Clueless newby looking for opinions/advice

Red1966

Well-Known Member
This is my first grow. I planted two Barney's Farms LSD and 21 bagseed seeds. The LSD and 5 bagseeds are in Fox Farms Light Warrior and 18 bagseeds are in Miracle Grow seed starter.
I saturated the soils with water before planting the seeds. After planting, I "watered in" the seeds. Both soils like caved in in the center of the Jiffy cups I am using, sometimes completely exposing the seeds! How can I prevent this from happening in the future?
15 of the bag seed have germinated and are doing well. I soaked the bagseed 12 hours prior to planting because they were over a year old. 2 more have germinated but are struggling. On one of these, the leaves emerged first. I found this out when I watered the plants, the soil caving in thing again! I've been giving them 1 tablespoon of aerated water a day. 1 bagseed sprouted the day after I planted. It took 5 days for the LSD to show above ground, but I planted the Fox Farm seeds deeper, about 5/8". Too deep?
Of the 23 I planted, I have 18 showing. Three of those not showing I dug up and found they had germinated but just weren't exposing themselves. I replanted the with the seed husk just below the surface. Of the other 2, one was rotted and the other had not germinated. I am soaking that one now. I also scraped the hull. If it doesn't crack the hull in a day or 2, I'll toss it.
The Barney's Farm LSD are tiny compared to the bagseed. Is this normal?
When I first watered the soils, it was like a giant, dirty bubble of air formed under the surface. When it burst, it left a hole 1-1/2" deep in the middle of the pot. It continued to do this to a lesser extent on subsequent waterings. What can I due to stop this, it leaves the seeds exposed?
I have have them under 4 T5 HO veg lamps, 3" above. Is this the right height?:leaf:
 

hope full

Active Member
well first off it sounds like your soil needs a little varmikulite (i know i didnt spell that right) or any thing that will stiffin up you medium, and you might be over watering, you want the soil to be squshey lol my spelling is horriable, you dont need to water every day, and with the beauty of flours is that they admit barley any heat, so you dont have to be concerend about the light being to close, o and possibly try and add a little sand to your soild it will help add more structrue to your soil. any other questions?
 

jdmcwestevo

Well-Known Member
only water when the soil drys out man. you are watering way to much. i would suggest not using miracle grow stuff is garbage. stick to foxfarm. let them do their thing water when soil drys out gently they will be fine
 

MrGhettoGrower

Well-Known Member
I've tried the soaking method of germinating.
I prefer the Martha Stewart menthod.
Germinate the seeds in a baggie and paper towel.
Then put'em in whatever your growing in.
Rock wool or dirt! This way you know thier
good to go~
View attachment 1722754
 

Red1966

Well-Known Member
It's too late now, but in the future, how deep should I be planting the seeds? I've heard everything from 2mm (0.079 inches) to 1 inch. The plants in MG seed starter I planted 1/4 deep and they all popped within 5 days, most sooner, 1 the next day. The seeds in FF Light Warrior I planted 1/2 to 5/8" deep didn't show until the 4th and 5th day. I did presoak the ones in MG 4 hours(They were old seeds). When should I start feeding them? Should I go buy the Fox Farms schedule? At the same strength they recommend? I have a 2 600 watt HPS/MH setups. When should I move them there? Go by height or age? Is the tiny size of the Barney's Farm LSD normal for that strain?
I know the MG ($12.00 for 2 X 64 quarts) is supposed to be shit. I wanted to see if I could get a reasonably comparable quality/yield from it compared to a much more expensive, high quality soil like Fox Farms ($20.00+ for 1.5 cf/38.5 quarts) You may have noticed I put the pricey imported seeds in Fox Farms, only wanted to experiment with the freebie seeds. Put 5 bagseed in Fox Farm as a control.
Is there something wrong with the "search" feature here? I get nothing but error messages!
 

GFUNK412

Active Member
I am currently using mg moisture control mixed with light warrior and perlite.my plants are doing great.10 days into flowering.also have fox farm full line up of nutes.
 
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