Very Low Budget CFL Growing

[Mr-Nice-Guy]

Oh goodness, MrNiceGuy here, back from the dead! I've been away for way too long and I'm back to what I love... I have SERIOUSLY limited space, funds and time so this journal is more for fun than anything else. Let me give you a Brief overview...

11 random, old, strange bagseeds.
a 6 pack of 20w CFLs
2 40w phillips f40 gro-lites (however, space is preventing me from using them)
natural "backyard" potting soil
MG veg and flower booster
and my imagination...

I've got these 11 seeds germinating in a wet paper towel for now. Like I said, it's a low budget, meaning no budget, grow with very little space, so this should be interesting.

I also hope that this is more successful than my 1st and 2nd attempts which you can find my clicking on my little linky there.

Enough blabbering, here's a quick picture, and the last thing I'll say is that this is still a learning experience as well as daily therapy for me, so questions comments and the like are appreciated.

 

[Big Beans]

Good luck bro make it happen!!

 

[420inOregon]

I love CFL's I have a lil veg room and it has cfl's in there 8 42watt and 8 23watt works great you can get real close with them. What I do know is daylight for veg and soft white for flower. But anyways I want to watch this one.
So good luck and I will help if I can

 

[Mr-Nice-Guy]

Been a couple of days, and I'm starting to worry that my seeds were too old or damaged in some way. It usually doesn't take this long until they start to pop open for me, but I took a leap of faith anyways. I know that this is terribly small for the seeds, and an extremely ghetto setup, but it's all I have to work with right now. The pictures could also be better, but I'm using my phone's camera to capture images.
Enough blabbing...

Yeah, it's an ice cube tray, what of it?!?

CFL's about 1 inch above the tray.

Hope everybody has a great day!!!

 

[Big Beans]

give them some time i had old seeds that to 11 days was about to toss them but i was glad i waited.
if your using the light for warmth cool but if not you should kill it till they pop.

 

[Big Beans]

Your set up is fine there is nothing like growing some good green in a setup you might not think works so well. Grow little beans GROW!!!

 

[Mr-Nice-Guy]

Sooooooooooooo... none of my seeds cracked. FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU >

Can't give up though. I'm no quitter. I have 20 more seeds that I started today.

Hopefully they will crack by my birthday this weekend.
:token:

 

[420inOregon]

when I germinate,I get a shot glass fill with room temp water and drop your seeds in.
Put them in a warm dry dark place and give them a week.
Dont be a quiter. My very first pot plant I grew did not sprout for two months. I gave up on it. I even went and pissed on it. Then it sprouted. So dont be a quiter and I wouldnt recomend pissing on them lol. Give them a lil time

 

[253Chiefin]

when I germinate,I get a shot glass fill with room temp water and drop your seeds in.
Put them in a warm dry dark place and give them a week.
Dont be a quiter. My very first pot plant I grew did not sprout for two months. I gave up on it. I even went and pissed on it. Then it sprouted. So dont be a quiter and I wouldnt recomend pissing on them lol. Give them a lil time

i been pissin in my resevoir for months...works wonders. i prefer crackin a redbull before hand though...give em wings

 

[Mr-Nice-Guy]

i been pissin in my resevoir for months...works wonders. i prefer crackin a redbull before hand though...give em wings

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh shit that was funny.

 

[420inOregon]

Hey they say if you dont have any nutes, Piss on them. Dont beleave me check it out for your self.I do know itrs got a good PH from taking all my UA's in the past jobs

 

[Mr-Nice-Guy]

Uuuugh. I'm doing something wrong... Maybe... or i'm impatient or something damnit. I've always germinated seeds between a wet paper towel in a sealed container in a dark cool place... They've never taken more than 4-5 days doing this method, but this time has been a huge flop. twice..

I don't know if my seeds are too old, or if the paper towel is too wet, or if it's just too cold for the seeds to properly crack open...

I know that I should just put the little fuckers in the dirt and pray for the best, but the whole point of my method is to see which seeds are good and which seeds aren't going to grow, therefore cutting down my space/soil needs... Ack!

I still have at least 30 seeds besides those 20 that were pictured above, so maybe I'll get off my ass and just put some of those little runts in the ground.

Sorry for the long, and boring post. This journal is really lacking in greenery...

 

[PrincessPot]

Hey just stopping in to say good luck on your grow! I had someone tell me that soaking seeds was more effective than a paper towel. Needless to say i trusted him and they popped! i'd recommend cracking open some bottled water, poor it in a cup that retains heat well, warming it up a little past luke warm and soak your seeds.

This is a surefire way to germinate a seed. I've germinated quite a few and only had one dud (the one I told you about).

Take another seed and do it exactly this way:

1) Take a cup or glass and fill it with water halfway, like this:

Seed In Cup

2) Cover it up - I use a beer coaster - anything to keep the light out.

3) Put it in a warm place - I use a drawer in my growroom. Don't put it on a window sill. It's hard to keep bright light out of anything. There has to be somewhere warm in your house - the top of the fridge, your bedroom, a furnace room, an electric blanket.

4) The seed will probably float on the surface. If it doesn't sink in 4 - 12 hours, put it under the surface. It should sink to the bottom if it hasn't already.

5) Check on it in 24 hours. The seed should have swelled and split.

6) Keep checking until you see the taproot has emerged. This takes anywhere from 1 - 3 days.

7) Before you plant it, fill the pot you are going to use with soil.

8) Pour boiling water over it until it drains out the bottom. It will probably look like mud.

9) Let it stand for an hour or so. The soil should be warm, not hot. This step will compact and hydrate the soil as well as kill any harmful bacteria.

10) Use a chopstick to punch a hole 1/4" deep into the soil.

11) Carefully empty the cup containing the seed slowly into your hand over a bowl and let the water drain through your fingers leaving the seed in your hand. If it falls into the bowl, pick it up gently with your fingers. It's not that fragile.

12) Using your fingers, drop the seed into the hole you dug in the pot. If you can get it in taproot down, all well and good. If not, don't worry - it will get to the surface even if you plant it upside down.

13) Cover it with soil - don't tamp it down. You only need to cover it so the taproot isn't exposed to the light.

14) Place it under your CFL about one foot away. Keep the soil moist but not soggy. I mist the soil on the top several times a day.

15) When the seed pops (this can take from one to three days), move it about 6" from the CFL until it is fully opened and the first leaves appear. Then you can move it closer to the lamp, so that it doesn't start stretching.

If you're not comfortable about using a cup to germinate your seed, stick with the paper towel method. That works, too.

Thats the original post from my journal! Hope that helped

 

[420Farmer]

Lol what in the fuck are you guys talking about pissin on plants for lmao!! You gotta shit on them to get real results..

 

[Mr-Nice-Guy]

Hey just stopping in to say good luck on your grow! I had someone tell me that soaking seeds was more effective than a paper towel. Needless to say i trusted him and they popped! i'd recommend cracking open some bottled water, poor it in a cup that retains heat well, warming it up a little past luke warm and soak your seeds.
Thats the original post from my journal! Hope that helped

Hey, not like I have anything to lose! Thanks for all the detailed instructions, I'm going to jump on it ASAP.

 

[Mr-Nice-Guy]

Ok, here we go again. Third time is the charm here...

12 seeds in warm water, covered by a tupperware lid, on top of my slightly warm computer.

Other than that I picked up the new soil that I'm going to try out, and some red solo cups. Can't wait to get crackin!!!!

 

[PrincessPot]

What color are those seeds in the cup? I read that light brownish/white seeds aren't mature and won't grow. What you want is brown/dark brown in the previous pics. Also it might take a few days as some strains (sativa) take longer to germinate. Patience is a virtue good luck with those seeds!

 

[Indyca5000]

sativa seeds need more warmth i think. seeds don't last forever, maybe up to 5 yrs if packed well with optimal temp maintained. they also do not keep well at warm temperatures. hope you have some luck soon. on top of fridge or computer is good they won't get as cold as the rest of the surfaces in the room that way. annnd make sure the towel is in a dark place where light wont make it to the seeds.

 

[rope]

I use CFL lights, work great!!!! If you put your seeds in water, the good ones will sink. the bad ones float. Take the good seeds out of water, buy a small
seeding kit, $10.00 . Follow instructions, I have had 100% of all seeds I stow,
GROW. I then use a grow light, and a nice breeze going, my stems are so strong
now. CFL lights love them. good Luck.........

 

[253Chiefin]

good luck with this round of seeds. hopefully they'll all pop and you can finally get rolling