Nottheone
- 23
- 3
Hi all,
This is my first post on the site. I looked forward to engaging members and learning more about cultivating as I embark on this journey. On the advice of several peoples' posts I have read, I decided to start a grow journal. I have been taking daily photos of my grow and I am about 2 weeks in at this point. I have previously grown before, but that was a hydro grow many years ago and frankly, I would most certainly classify myself as a beginner. I have no experience growing with soil.
Here are the specs of my grow:
1 x Girl Scout Cookies - fem and 1 x Blue Monster - fem (from 420newguys)
1100W LED grow light (Luoapp) - According to manufacturer, veg switch is 600W, bloom switch is 1100W, and both together is 1200W.
Grow medium: Roots Organic (ROD75) growing medium and Kind Soil. The soil was placed in 3 gallon vivosun fabric grow pots and layered as follows: 1 lb kind soil on bottom, 1:2 mix of kind soil and RO (1lb and 2lb respectively/approx), and then a top layer of RO to the top. I also filled Solo Cups with RO for seedlings before transplanting to my 3 gallon pots.
I am growing in a 2x2x4 ft grow room and I am using a vivosun 4" 195 cfm fan for exhaust connected to 4" vivosun air carbon filter.
I also later added a Handfan dehumidifier (the type that can sit in a cup of water) and a stationary fan for circulation.
As I have been ordering materials on the fly and dealing with various shipping delays, the grow was started in closet initially and moved to grow tent a few days in. We also temporarily moved into to larger grow tent (3 x 3 x 7 ft) but I could not maintain adequate temperature, so I reverted back. I will get into that further in described the photographs.
I am using only veg light currently and have experimented going higher and lower. I currently have the lights sitting approximately 18" above the canopy. The humidifier is keeping my RH between 65-75 depending on the setting. Day time temps are between 70-75 and nighttime temps are between 65-68.
Germinating seeds:
I started seeds in water for 24 hours. The Blue Monster sprouted a shoot while still in water. Neither sunk to the bottom on its own but did so after a light push. I then transferred from water to paper towel using tweezers. Unfortunately, I did not take any photographs of this part. I left the seeds in paper tower between two dishes in the darkness for another 36 hours before planting. There was a 1 inch shoot from BM seed and half inch shoot from GSC seed when transferring to soil.
Day 3:
I used a large piece of cardboard with aluminum foil to enclose these in the closet. I also made posts and attached a plastic ziplock bag around the mouth of the solo cups to create a humidity shield. When I first watered, I gave each solo cup approximately 7-8 ounces of water. I have well water with a ph of 6.66. My water is also very soft at 28 mg/L. Light was set to veg on 18/6 schedule. At this point, the lights are 20 inches above the soil.
Also, for those wondering, I put the solo cups in the larger planter because I read somewhere that it would make it easier to transplant. On reevaluation, I think this probably was not great advice but not particularly harmful either, at least not that I can see. More or less, it was just unnecessary.
Day 4:
This is BM the following day in the morning and then later in the afternoon. No sprout yet from GSC.
Day 5:
The first picture is GSC sprout poking her head out. The second picture is the BM seedling.
Day 6:
The first picture is BM seedling and the second picture is GSC.
This is the day I received my grow tent, exhaust fan and filter, so everything was set-up and plants moved from the closet to the grow tent. Blue Monster continues to outpace the GSC in growth. I have no re-watered and just continue to leave humidity dome.
Initially, I removed the ziploc bags because I figured in the grow tent, I would have better humidity. This assumption was incorrect. I would go on to put the ziploc bags back over my seedlings in towards the end of day 7. I also initially could not find a configuration that I liked for my exhaust and filter set up, so the filter was initially on the ground near the plants.
I also raised the height light at this point to 22" thinking that putting the light further away would result in maintain RH.
Day 7:
I tried to change the light cycle at this point, having read that many people experienced good results going to 20/4 during this stage. After trying it for a day, I did not like how the leaves of the seedlings began to curl down so I changed back to 18/6 for the following day. I also put the ziploc bag back over the cups as a humidity dome.
Blue Monster on the left side - GSC on the right.
Day 8:
The first picture is BM and second picture is GSC. This picture illustrates a slightly less concerning curling of the BM seedling. It began improving when I put the ziploc bag over the top of it. The GSC seems to enjoy the light with or without the humidity dome but I put one back over her in solidarity with her sister.
Day 9:
The first two photos are pictures of BM and GSC respectively, taken shortly after lights on in the morning.
Later in the day, I received my humidifier and hygrometer so I could check temperature humidity. I brought a smart one (Govee) so I get updates to my phone and I can set various alarms. This has been very helpful.
I also purchased a personal humidifier - this one made by Handfan. It is a cylindrical humidifier that can be dropped in a cup or bottle of water and either be set to spray continuously for 4 straight hours or intermittently for 8.
I also added a stationary fan for circulation here. Clipped to the side and blowing above the tops of the seedling at the lowest setting. In addition, with the inclusion of the humidifier, I removed the ziploc bags and placed humidifier near seedlings to keep relative humidity up.
This picture is still day 9 at around 6:00 pm. The back left is GSC and the front right and BM. Plant has still not been rewatered to this point. My understanding is that the medium should dry out completely at this stage before rewatering. I can tell by stick finger into a few inches deep that bottom of the cup remains moist.
I will add more days shortly. By way of reference, my grow is currently at day 14.
Thank you for reading. I do have some questions that I will pose as I've noticed some slow growth to this point but I will ask them shortly when I post days 10-14. Thanks again.
This is my first post on the site. I looked forward to engaging members and learning more about cultivating as I embark on this journey. On the advice of several peoples' posts I have read, I decided to start a grow journal. I have been taking daily photos of my grow and I am about 2 weeks in at this point. I have previously grown before, but that was a hydro grow many years ago and frankly, I would most certainly classify myself as a beginner. I have no experience growing with soil.
Here are the specs of my grow:
1 x Girl Scout Cookies - fem and 1 x Blue Monster - fem (from 420newguys)
1100W LED grow light (Luoapp) - According to manufacturer, veg switch is 600W, bloom switch is 1100W, and both together is 1200W.
Grow medium: Roots Organic (ROD75) growing medium and Kind Soil. The soil was placed in 3 gallon vivosun fabric grow pots and layered as follows: 1 lb kind soil on bottom, 1:2 mix of kind soil and RO (1lb and 2lb respectively/approx), and then a top layer of RO to the top. I also filled Solo Cups with RO for seedlings before transplanting to my 3 gallon pots.
I am growing in a 2x2x4 ft grow room and I am using a vivosun 4" 195 cfm fan for exhaust connected to 4" vivosun air carbon filter.
I also later added a Handfan dehumidifier (the type that can sit in a cup of water) and a stationary fan for circulation.
As I have been ordering materials on the fly and dealing with various shipping delays, the grow was started in closet initially and moved to grow tent a few days in. We also temporarily moved into to larger grow tent (3 x 3 x 7 ft) but I could not maintain adequate temperature, so I reverted back. I will get into that further in described the photographs.
I am using only veg light currently and have experimented going higher and lower. I currently have the lights sitting approximately 18" above the canopy. The humidifier is keeping my RH between 65-75 depending on the setting. Day time temps are between 70-75 and nighttime temps are between 65-68.
Germinating seeds:
I started seeds in water for 24 hours. The Blue Monster sprouted a shoot while still in water. Neither sunk to the bottom on its own but did so after a light push. I then transferred from water to paper towel using tweezers. Unfortunately, I did not take any photographs of this part. I left the seeds in paper tower between two dishes in the darkness for another 36 hours before planting. There was a 1 inch shoot from BM seed and half inch shoot from GSC seed when transferring to soil.
Day 3:
I used a large piece of cardboard with aluminum foil to enclose these in the closet. I also made posts and attached a plastic ziplock bag around the mouth of the solo cups to create a humidity shield. When I first watered, I gave each solo cup approximately 7-8 ounces of water. I have well water with a ph of 6.66. My water is also very soft at 28 mg/L. Light was set to veg on 18/6 schedule. At this point, the lights are 20 inches above the soil.
Also, for those wondering, I put the solo cups in the larger planter because I read somewhere that it would make it easier to transplant. On reevaluation, I think this probably was not great advice but not particularly harmful either, at least not that I can see. More or less, it was just unnecessary.
Day 4:
This is BM the following day in the morning and then later in the afternoon. No sprout yet from GSC.
Day 5:
The first picture is GSC sprout poking her head out. The second picture is the BM seedling.
Day 6:
The first picture is BM seedling and the second picture is GSC.
This is the day I received my grow tent, exhaust fan and filter, so everything was set-up and plants moved from the closet to the grow tent. Blue Monster continues to outpace the GSC in growth. I have no re-watered and just continue to leave humidity dome.
Initially, I removed the ziploc bags because I figured in the grow tent, I would have better humidity. This assumption was incorrect. I would go on to put the ziploc bags back over my seedlings in towards the end of day 7. I also initially could not find a configuration that I liked for my exhaust and filter set up, so the filter was initially on the ground near the plants.
I also raised the height light at this point to 22" thinking that putting the light further away would result in maintain RH.
Day 7:
I tried to change the light cycle at this point, having read that many people experienced good results going to 20/4 during this stage. After trying it for a day, I did not like how the leaves of the seedlings began to curl down so I changed back to 18/6 for the following day. I also put the ziploc bag back over the cups as a humidity dome.
Blue Monster on the left side - GSC on the right.
Day 8:
The first picture is BM and second picture is GSC. This picture illustrates a slightly less concerning curling of the BM seedling. It began improving when I put the ziploc bag over the top of it. The GSC seems to enjoy the light with or without the humidity dome but I put one back over her in solidarity with her sister.
Day 9:
The first two photos are pictures of BM and GSC respectively, taken shortly after lights on in the morning.
Later in the day, I received my humidifier and hygrometer so I could check temperature humidity. I brought a smart one (Govee) so I get updates to my phone and I can set various alarms. This has been very helpful.
I also purchased a personal humidifier - this one made by Handfan. It is a cylindrical humidifier that can be dropped in a cup or bottle of water and either be set to spray continuously for 4 straight hours or intermittently for 8.
I also added a stationary fan for circulation here. Clipped to the side and blowing above the tops of the seedling at the lowest setting. In addition, with the inclusion of the humidifier, I removed the ziploc bags and placed humidifier near seedlings to keep relative humidity up.
This picture is still day 9 at around 6:00 pm. The back left is GSC and the front right and BM. Plant has still not been rewatered to this point. My understanding is that the medium should dry out completely at this stage before rewatering. I can tell by stick finger into a few inches deep that bottom of the cup remains moist.
I will add more days shortly. By way of reference, my grow is currently at day 14.
Thank you for reading. I do have some questions that I will pose as I've noticed some slow growth to this point but I will ask them shortly when I post days 10-14. Thanks again.