Growing in 3rd World Conditions.

[Zerberus]

Hi everyone, Zerb here I'm completely new to the forum and also to growing my own plants...

So let me catch you guys and galls up to what i have been up too and how i got here. I'm in a 3rd world country where weed isn't illegal but it's super expensive so i opted to grow my own plants. I bought a couple of grams off the streets, was able to collect a few seeds (No clue what strain)... But i decided to give it a try and why not maybe even have fun in the process.

Day 1 - March 18th

I placed the seeds in between two make-up cleaning cotton pads , sprayed some water on the pads, and sealed it with a nylon grocery bag.

Like i said nothing fancy, out of the 4/5 seeds i collected from the bad quality weed i was able to successfully germinate 2 seeds using this method.

I stored them for germination inside a shelf in a closet around 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit, and in permanent darkness.


March 23rd - 5th day of germination

JACKPOT i got 2 seeds to successfully germinate and they have root hairs!!

March 23 - Transfer to Soil 

I got some clean soil from filled pots i was using for other outdoor house plants, i prepared the soil by spraying it lightly and mixing it so that it would collect moisture evenly. I did not wet the soil, i now seedlings are very vulnerable to excessive water.

Pushed down my index finger about an inch for the long germinated seed and about half for the small one. Planted both with care and lightly pushed the soil around them leaving about the length of a fingernail out of the soil.

Plant #1 This is "Kali" in the green cup, it was the longest taproot.

Plant #2 This is "Sephora" the smallest taproot.

March 23rd - Indoor Grow light T8 Tube

I'm using 1 standard T8 18W Florescent tube 6500k, the light cycle they are both on is 16 of light and 8 of darkness.

I keep them about 2-3 inches away from the light.

This is the exact T8 tube I'm using (picture above)

This is the distance im keeping them from the light (picture above)

March 24 - Plants look healthy and first two leafs are starting to sprout

This is "Kali" in the picture above (March 24th)

This is "Sephora" in the picture above (March 24th).
March 24th Started this forum thread.

I'm open to suggestions, but please keep in mind I'm in a 3rd world country and there's no access to grow lights or fancy equipment, can't measure PH, none of that... There's very little i can do, except maybe add lights (same T8 tubes), a fan for stronger stems. But resources here in this country are EXTREMELY limited so please be gentle with me lol, hope you guys can help me through the process, I'll be updating the thread constantly and interacting with you all frequently, hope you all like the thread. Let's have some fun growing these two unknowns.

 

[Cirroji]

you can grow some good weed with bagseed. welcome to the forums.

i am worried about soil , but what is your plan after the seedling stage for lighting?

and what country? got me curious im assuming around china from the bulb

 

[2Bad]

Is there drainage holes in the bottom of the pots? Also when you water..water until theres a few drops coming out of the bottom. Then feel how heavy it is. And water once the pot feels light again.

 

[Shaded_One]

that soil also concerns me greatly looks very sandy

 

[Cirroji]

Is there drainage holes in the bottom of the pots? Also when you water..water until theres a few drops coming out of the bottom. Then feel how heavy it is. And water once the pot feels light again.

i think the green one is a mug so i'd say no, but with his soil i worry if he fully saturates his soil it will completely compress when wet. we forget sometimes those amendments and how well things like perlite work.

 

[2Bad]

i think the green one is a mug so i'd say no, but with his soil i worry if he fully saturates his soil it will completely compress when wet. we forget sometimes those amendments and how well things like perlite work.

Good point

 

[Zerberus]

you can grow some good weed with bagseed. welcome to the forums.

i am worried about soil , but what is your plan after the seedling stage for lighting?

and what country? got me curious im assuming around china from the bulb

I can always add more lights and reposition them I'm very handy with electrical work, i can't say the country don't want to get banned or have the thread deleted. About the soil I'm kinda screwed on that there's nowhere to buy fresh soil.

 

[Zerberus]

Is there drainage holes in the bottom of the pots? Also when you water..water until theres a few drops coming out of the bottom. Then feel how heavy it is. And water once the pot feels light again.

I have not added them i will carefully drill 4 holes in each now without harming the seedlings. I'll post pictures when I'm done. Thanks for the advice

 

[Zerberus]

i think the green one is a mug so i'd say no, but with his soil i worry if he fully saturates his soil it will completely compress when wet. we forget sometimes those amendments and how well things like perlite work.

What can I do to avoid the soil from compressing?

 

[Cirroji]

What can I do to avoid the soil from compressing?

well you want to have air inside your growing medium. with a high sand content it will compress when wet and remove those air pockets. i wonder what things are available to you locally to add.

do you have access to compost? the reason i ask about location is depending where you live maybe we can help you find things to bring home to make a crude medium.

love to see different grows in different ways

do you have any local areas that have natural veg growth? a bucket or a bag and your hands is all you need to get some soil if your determined.

i can't say the country don't want to get banned or have the thread deleted. About the soil I'm kinda screwed on that there's nowhere to buy fresh soil.

i am like a lot of people on this forum. where you come from, your color, language, ethnicity , religion will have 0 negative bearing. a lot of us are very curious about our fellow growers.

 

[Zerberus]

well you want to have air inside your growing medium. with a high sand content it will compress when wet and remove those air pockets. i wonder what things are available to you locally to add.

do you have access to compost? the reason i ask about location is depending where you live maybe we can help you find things to bring home to make a crude medium.

love to see different grows in different ways

do you have any local areas that have natural veg growth? a bucket or a bag and your hands is all you need to get some soil if your determined.




i am like a lot of people on this forum. where you come from, your color, language, ethnicity , religion will have 0 negative bearing. a lot of us are very curious about our fellow growers.

Ok well I'm currently in Cuba working for a NGO that helps kids with school supplies for a better education. And yes there's vegetation everywhere i can look around and fill a few bags from different locations, post the pictures of the soils and maybe you guys can help me choose the best one.... I'm currently working on opening the holes on the bottom of the plastic mugs.

 

[Cirroji]

Ok well I'm currently in Cuba working for a NGO that helps kids with school supplies for a better education. And yes there's vegetation everywhere i can look around and fill a few bags from different locations, post the pictures of the soils and maybe you guys can help me choose the best one.... I'm currently working on opening the holes on the bottom of the plastic mugs.

oooooo Cuba - a place i'd love to visit. i have some Cuban cigars i am saving to roll my last harvest in

that would be exciting to see those pics as well!

 

[Zerberus]

Is there drainage holes in the bottom of the pots? Also when you water..water until theres a few drops coming out of the bottom. Then feel how heavy it is. And water once the pot feels light again.

I opened 4 holes in each mug Thank You! I'm worried about what other users said about having the soil compress should i keep it as it is for now until I find better soil tomorrow? I don't want to wet the soil to much, have it compress and kill the plants..

 

[Cirroji]

I opened 4 holes in each mug Thank You! I'm worried about what other users said about having the soil compress should i keep it as it now until I find better soil tomorrow? I don't want to wet the soil to much, have it compress and kill the plants..View attachment 1344064

@2Bad he's not waiting and ready to take action haha :) do you think he should add more holes to the side as well to help keep things from getting too wet?

 

[Stonemason7767]

I can always add more lights and reposition them I'm very handy with electrical work, i can't say the country don't want to get banned or have the thread deleted. About the soil I'm kinda screwed on that there's nowhere to buy fresh soil.

Can you get soil from the forest? I would say get some soil from the forest mix some wood chips in for aeration if you can't buy dirt.

 

[Zerberus]

Can you get soil from the forest? I would say get some soil from the forest mix some wood chips in for aeration if you can't buy dirt.

Yes i can and i will certainly do that tomorrow morning, i will gather soil from various locations, once i have it, will it be safe to transplant from this sandy soil to the new soil at this delicate stage?

 

[Zerberus]

oooooo Cuba - a place i'd love to visit. i have some Cuban cigars i am saving to roll my last harvest in

that would be exciting to see those pics as well!

I smoke cigars myself, and i do have to admit one of the biggest perks of being here is smoking Cuban cigars as much as I want.

Well if you ever do visit the island and I'm still here for work, help me grow these babies and you will also have weed to smoke and the cigars are on me

 

[Stonemason7767]

Check out jadam style farming .If you can get your hands on some brown sugar check out Korean natural farming. There are lots of liqiud homemade fertilizers you can wip up in about a week,to feed your plants when they get a little older.here are a few recipes from jadam style farming kinda like korean natural farming but cheeper .its designed for 3rd world farming.jadam is stinky but it works on little to no budget. First step get some dirt for your little babies.

 

[Zerberus]

Can you get soil from the forest? I would say get some soil from the forest mix some wood chips in for aeration if you can't buy dirt.

Got myself some soil from 2 different locations but from what I can see there's pretty much the same soil everywhere, I'll clean the grass, roots, and other stuff from it and post pictures, I'll leave the wood chips and small pieces of pine bark in the dirt. Just want to make sure grass or other roots don't seal the nutrients or water.

 

[Zerberus]

you can grow some good weed with bagseed. welcome to the forums.

i am worried about soil , but what is your plan after the seedling stage for lighting?

and what country? got me curious im assuming around china from the bulb

This is soil #1 from a green area with lots of plants and grass

Soil #2 from the forest


I brought back pine bark to strip down and crunch it into pieces and add it to the best soil... Please let me know which is best they honestly look the same to me.

P.S i still haven't cleaned the soil just took pictures as it is so that you can help me pick then I'll clean.