Cristal Paradise on a budget

Well, I am almost done with my first successful grow, so its time to put in another. A friend of mine sent me 10 KC Cristal Paradise (thanks rogarg!) seeds, and I plopped them in my $4 ea walmart tubs about 36hrs ago.

I germinated them in a dish with a pptowel cover by plastic wrap (mostly). Hell, with tap water that sat out (no chlorine) and a lamp under the plate, all 10 popped open in 24hrs. Ive never had a problem from the ole plate method .

I have (1) 26watt comp floro hanging over where i put each seed about 1" deep. I raised my soils ph to 7 and flushed it a ton. I let it settle before planting. Im using self fertilizing soil, but only 1/3 is feed over time, so nute burn shouldnt be a problem. My last soil mix was 50/50 MG potting soil (3 month fert) and enriched perlite. I had the tiniest bit of nute burn, but I think it was from me feeding them with full strength tomato food....duh! Anyhow, Im not too worried about nute burn on this go round. At least now I know what to look for and how to handle it

My question for you guys is this : Im going to have to stall the veg period on these for about 2 weeks longer than the next set im planting? I want both sets to go flowering at the same time of course, but these plants hit the dirt 2 weeks sooner. They'll also be veggin under 550hps in 2 weeks from now.
Do I just keep trimming the cristal Pd, or bend them over? I remember something about taking the tops and putting them in the dirt?

Since im running only HPS and no MH, Im going to be fighting plant stretch. My ghetto ass aint buying a $100 bulb, nor extra ballasts, so im running hps all the way. How do I keep the Cristals in a SOG type bush? I dont mind crowding, once they are sexed, There will be room.

Anyhow, I just started these, so I'll keep good pics and records for any other broke asses that may learn from my mistakes. Im a DIY kinda guy, so feel free to ask this noob stuff.

Thanks for the website BTW kiss-ass
All my ideas have stemmed from the many hours of reading posts here. Now all I want to know is...."Where do I get a definative answer around here?" Oh wait......I wont! lol

2 out of 10 seeds survived the soil. Another learning experience.

DONT plant your seeds too deep. Yes, 1" is too deep.

Also, DONT keep the little bastards drenched in water.

All my other variables were perfect! At least I know the two left are probably going to be some tough little F**erz! Going to grow the 2, and experiment with cross pollination or cloning, or who knows. All i know is that cristal Paradise seeds arent dropping like rain, and might as well use these two as a learning tool.

Oh, I dug up the missing seeds, and they were pretty much balls of mush. They cracked open before I put em in the dirt, and never budged after that. I had a feeling the soil was WAY TOO WET. The soil needed 1 more day to drain from me saturating it to adjust the ph. In my defense.... who knew that 10 seeds would crack open on a pptowel in 24 hrs? Damnit, 1 more day and I'd have 5x's more plants... Moral of the story..... Don't rush, and dont allow your soil to be compacted. Yes, even 25% perlite soil compacts a ton during saturation. Should of done it like a bowl of rice and fluffed it more.

btw, the 3 little pots are actually Thyme Basil and Sage. Gotta keep the girl interested or funds dry up completely

nice setup..

howhighru said:

nice setup..

Click to expand...

Thanks! I play with my setup so often its rediculous. Smoke a bowl, move some shit. Too bad I cant smoke myself into making the plants grow faster! I mean LOTS faster.

Here's an update on my room setup changes. Also, Ive updated my spreadsheet and included baby pics. Hopefully as my setup changes, Im using the best out of the random gear I have.

I plan on doing LST training on these 2, since they will be in veg for a while as I wait on more equip for my attempt at dank ass White widow and Himilayan.

I hope to move these under a 400hps soon, but ive only one and its under my soon to be harvested bag seed budz. Ive almost got the parts for the 1000w, but its going to wait until the next grow.

The plants look pretty, and I see no issues thus far. Im still playing with the setup, so the temps arent maintaining exatcly where I want them. I think today I finally got it setup to get me 82deg when lights on, and mid 70's when off. perfect!! My humidity is back on track, and since the replant, I dont think overwater is an issue. So, nothing to do but breathe on them and wait. Ill tell you this much: The difference between these seedlings and my bag seed ones is Night and Day!! These have a prettier hue of colors, including a hint of orange. Damn, I cant wait to see what GOOD bud looks like in person! Here's hoping!!

i dont honer kc brains has a good breeder

Growing along nicely. They have been in veg for 3 weeks now. Normally I would've had more than just 150hps on them, but Im stalling these two for experimental purposes. The plant going thru LST is actually growing at an astouding rate, compared to the other. I plan on topping the other very soon. Heres some updated pics, and a newer spreadsheet.

Ignore the dust on the plants, its just DE to keep the pests at bay. With more misting it will eventually be washed away.

3 weeks in to flower with the 1000hps. They are both fem, and looking great. The Lst tortured plant seems to have more girth than the topped.

Just switched back to 18on and 6off lighting under a 1000w mh bulb. Dont know what reverting back to veging will do, but since only two plants made it, gotta make way for the new priority crop.

A lot has happened since going to reveg. The plant looks so small and pitiful. The Stem is massive, but all the fan leaves decided to bleach out and fall off. I guess it's more like a banzai tree now. Im just going to let it finish with my others and see what happens. There wont be much update after this, just perhaps a finished pic.

cool keep updating.

I ended up seeding this plant with Afghan Kush. The buds never really came back in. I got a blue million seeds of this hearty girl, but as for smoke......nada. Not a total loss, and definatley worth keeping my special formula beans. Im a firm believer now that revegging a plant just ruins its bud production. Thanks for checking in and happy growing!!