S
Shiny J
- 5
- 0
Hi all,
I appreciate from most of the threads that I'm playing with the big boys now but I'm just happy to be in the game!
I moved to Amsterdam last year and I’m excited to have the opportunity go grow my very own legally-acceptable cannabis plants. It’s only a small grow of just 5 plants, constrained by space and my respect of my new found freedom :rock
I’m hoping I can learn some skills from the farmers out there that might grow in limited space outdoors - I have a west-facing balcony garden of 3.5m x 1m to fit the 5 ladies in. Amsterdam is at 52N. If anyone has any tips, thoughts or suggestions no matter how obvious they may seem to be please don’t hold back in coming forward – this is my first grow so I have everything to learn!
Seeds:
I’m planning to grow 3 x Dutch Passion Shaman and 2 x Dutch Passion Frisian Dew (both feminised). I’ve heard nothing but good things about these 2 strains from the Seed Shops here and I bought them at different places so I feel I’ve had some good advice. I’m sticking with 5 plants as per the law in the Netherlands so I’m germinating 4 of each in the hope that at least 5 of the 8 sprout (if more sprout then they will donated to friends and neighbours cause I’m nice like that). The other 2 seeds are going in the fridge...
Starting them off:
I’m germinating them using the highly-recommended, low-tech, wet-paper-towel method.
I popped them into tupperware boxes (inside a brown box so they're in the dark) 24 hours ago and 3 of each of the 4 seeds have started to sprout so it’s looks like I’ll definitely get the 5 I wanted and more to spare.
I have an Aerogarden which I will be using for lighting only after the seeds have germinated and I’ve put them in jiffy plugs..
(The Aerogarden is a domestic household hydroponic unit used for growing herbs etc. but as it’s my first grow I’ve decided not to experiment too much so will be sticking to soil and making the most of the lights in the unit instead as it's convenient and compact.)
One of the reasons I’m using the jiffy plugs instead of putting them straight into pots of soil is because they will fit nicely under the Aerogardens light hood of 40cm x 20cm. I haven’t been able to find a propogation tray of this size so I'll probably use a dish with a glass cover and prop the lid open slightly for air circulation.
The only issue with the version of the Aerogarden that I have is that the light cycle isn’t very programable but it wasn’t purchased with the intent to grow cannabis seedlings so I’m adapting it for purpose. My lights-on cycle is limited to between 15 and 17 hours.
My plan is just to keep an eye on them really. I’d like to keep them under the 15 hour CFC cycle until the sunlight here is similar and then slowly introduce them to an inside window ledge but I’m not sure how they’ll grow in their space in the Aerogarden before this (60cm). The first time we get 15 hours of sunlight here will be in 4 weeks but as my balcony only gets direct sunlight for half of the day I’m considering leaving them under the CFC’s for as long as possible. Clearly the jiffy plugs have only so much growing room so it seems like something I have to play by ear before transplanting them into pots that I can keep on an inside ledge for a few weeks.
Introducing them to Mother Nature:
The jiffy plugged seedlings will be transferred to small pots of Bio Bizz All-mix; taking advice again, I’ve heard good things about it as an organic grow medium and I can get it at a good price from a Grow Shop very near me. The pots will live on an inside window ledge with the same west-facing perspective as the balcony where they will eventually be moved to for full vegetation and flowering.
I expect that they may have to stay indoors overnight until early June to avoid cold nights but I will start introducing them to the real world earlier if the weather is appropriately warm during the day. As they’ll be growing indoors up until this point their size might dictate their final moving date more than anything so again I think it might be judgement call.
Making them feel at home:
I have annexed half of our 4th floor balcony space for my girls so (having accounted for space to walk around the growing area) I have a west facing garden of 3.5m x 1m to fit the 5 pots. The balcony gets direct sunlight from 14:00 to sunset but it will get reflected light from sunrise so I’m confident of decent exposure.
They’ll be going into larger pots obviously (no bigger than 50cm diameter) and I’m going make small trolleys for them to sit on so they’re easy to move around in the small space I have. The balcony stretches the width of the apartment so they will situated on the half outside our bedroom window of 3m x 2m - I’m hoping this large window will reflect light back onto them. If all goes to plan my bedroom will have no need for curtains by the end of the summer!
Watering them regularly seems like a good idea (!) but apart from that I’m hoping they’ll be fairly self sufficient. If I can prod them along at flowering stage I will but I think I have a lot to learn before I start doing anything to manipulate them.
Ok - that's my plan. I'm hoping to keep on top of recording each step along the way and I'll post a couple of pics (because if no other reason I like to take photos) but equally I won't bore you if nothing is happening ;)
I'd really appreciate some feedback and perhaps more importantly some advice along the way because what I have learned is that there's a sh*t load to learn!
All the best
J
I appreciate from most of the threads that I'm playing with the big boys now but I'm just happy to be in the game!
I moved to Amsterdam last year and I’m excited to have the opportunity go grow my very own legally-acceptable cannabis plants. It’s only a small grow of just 5 plants, constrained by space and my respect of my new found freedom :rock
I’m hoping I can learn some skills from the farmers out there that might grow in limited space outdoors - I have a west-facing balcony garden of 3.5m x 1m to fit the 5 ladies in. Amsterdam is at 52N. If anyone has any tips, thoughts or suggestions no matter how obvious they may seem to be please don’t hold back in coming forward – this is my first grow so I have everything to learn!
Seeds:
I’m planning to grow 3 x Dutch Passion Shaman and 2 x Dutch Passion Frisian Dew (both feminised). I’ve heard nothing but good things about these 2 strains from the Seed Shops here and I bought them at different places so I feel I’ve had some good advice. I’m sticking with 5 plants as per the law in the Netherlands so I’m germinating 4 of each in the hope that at least 5 of the 8 sprout (if more sprout then they will donated to friends and neighbours cause I’m nice like that). The other 2 seeds are going in the fridge...
Starting them off:
I’m germinating them using the highly-recommended, low-tech, wet-paper-towel method.
I popped them into tupperware boxes (inside a brown box so they're in the dark) 24 hours ago and 3 of each of the 4 seeds have started to sprout so it’s looks like I’ll definitely get the 5 I wanted and more to spare.
I have an Aerogarden which I will be using for lighting only after the seeds have germinated and I’ve put them in jiffy plugs..
(The Aerogarden is a domestic household hydroponic unit used for growing herbs etc. but as it’s my first grow I’ve decided not to experiment too much so will be sticking to soil and making the most of the lights in the unit instead as it's convenient and compact.)
One of the reasons I’m using the jiffy plugs instead of putting them straight into pots of soil is because they will fit nicely under the Aerogardens light hood of 40cm x 20cm. I haven’t been able to find a propogation tray of this size so I'll probably use a dish with a glass cover and prop the lid open slightly for air circulation.
The only issue with the version of the Aerogarden that I have is that the light cycle isn’t very programable but it wasn’t purchased with the intent to grow cannabis seedlings so I’m adapting it for purpose. My lights-on cycle is limited to between 15 and 17 hours.
My plan is just to keep an eye on them really. I’d like to keep them under the 15 hour CFC cycle until the sunlight here is similar and then slowly introduce them to an inside window ledge but I’m not sure how they’ll grow in their space in the Aerogarden before this (60cm). The first time we get 15 hours of sunlight here will be in 4 weeks but as my balcony only gets direct sunlight for half of the day I’m considering leaving them under the CFC’s for as long as possible. Clearly the jiffy plugs have only so much growing room so it seems like something I have to play by ear before transplanting them into pots that I can keep on an inside ledge for a few weeks.
Introducing them to Mother Nature:
The jiffy plugged seedlings will be transferred to small pots of Bio Bizz All-mix; taking advice again, I’ve heard good things about it as an organic grow medium and I can get it at a good price from a Grow Shop very near me. The pots will live on an inside window ledge with the same west-facing perspective as the balcony where they will eventually be moved to for full vegetation and flowering.
I expect that they may have to stay indoors overnight until early June to avoid cold nights but I will start introducing them to the real world earlier if the weather is appropriately warm during the day. As they’ll be growing indoors up until this point their size might dictate their final moving date more than anything so again I think it might be judgement call.
Making them feel at home:
I have annexed half of our 4th floor balcony space for my girls so (having accounted for space to walk around the growing area) I have a west facing garden of 3.5m x 1m to fit the 5 pots. The balcony gets direct sunlight from 14:00 to sunset but it will get reflected light from sunrise so I’m confident of decent exposure.
They’ll be going into larger pots obviously (no bigger than 50cm diameter) and I’m going make small trolleys for them to sit on so they’re easy to move around in the small space I have. The balcony stretches the width of the apartment so they will situated on the half outside our bedroom window of 3m x 2m - I’m hoping this large window will reflect light back onto them. If all goes to plan my bedroom will have no need for curtains by the end of the summer!
Watering them regularly seems like a good idea (!) but apart from that I’m hoping they’ll be fairly self sufficient. If I can prod them along at flowering stage I will but I think I have a lot to learn before I start doing anything to manipulate them.
Ok - that's my plan. I'm hoping to keep on top of recording each step along the way and I'll post a couple of pics (because if no other reason I like to take photos) but equally I won't bore you if nothing is happening ;)
I'd really appreciate some feedback and perhaps more importantly some advice along the way because what I have learned is that there's a sh*t load to learn!
All the best
J
