First time in a long long time, starting very small...

[sp838]

...and apparently making all the mistakes too!

Hello all, started my first grow now that it's legal in my state, finally. I'm in an apartment, with a wife and pets so can't do anything big or elaborate. I want to attempt to just grow one nice little healthy plant at once, in a short amount of time to harvest, and then repeat the process as I gain understanding.

I set up small area in the living room by a very big, very bright unobstructed SSE facing window. I am using the 2022 updated SF1000 LED in addition to the daylight, and will be attempting to grow in soil. My temps range between 77 and 66F, humidity from 66 to 44%. Using a humidifier to boost humidity, it's on two hours at a time, off two hours at a time, all day. The lows are when it's not running.

Using autoflower seeds from Herbies, starting with Bruce Banner which they recommended as a good beginner indoor strain. I already killed one seed by not reading anything before attempting to sprout it (I can list all the things I now know I did wrong if you'd like haha) Got a second seed to sprout but it's off to an odd start, only one cotyledon leaf has emerged and it's growing very very slowly:

It's very hard for some reason for my old-ass iphone 8 to get a good closeup shot, but it definitely seems to be growing, and it doesn't look like it's rotting or yellowing (yet?), it's been slowly doing this weird emerging for a week now (I put the sprout in peat pellet last Monday the 26th.)

I watered it lightly today with some hydrogen peroxide treated dechlorinated tap water (ph 6), after reading that it can hep with sprouts and seedlings in general and specifically with oxygenating the roots and preventing root rot. So we'll see where it is a few more days I guess. I started sprouting another seed in case this one doesn't make it.

I know my setup is minimal and under-engineered at best, honestly that's part of the challenge I am setting for myself in these first grows. Thirty years ago, freshman year in college, a buddy of mine grew a smokeable single cola with nothing but a fluorescent lamp from the hardware store, hidden inside a cardboard box under a heap of seemingly dirty laundry with a small desk fan for ventilation. He kept it hidden from the RA's for an entire semester and grew something worth smoking, I figure I can and should be able to reproduce at least that on my windowsill.

If you've made it thus far, thanks for reading, I'll be updating my progress or lack thereof here, on this attempted super-micro micro grow.....

 

[TSD]

I assume you just watered and that's why it's so wet? Does it have proper drainage holes? Overwatering is the number one killer of newbies plants, and that's watering too often, not just too much. Make sure you let them have a dry period. Is it just in the pod still, or have you put it in soil?

 

[sp838]

Thanks for the reply! Yes, this photo was taken just after giving it the hydrogen peroxide water.

I do think you're right that I have been keeping it too wet, I was / am just really afraid of letting it die of thirst! The peat pellet is in a tray with a drainage hole so it's not sitting in water, but I don't think I am letting it dry out enough and watering / misting with spray bottle too often. I'll leave it alone now for a few days. Thanks again!

Temperature hit 80º in the sun today this afternoon, is that too hot?

 

[Justlovetogrow]

Thanks for the reply! Yes, this photo was taken just after giving it the hydrogen peroxide water.

I do think you're right that I have been keeping it too wet, I was / am just really afraid of letting it die of thirst! The peat pellet is in a tray with a drainage hole so it's not sitting in water, but I don't think I am letting it dry out enough and watering / misting with spray bottle too often. I'll leave it alone now for a few days. Thanks again!

Temperature hit 80º in the sun today this afternoon, is that too hot?

Yea it’s way to wet man just leave her be for a few days n she should push up outta that peat cube

 

[RoscoTom]

That peat pellet is capable of being overwatered, and it could stay "too wet" for days.

 

[RootsRuler]

IMO, I would try and shake out the excess moisture in the peat pellet without hurting the seedling. As RoscoTom mentioned, it'll stay wet for awhile which is what you DON'T want. Try and remove enough of the moisture so that the peat pellet is lightly moist.

OP, don't worry about nutrients at this point. The seed has enough energy to sustain itself so no need for feeding at this point. Concentrate on producing roots for now.

Try and keep the pellet in warmer conditions with as little temp swing as possible and high humidity.

 

[sp838]

Thank you!! I squeezed the pellet out, it was very wet, and moved it to fresh pod. Will also try to get humidity and temps up a little. I'm averaging around 50%, how much do you suggest it be?

 

[TSD]

This is a vpd chart, it shows optimal temp and humidity ranges at each stage. VPD stands for vapor pressure deficit, which is basically the difference between how much moisture is in the air currently and how much moisture the air can hold. This is important because of transpiration, which is how the plant exhales water vapor through the leaves. The VPD effects how
well the plant is able to do this, and proper transpiration makes all processes in the plant run smoother. Proper environment is more than half the battle. 80 is not too hot, they like it hot rather than too cold, upper 70s and 80s. They need a dry period to allow oxygen back into the soil to be taken up by the roots, this is how they get oxygen to use in all thier processes. If it's too wet for too long, they suffocate and drown and eventually you get root rot. Too wet is worse than too dry because too dry is a way easier fix. When my girls are seedlings and in early veg in one gallon pots, they routinely go a week between waterings. All needs change over the plants life through the different stages. Plenty of knowledgeable folks here willing to help you on your journey!

 

[RootsRuler]

This is a vpd chart, it shows optimal temp and humidity ranges at each stage. VPD stands for vapor pressure deficit, which is basically the difference between how much moisture is in the air currently and how much moisture the air can hold. This is important because of transpiration, which is how the plant exhales water vapor through the leaves. The VPD effects how
well the plant is able to do this, and proper transpiration makes all processes in the plant run smoother. Proper environment is more than half the battle. 80 is not too hot, they like it hot rather than too cold, upper 70s and 80s. They need a dry period to allow oxygen back into the soil to be taken up by the roots, this is how they get oxygen to use in all thier processes. If it's too wet for too long, they suffocate and drown and eventually you get root rot. Too wet is worse than too dry because too dry is a way easier fix. When my girls are seedlings and in early veg in one gallon pots, they routinely go a week between waterings. All needs change over the plants life through the different stages. Plenty of knowledgeable folks here willing to help you on your journey!

View attachment 1315886

This ^^^^^

Thank you!! I squeezed the pellet out, it was very wet, and moved it to fresh pod. Will also try to get humidity and temps up a little. I'm averaging around 50%, how much do you suggest it be?

At this stage you want to keep humidity in the 60% - 70% range. 50% would be bare minimum for me. If you have a dome you can cover and spray the inside of the dome to keep humidity up but if not you can fill a spray bottle with water and spray mist the clones every few hours or whatever frequency it takes to keep the humidity up.

Don't forget to keep them warm. 73* - 76* is where I like to keep them.

 

[TSD]

Yes seedlings like it quite moist, just be careful spraying water directly on them with lights on cause they can get burnt if you have powerful lights... which hopefully you don't on seedlings anyway.

 

[TSD]

I should add until they have a root system... because they take in water via the leaves. Once they get roots going and true leaves they start full on transpiration and you're off to the races.

 

[sp838]

This also very helpful, thank you! Looks like overall I need drier growing medium and warmer / higher humidity air....

Thanks again, and happy new year everyone!

 

[sp838]

I have another seed sprouting in case I made this one too unhappy, and have a few questions:

– ok to continue using peat pellets to plant the sprouts, just make sure to squeeze out excess water before planting, and then only water sparingly?

– do humidity levels need to stay up when the plants are "sleeping" ie when lights are off? or do they only need the humidity when lights are n and they are actively growing?

– if I am successful in getting these guys going and they make their first sets of leaves, when do I plant them in actual pots?

– I was thinking I'd use an off the shelf soil mix such as Fox Farm, but am now reading that autoflower plants prefer less rich soil... Should I use Pro-Mix HP instead?

Thanks again everyone!!!

 

[PurpleGreen]

really good choice, i love this strain! btw, how is it going now? All good?

 

[sp838]

Thanks for checking in! I was actually going to do an update today on my progress.

So let's start off with the bad news. That sprout that I posted above with the one cotyledon emerging didn't end up making it, as expected. I went poking around in the peat pellet to see what was going on after seeing no progress for days. The little tap root had gone to mush, the one cotyledon (no sign of the second one) had elongated itself and then just froze – it was hard and dense and dark green, like a bean. A sacrifice to the process, sadly, but seemed like it might have also been a dud seed.

In the meantime I've been working on my setup, as my environmentals are bad – a little too cold with too much temp fluctuation, and definitely my air is too dry. So I have a little ceramic heating element hooked up to an AC Infinity controller and that has fixed my temps. My little humidifier isn't up to the task though, even with it on 24/7 I can get my humidity up above 40% which as everyone else here knows is way too low esp. for seedlings and veg., so still sorting that out. I have a reptile tank humidifier on the way that has a hose that should direct the mist where it needs to go, it will also be running on the ACI controller.

In the meantime seed #3 is soldiering on through all this change which I am sure must be stressful. So I'm hopeful that with the humidity issue being fixed it will survive and make it to the next phase. Here's a photo from right now, planted 6 days ago:

Hopefully I'll more progress and better news to report by the end of the week....

 

[PurpleGreen]

Thanks for checking in! I was actually going to do an update today on my progress.

So let's start off with the bad news. That sprout that I posted above with the one cotyledon emerging didn't end up making it, as expected. I went poking around in the peat pellet to see what was going on after seeing no progress for days. The little tap root had gone to mush, the one cotyledon (no sign of the second one) had elongated itself and then just froze – it was hard and dense and dark green, like a bean. A sacrifice to the process, sadly, but seemed like it might have also been a dud seed.

In the meantime I've been working on my setup, as my environmentals are bad – a little too cold with too much temp fluctuation, and definitely my air is too dry. So I have a little ceramic heating element hooked up to an AC Infinity controller and that has fixed my temps. My little humidifier isn't up to the task though, even with it on 24/7 I can get my humidity up above 40% which as everyone else here knows is way too low esp. for seedlings and veg., so still sorting that out. I have a reptile tank humidifier on the way that has a hose that should direct the mist where it needs to go, it will also be running on the ACI controller.

In the meantime seed #3 is soldiering on through all this change which I am sure must be stressful. So I'm hopeful that with the humidity issue being fixed it will survive and make it to the next phase. Here's a photo from right now, planted 6 days ago:

View attachment 1318202

Hopefully I'll more progress and better news to report by the end of the week....

oh bummer
hope reptile tank humidifier will work and soon we'll see your mighty plant! Good luck, mate. I know this seed is gonna make it

 

[sp838]

Thank you! From your keyboard to the Flying Spaghetti Monster's big googley meatball eyes

She's growing, just verrrry slowwwwwwly...

Humidifier hopefully arrives today, then I can dare to raise my temps a little.

This morning after a very dry night, and photo of the other side.

 

[Madbud]

Put a drop of water from a fingertip on it to soften the hinge.

 

[sp838]

I'll try that thank you! Was actually wondering if maybe I didn't plant the sprout deeply enough, if the action of the sprout pushing on the shell through the medium helps to remove it... ? Maybe overthinking things but there are so many aspects to consider lol

 

[Madbud]

It does, theoretically if you plant seeds point end up, the tap root emerges and does a 180, the soil then pulls the shell off the emerging cotyledon.