TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
Starting this for my personal records. I will start and finish this journal. God willing. I'm sure I will need help so ALL advice is appreciated. I'm on a tight budget. But I've already spent a boatload to get this started so I'm banking on a good end product.

3 Northern Lights
1 special queen #1
1 Sour Diesel
1 bagseed (just for experimentation)

Growing in
400 watt MH/HPS (too many plants for that light?)
4inch intake booster fan/unknown CFM exhaust fan (how often should I run the intake versus exhaust fan? Heat could be an issue)
FFOF/Happy Frog soil
Using Grow Big/Tiger Bloom (all available at local nursery.. felt sketchy buying this stuff at the end of September.. maybe I'm paranoid)

Germination 9/23 using paper towel method. Currently setting in a warm, dark spot. Hopefully I have 100% success rate. Update when I transplant to soil and they sprout.
 
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TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
Should I start my seedlings under my 400w MH lights? I don't have any CFL's and I can't buy anything else really. Could I sit them by a window and just supplement with my 400w MH, just to start with until they sprout? Or is it okay just to start with MH?
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
High TrailBlazer

Keep that 400 about a foot or more above new seedlings so you don't fry them and once they show true leaves lower it a couple inches carefully to keep them from stretching too much tho 8" is the closest I would get.

You would be much better off using an old shop light to get them started tho. Way cheaper on power and a lot easier to start little babies off with. A couple of 6400K CFLs would do just fine as well.

If you can get 18 hours of light per day in a window that would work too but where can you get that regularly.

Tone that FFOF down for new plants with extra perlite or coco to keep it from burning little plants. It's pretty hot for babies.

I mainly use 400s for vegging but start plants under lights I mentioned to get them going. 400s are pretty harsh for youngsters.

Good luck and good growing!

:peace:
 

TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
High TrailBlazer

Keep that 400 about a foot or more above new seedlings so you don't fry them and once they show true leaves lower it a couple inches carefully to keep them from stretching too much tho 8" is the closest I would get.

You would be much better off using an old shop light to get them started tho. Way cheaper on power and a lot easier to start little babies off with. A couple of 6400K CFLs would do just fine as well.

If you can get 18 hours of light per day in a window that would work too but where can you get that regularly.

Tone that FFOF down for new plants with extra perlite or coco to keep it from burning little plants. It's pretty hot for babies.

I mainly use 400s for vegging but start plants under lights I mentioned to get them going. 400s are pretty harsh for youngsters.

Good luck and good growing!

:peace:
Thanks for the advice. I plan to start the seedlings in happy frog bc like you said the ocean forest is too hot.
 

TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
1 northern light and 1 bagseed went into soil today. Still waiting on the other 4 to grow longer tap root. Sour diesel shows no sign of even cracking open 4 days after starting germination. Just going to be patient.
 

JaJaJaJa

Well-Known Member
Should I start my seedlings under my 400w MH lights? I don't have any CFL's and I can't buy anything else really. Could I sit them by a window and just supplement with my 400w MH, just to start with until they sprout? Or is it okay just to start with MH?
It's ok to leave them under the MH light(although not the most energy efficient way to get them going). Just make sure you don't fry them. I would leave the light at least 2-3 feet away for safety.
 

TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
It's ok to leave them under the MH light(although not the most energy efficient way to get them going). Just make sure you don't fry them. I would leave the light at least 2-3 feet away for safety.
I think that's what I will do. I will get some cfl's for future grows for supplemental light and for seedlings. But for now I can dim my MH light to 50% or 75% if that would be better
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
I scuff my seeds up in a pill jar lined with 150 grit sandpaper before planting directly into finely screened ProMix then keep a 23W, 6500K CFL a few inches above the sprouts before they even come up. That way it keeps the surface a little warmer and gives them light the second they show. After they have a couple sets of true leaves they can go under a 400W MH but I generally just add more CFLs until they get bushy enough to not waste so much light like you do using a 400 on tiny plants.
 

Kiddkenna

Member
If that one hasn't cracked yet maybe try putting it in a cup of water overnight and see if it at least cracks. Then I put mine in a damp paper towel, rolled it up, put it in a sandwich baggie (!!air tight!!) and put it on top of my cable box (or something in your home that stays warm like a fridge etc.) let it sit overnight and it had popped AND had about a 1 inch sprout coming out already! That's some good soil, obviously no nutes yet, I really don't like to use them EVER. Definitely get CFL's if you can. If that sees hasn't cracked in a couple weeks of germination throw it out. :/ Hope i helped a bit. Happy growing!!!!
 

TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
I scuff my seeds up in a pill jar lined with 150 grit sandpaper before planting directly into finely screened ProMix then keep a 23W, 6500K CFL a few inches above the sprouts before they even come up. That way it keeps the surface a little warmer and gives them light the second they show. After they have a couple sets of true leaves they can go under a 400W MH but I generally just add more CFLs until they get bushy enough to not waste so much light like you do using a 400 on tiny plants.
Well you talked me into it. I went and got the bulbs you suggested and made a basic diy light with two 23w 6500k bulbs. It will definitely be cheaper than running the MH to start them off. Thanks for the advice.

1 more northern lights went into soil today.
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Well you talked me into it. I went and got the bulbs you suggested and made a basic diy light with two 23w 6500k bulbs. It will definitely be cheaper than running the MH to start them off. Thanks for the advice.

1 more northern lights went into soil today.
I'm extra cognizant of how much power I use as it costs dearly here at 23.5¢/kwh.

Keep those lights about 3" or so above the tops of the sprouts and there should be gentle ventilation but not direct air flow. A small fan aimed into the corner of the grow space works well. I use a 4" computer fan with a variable voltage wall wart to to lower the fan speed and gently waft air across the lights to move heat way from the plants. A trick I use to help keep the sprouts from stretching too much is to gently flick them with a finger tip. If they stay short with thick little stems then that isn't needed nor advised as the stocky ones can snap much easier than thinner tall ones.

Once the plants get a couple sets of true leaves you want to keep the lights around 2" from them all the time so be prepared to either raise the lights or start the plants on a stack of books or something so you can remove some to lower the plants if the lights can't be easily raised.

SeedStart.jpg
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
The bagseed sprouted first but it's struggling to shed the seed shell, it appears. Hard to get a picture of this because it's so small. @OldMedUser is this pretty common?
Common for the sprout to have trouble shedding the shell? Very common and sometimes surgery is required to get it off. Usually they will fall off if it's kept moist for a couple days but I use my little pen knife to carefully get them off when they refuse to go on their own. I use a finger underneath to hold the head steady them poke the tip between the little leaves and just split it apart. Need steady hands and my reading glasses. :)
 

TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
Sour diesel failed to germ. And 1 NL and 1 special queen haven't sprouted yet, about a week since the germ process started. They cracked but never really took off and grew a decent taproot. Last time I use royal queen seeds. I've never had a seed that wouldn't germ. Disappointing. I'm going to germ another NL just in case those other 2 fail to sprout. Whats The right number of plants for a 400 watt HPS. My grow space is 3 × 5 × 8ft tall

2 NL and 1 bagseed have sprouted so far.
 
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TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
Scratch the sour diesel and special queen.. i added another NL. So I have 3 NL and 1 bagseed. These NL have had trouble shedding the membrane of the seed. Only for a day or 2 but I don't remember encountering this before. This is the most recent NL that just sprouted today.. I think it will straighten itself out 15069060354861714789538.jpg
This is the bagseed day 4
1506906103132812409953.jpg

This is NL#1 at 5 days
15069062320101352132437.jpg

This is NL#2 at 3 days just shedded membrane
15069063495101495072473.jpg
 
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TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
Took me a little bit and I'm still getting things dialed in. I had some awful germ rates and also a couple die after a week or so. The bagseeds went 2 for 2 so im not sure. This was my first time buying seeds through a breeder. But luckily I had already had some seeds ordered so I get to try them out on my first grow as well. Which im excited about. Good thing I was talked into buying some cfl's by a very smart RIU member. Or else I would've been paying for my 400w MH the whole time while I was getting everything worked out.

So here's what I have now.
7 plants in total from 5 days old all the way up to 1 month old.
2 NL from RQS
2 Bagseed
1 Green Crack from HSO
1 Red Dragron from Barneys Farm
1 Critical from RQS
Anyone with any experience with these? I know I can search for it but trying to get info brought to me ☺

Pics and more details to come
 

TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
Today is the first day under 400w MH.

I got antsy and decided to go ahead and transplant into final pots and get rolling. They are in different size containers(5 and 10 gallon) bc of space limitations and soil limitations.


NL 1 at 30 days in 10 gallon pot
20171029_191918.jpg

NL 4 at 26 days in 10g pot
1509322878570991115451.jpg

Bagseed 1 at 30 days in 5g pot
1509322941691241535522.jpg
Bagseed 2 at 15 days in 5g pot
15093230365701767629712.jpg

Red Dragon at 10 days in 10g pot
15093231134031259094265.jpg

Green Crack at 15 days old in 10g pot
15093231989691822416372.jpg

Critical at 5 days in 5g pot
15093232432581535370285.jpg
 

TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
Notes

Germ rates were shit as I mentioned. I don't think it was on my end. Bagseed germed 2 for 2 and much faster than the rest. Wet paper towel inside sealed bag worked best for me.

Groking seeds is not very good. I asked if I could get a refund or anything. They said I'd have to send seeds back unopened. Hello I told you they were unsatisfactory so obviously I opened them. Also better freebies on other sites. The stealth wasn't great either. I won't go back there.

Red Dragon shot up fast and had a slight reddish color unlike any of the other seedlings. I think it's legit. Growing well.

I might have nuked a seedling due to adding mutes very lightly and misting the top of a 2 week old seedling. Live and learn. No nutes unless it shows deficiency.

Heat isn't an issue

My only worry is night time temps when I flip to 12/12.. hopefully my intake will keep it pretty warm.

Average temp right now is 77. Under 24/0 light schedule for now. Planning to flip in 2 weeks give or take depending on size.

Water every 3rd day

Added lime to soil to keep ph in check.

Any comments are welcome
 

TrailBlazer12747

Well-Known Member
Is 24/0 light better than 18/6?

In theory it should be. I've read that it is better. But you can't trust everything you read.

15093931709881869666152.jpg

The transplant into final pots didn't shock them too bad, if at all. They are loving the 400w. New growth after 24 hours of 400 MH is impressive. I had them under 3 23watt cfl's to start. I used gallon pots on some, probably too big. Live and learn. Outdoor temps are in the high 50's/low 60s. Average temp in room is 79. Humidity 30-45%.. Plan to run intake at night mostly to keep it warm and exhaust during the day to keep temps from getting too high. They will both be run intermittently throughout the day though until I get it dialed in.

I'm going to try some LST when they get a little bigger. We will see how that goes. Anxious and eager.
 
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