. I was mistaken earlier when I said I lost 50% of the grow. It was 50% of one of the Strawberry Lemonade's and several colas from the others. More like 20% or 30% of the entire grow....

This was my favourite out of the two....

This one was still very nice though....

Imo, don’t do that to yourself Professor!! Holidays are crazy enough, don’t pile harvesting on top of it! For what it’s worth, my Afghani took 12 weeks and still wasn’t showing amber. I dunno, maybe I did something wrong. Maybe you’re looking at an after Xmas harvest either way??

Thanks for helping me to see some sense. A lot of factors will have to work in order for me to pull of another harvest before Christmas. Knowing my luck the harvest would fall in between Christmas and the new year lol. You're right about the finishing times as well. Mine seem to be going fast now but that doesnt necessarily mean that they will finish early . Sunnyskies said Himalayans as well so maybe we should go with those. But wait! I've just remembered we still have to see the X18's at some point lol.

 

[TriangleCheese]

I'll be over to check it out TC. For now I found a few pics of the BG41's from last year.

They are the 2 on the left....

This was one of the last pics taken before I discovered the mould. I was mistaken earlier when I said I lost 50% of the grow. It was 50% of one of the Strawberry Lemonade's and several colas from the others. More like 20% or 30% of the entire grow....

This was my favourite out of the two....

This one was still very nice though....

Thanks for helping me to see some sense. A lot of factors will have to work in order for me to pull of another harvest before Christmas. Knowing my luck the harvest would fall in between Christmas and the new year lol. You're right about the finishing times as well. Mine seem to be going fast now but that doesnt necessarily mean that they will finish early . Sunnyskies said Himalayans as well so maybe we should go with those. But wait! I've just remembered we still have to see the X18's at some point lol.

Amazing information there Prof. thanks a lot

I could tell which ones were the BG41 from that picture even if you didn't tell me I hope my plant can bulk such nice buds up too. It's sad to see you lost such amazing tops. I had the same thing with my Gorilla Zkittlez and now my last seed is struggling to spread its cotyledons. I got great amount of light for my BG41 and back to a better feeding schedule. Hopes are high. I said goodbye to mold when I bought myself a dehumidifier. Definately helps a lot. Should increase the flowering performance as well.

 

[ProfessorFlora]

Amazing information there Prof. thanks a lot

I could tell which ones were the BG41 from that picture even if you didn't tell me I hope my plant can bulk such nice buds up too. It's sad to see you lost such amazing tops. I had the same thing with my Gorilla Zkittlez and now my last seed is struggling to spread its cotyledons. I got great amount of light for my BG41 and back to a better feeding schedule. Hopes are high. I said goodbye to mold when I bought myself a dehumidifier. Definately helps a lot. Should increase the flowering performance as well.

They were really nice plants and the first ones buds were so dense.

Dehumidifier is still on the list. I honestly can't wait to get one lol.

 

[ProfessorFlora]

Hey 420. Little update before we get to the first trim session. Today was flowering day 16 and all but one of the plants are flowering. We are still waiting for the Chocolatina to show us what's going on. I checked it just now and I thought I could see the beginnings of a pistil pushing out but I couldn't be sure. It is growing squat and just doesnt feel like a male to me. We will have to wait a little bit more to find out.
The plants are all looking a very nice green and the only slightly concerning thing is the curl on the Unknown Afghan #1. She seems happy and there is no tip burn so we're not going to do anything. It is only showing on the top of each branch. It doesnt seem to be related to light stress as it is happening to the lower down growth tips which are no way near the light.
Here are some random pics of plants and flowers....