The Early Stages

How is everyone doing this fine day?

Anyway... Being the first month plays such a big part in how the plant later matures, I thought it would be a good idea for everyone to give their tips, tricks and hints when it comes to the early stages of marijuana cultivation (first month or so).


I just started my second indoor/outdoor grow and completed my germination process in under 2 days.

For my germination technique you will need:
Shallow saucer/bowl
Quilted paper towels
Two Toothpicks
Superthrive
Water
Seeds

I start by lining the saucer with one paper towel. Following this, I put approx 1/5 cup of water in the saucer, allowing the paper towel to soak up most of the water.

Second, I place about 10 seeds on the paper towel that now has absorbed most of the water and I leave aprox. 1 inch between each seed.

Next I place my second paper towel over the seeds. Once this is placed on top, the two paper towels should merge together as the water soaks in to the dry paper towel that was just placed on top. You should now have a soggy seed sandwich with your bread being the paper towels.

Then, I fully dip the two toothpicks in Superthrive and I lay these two toothpicks across the top paper towel.

I usually place my saucer in the bathroom under the sink. I control the temperature with the bathroom heat fan, keeping the room temperature @ 80F for fastest results.

For my planting technique you will need:
Soil mixture (avoiding tree bark) + Perlite
Plastic party cups
Superthrive
Tweezers
Syringe

I start off by microwaving my soil for 1 minute to kill any small pests that may be lerking inside. You can also do this on the stove.

Then, I take my soil and add in the perlite (about 1 part perlite 4-5 parts soil). You can then add the mixture to your party cup after poking four small holes in the bottom.

Once your party cup contains your soil mixture you can take the syringe and suck up about 1 drop of Superthrive. Make a indent in the soil, in the center of the cup and squirt the drop into the indent you just made.

Next I take my tweezers and gently grab my seed from germination process. I then drop the seed (root down) in the hole and cover it with a thin layer of soil.


I am really looking forward to everyones tricks and tips when it comes to the most important stage of the plants life.

just plant the seeds directly into the medium water over keep dark at 21*-23* and the job is done.
soil/seeds/pots and cling film are all you need.
paper towels and then transplanting germinated seeds is far too much hassle(and sucks).
you wouldent catch a gardener germinating vegatable or flower seeds in paper towels then transplanting them to soil thats just ludacris and so are party cups whats wrong with pots.
no superthrive no tweezers/paper towels/plates and bowls.
once the tap root has sprouted it should not then be transplanted into soil thats just stressing your seeds from the start.
just plant and go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAkrkmsBffo

LUDACRIS said:

just plant the seeds directly into the medium water over keep dark at 21*-23* and the job is done.
soil and seeds are all you need.
paper towels and then transplanting germinated seeds is far too much hassle.
you wouldent catch a gardener germinating vegatable or flower seeds in paper towels then transplanting them to soil thats just ludacris and so are party cups whats wrong with pots.

Click to expand...

I use the method of germination I do because it proves faster then sticking a seed directly into the soil. I can get my seeds to sprout in just over two days. Not to mention how much easier it is to control different aspects of the germination process. MANY people germinate in paper towels and there are MANY reasons why they do so.

I use the party cups because A: they are cheap, B: they are good size and C: they're also easy to break apart when I want to transplant. I'm not going to waste money on pots when party cups serve the same exact purpose.

I use the method of germination I do because it proves faster then sticking a seed directly into dirt. I can get my seeds to sprout in just over two days. Not to mention how much easier it is to control different aspects of the germination process. MANY people germinate in paper towels and there are MANY reasons why they do so.
it takes 72-85 hrs to sprout seeds directly from the soil and MANY people only germinate seeds in paper towels because they dont know and better its the norm for a newbie i did it on my first grow and it worked but there is no need for that hassle and stressing seeds before they are even in the soil.

It's funny you posted the link to the Youtube video. That's the same method I used last year and yes it did work. But, It ended up taking about 4-5 days to sprout vs the 2-3 I get using this method.

Also, the purpose of Superthrive is to reduce stress. If my plants were being stressed to extent your making it out to be they would not even sprout.

Let me add that the purpose of this thread was only to share tips, tricks and etc that you use yourself to benefit your young ones. If you have yet to try a method I would suggest not posting information on it for others to go off of.

MrNotorious said:

It's funny you posted the link to the Youtube video. That's the same method I used last year and yes it did work. But, It ended up taking about 4-5 days to sprout vs the 2-3 I get using this method.

Also, the purpose of Superthrive is to reduce stress. If my plants were being stressed to extent your making it out to be they would not even sprout.

Click to expand...

different strokes for different folks mate.
here is one of my sprouts 6.5 days after planting my seed.

LUDACRIS said:

different strokes for different folks mate.
here is one of my sprouts 6.5 days after planting my seed.

Click to expand...

Yeah I was not trying to be ignorant but this just works the fastest for me.

Even though I would not expect you to this early, are you doing anything special?

Even though I would not expect you to this early, are you doing anything special?

what do you mean by the above(sorry)?????

LUDACRIS said:

Even though I would not expect you to this early, are you doing anything special?

what do you mean by the above(sorry)?????

Click to expand...

Being your plant is still in it's early stages I would not expect you to be doing anything to out of the ordinary with it. Although I figured I would ask...?

MrNotorious said:

Being your plant is still in it's early stages I would not expect you to be doing anything to out of the ordinary with it. Although I figured I would ask...?

Click to expand...

no nothing special(no nutes).
just plain top soil and perlite mix and i have started this grow straight under my 400w h.p.s. and did not bother with my c.f.l.s for vegging.
and this grow is running 24/0 this time as to 18/6 the last grow that was started under c.f.l.s.
i will go 18/6 soon and start adding nutes in another 2-3 weeks at 1/3 strength and build it up from there but i dont take any of my grows seriously its just something to do.

LUDACRIS said:

no nothing special(no nutes).
just plain top soil and perlite mix and i have started this grow straight under my 400w h.p.s. and did not bother with my c.f.l.s for vegging.
and this grow is running 24/0 this time as to 18/6 the last grow that was started under c.f.l.s.
i will go 18/6 soon and start adding nutes in another 2-3 weeks at 1/3 strength and build it up from there but i dont take any of my grows seriously its just something to do.

Click to expand...

Very nice. What nutes will you be using?

https://www.rollitup.org/members/ludacris-albums-nutes-picture22126-img-0012.jpg
vegging nutes(the business).
https://www.rollitup.org/members/ludacris-albums-96-picture20729-img-0012.jpg
flowering nutes(pure dutch organic).

LUDACRIS said:

https://www.rollitup.org/members/ludacris-albums-nutes-picture22126-img-0012.jpg
vegging nutes(the business).
https://www.rollitup.org/members/ludacris-albums-96-picture20729-img-0012.jpg
flowering nutes(pure dutch organic).

Click to expand...

Ahh I see. Good deal!

any questions and i will be happy to help.
good luck.
LUDACRIS.

hey is 12 hours of sunlight and 6 hours under clfs ok or is that just stressing my plants
i live in hawaii and thats all the sunlight i can get there all just under a month

hawaiisbest said:

hey is 12 hours of sunlight and 6 hours under clfs ok or is that just stressing my plants
i live in hawaii and thats all the sunlight i can get there all just under a month

Click to expand...

i would stick to using your cfl's all the time rather than moving them from the sun to artificial light.
i am sure it would work but not sure how much stress the plant/s will get with moving them you can only try and see.
LUDA.