Scotty's 1st Grow w/ Girl Scout Cookies & more

[Scotty420]

So after months of setup & preparing I'm finally ready to jump in. I have a 48x48x80 tent with 2 Vivosun VS1000's & a VS2000 supposed to arrive today. I'm controlling everything with an AC Infinity Controller 69. I'm attempting 2 Girl Scout Cookies from Cali Connection, 2 Dirty Kush Breath (Dirty Banana x OGKB V2.1) from In House Genetics & 1 Tarta Helada (Ice Cream Cake x Forum Girl Scout Cookies) from Mamiko Seeds. I'm using water run through a ZeroWater filter tested at 5 ppm & 6.5 PH (300 PPM/7.5 from tap) & Happy Frog soil.

Started Sunday night with soaking seeds, pulled them last night after 24 hours. I actually had 2 that already appeared to be opening just from the soak. Drilled some holes in the bottom of some Solo cups, filed with Happy Frog & dropped in the seeds. Misted them until I got run off from the bottom, covered with Ziplock bags (I made sure to leave an opening for air to escape from the bags) & put in the tent.

I set the 2 VS1000's 30" over the top of the cups & set lights at 20% on 18/6. Tent was holding about 76 F all night at about 35% RH. Did a little research on a humidifier last night & then when I woke up this morning remembered we had a Vicks warm mist humidifier for when my son gets sick that we replaced with a cool mist version. Hijacked that & set it in the tent & as of when I left this morning I was holding about 60% RH.

 

[NorthernOrganics]

You may want to raise the cups off the bottom of the pan with something, a grate or rack or something. I see water pooling under the cups which will lead to overmoist medium that doesn't dry back which ends up creating bad problems (bugs, fungus). The seedlings can also drown when they are small.

 

[Scotty420]

You may want to raise the cups off the bottom of the pan with something, a grate or rack or something. I see water pooling under the cups which will lead to overmoist medium that doesn't dry back which ends up creating bad problems (bugs, fungus). The seedlings can also drown when they are small.

Thanks for the tip!

I did soak up most of the excess water & drilled my holes on the sides at the very bottom as opposed to the bottom of the cup. But I'll probably just punch a bunch of holes in the pan & put a 2nd pan underneath to catch the water. I have racks for when they go into the bigger pots but they're too big to fit in the tray.

But again thanks for the heads up, I'm totally new to all this s if you see me doing something wrong please don't hesitate to point it out

 

[NorthernOrganics]

You want to have air circulating under the cups to help dry out the bottoms. Cannabis plants hate having wet feet, and need a wet/dry cycle. One of the biggest problems I see with new growers is watering practices that drown roots. You can put pencils under the cups or pebbles in the bottom of the pan or something. Doesn't have to be much, you just want air to be able to circulate.

 

[Scotty420]

So I went back in yesterday evening to let some air into my cups, fix my tray & set up the new light that showed up. When I took the bags off I had some white fungus growing on the soil. It seems my humidifier can't be throttled down enough to not overwhelm the tent. Even using a timer to limit run time & setting my exhaust fan (which is vented to outside) to come on when humidity got over 65% I couldn't keep humidity in check. So I scraped a very thin layer of soil off to remove the mold, set the humidifier in the lung room until I can get the AC outlet controller to connect to the Controller 69 to better control the humidifier. I also cut holes in the one of the top corners of all my bags to allow more air to escape. I had some aquarium pebbles laying around that I put in the bottom of my tray to get some air under the cups. Hopefully I didn't mess anything up disturbing the soil/possibly overwatering when I planted, but we shall have to wait & see I guess.

Also set up the new light which was....interesting I guess, lets just say it didn't exactly work as I thought it would. So I connected the light in the way that it appeared to me that it showed in their diagram. The VS series light have only one RJ11 port. They come with a splitter so that you split out the incoming line to each light, one side of the splitter goes to the light your wiring & the other side would go to any additional lights you have. Because I'm controlling it not with the dimmer from another light but the controller 69 I just set it up as if the controller was the 1st light & the other 2 were being controlled by it, worked perfectly for the 2 lights.

So my assumption was I would just continue the daisy chain to the new light. However when I did that as soon as I hooked in the 3rd light it would turn completely off (just the 3rd light). After playing with several different wiring configurations I was finally able to get it to work....mostly. So I actually had to set it up more like a manifold than a daisy chain. Coming out of the controller I had to connect the first splitter to 2 different splitters. Then leaving me with 4 open ports to run to my 3 lights. After hooking it up that way all 3 lights dim on command from the 2 to 10 setting & all lights turn off at the 0 setting. However strangely enough at the 1 setting the 2 VS1000s come on at 10% & the VS2000 stays off. I mean it kinda works, 1 is just the super low setting in the tent with only the 2 lights in the back.

 

[NorthernOrganics]

The white fuzz on the soil surface is good. It's beneficial fungus that works in symbiosis with the roots. When I get it growing on the surface of wet soil, I just cover it with a thin later of dry soil. This fungal layer aids in making top dressed amendments available to the roots below.

 

[Scotty420]

Went into the tent last night just before bed to give a light spritz of water & just check things out. In one cup there was a decent sized piece of mulch right over the seed sight, so I moved it & noticed a tap root sticking through the soil. I dug it out & it had a nice about inch long tap root. I gently placed it back in the hole with tweezers with the root down & covered it back up lightly with soil. Was nice to see something is happening down there.

Also played with my exhaust timing & was able to work it out in a way that keeps the humidity at least close to where I want it (it bounces around a bit from about 50% to 75%). Still ordering the controller for the humidifier but at least I feel comfortable with it in the tent now until I can order the control on Friday. Plus I'm less concerned with the white fuzz, although with the humidity better controlled & vents in my bags it's been pretty minimal, sprinkled a very thin layer of soil over it this morning & gave another light spritz. With my humidity bouncing from 50-75% should I just remove the bags?

 

[NorthernOrganics]

Once they sprout I would remove the bags. You want the soil to dry out as they sprout or you risk drowning the taproot. I just keep my room at 60% rH all the time and flower/veg plants of all stages in there, it's not crucial to have pinpoint VPD, cannabis plants are hardy.

 

[Scotty420]

Once they sprout I would remove the bags. You want the soil to dry out as they sprout or you risk drowning the taproot. I just keep my room at 60% rH all the time and flower/veg plants of all stages in there, it's not crucial to have pinpoint VPD, cannabis plants are hardy.

OK so just try to keep the top of the soil moist until they sprout & then start watering to light runoff & don't water again until soil is dry?

 

[NorthernOrganics]

Something like that

 

[Scotty420]

So I went in last night before bed to check everything. As I was getting ready to head back out I noticed a sprout thinking about breaking the surface.

Checked this morning & we have a sprout. Gave them all a light spritz & headed to work. Excited to see what things look like when I get home tonight.

 

[Scotty420]

Just a quick update, of my original 5 seeds only 1 broke the surface & it seemed to pretty much stall, cotyledon didn't fully open & just wasn't progressing. So I decided to give up hope on the other 4 as they had been in the dirt a week at that point & do a full post mordem on them to figure out where I went wrong. Boy did I learn a lot.

When I initially put the dirt in the cups I just scooped it directly with the cups in the bag & ended up getting a lot of very compacted clumps with air gaps. The entire sides of the dirt where it was in contact with the cups was completely covered in white mold. Determined to get this project off the ground I made some changes & am going to start up slowly.

I put my dirt in a tote & made sure to really sift through it & make sure it's pretty loose before putting it in my cups. Also switched to clear solo cups inside the colored ones so I can check soil moisture below the surface as I'm still trying to get a handle on when to water. Also weighed a cup full of unwatered soil to try to have a better system of knowing when to water.

With changes implemented I attempted to pop 1 more Girl Scout Cookie & a Mimosa Cookie. GSC still hasn't popped 3 days later (also I found both of my original GSC seeds when dissecting my failed pots & neither appeared to have ever popped so maybe those just weren't good seeds, last one is soaking as I type) but the Mamosa Cookie showed a good taproot & I planted it Monday night (2 days ago)

Then as I thought about what was in the other cups I tried to help the poor sprout still barely surviving in one. After a couple not very successful attempts at treating the mold with peroxide I gave up & decided to transplant the sprout. I know it was risky, but I felt it had little chance in it's current home anyway so I cut a plug around it & popped into one of my better set up cups & I actually think it may be starting to recover.

 

[Scotty420]

Things are finally starting to come along!! My transplanted Dirty Kush Breath seedling is definitely advancing, it's still a bit slow but I can definitely see growth. Really glad I moved it from that first cup I think it may make it, fingers crossed.

The Mimosa Cookie that I germinated hadn't come up from the soil, so yesterday morning I dug around & found the seed, it had a nice taproot lodged pretty well into the soil but was a bit further down than I would like. So I removed about 1/4" of soil from the top to raise it closer to the surface & recovered it. When I got home it was bending through the surface, this morning it was just out of the soil & still unfolding.

I had a mystery seed (it was a freebie but they didn't label what it was) that I started germinating a couple days ago that popped, so I prepared another cup & in she went, hoping to see her break the surface in the next couple days.


So one final thing I want to note, while my methods left a lot to be desired at first I'm actually thinking I may have been partly set up to fail. I have yet to see one of my Girl Scout Cookie seeds even so much as crack open. The first 2 were soaked 24 hours & planted directly into soil, they showed no signs of opening before I planted & I was actually able to find both seeds in my tear down & both seemed to be fully intact. Since I've started 2 more & neither has done anything, one has been soaking in paper towel for almost 4 days now, the other went in at the same time as the mystery seed which germinated last night but still nothing. So it looks like my first run won't feature GSC lol.

 

[CannaGranny]

Things are finally starting to come along!! My transplanted Dirty Kush Breath seedling is definitely advancing, it's still a bit slow but I can definitely see growth. Really glad I moved it from that first cup I think it may make it, fingers crossed.

View attachment 1334397


The Mimosa Cookie that I germinated hadn't come up from the soil, so yesterday morning I dug around & found the seed, it had a nice taproot lodged pretty well into the soil but was a bit further down than I would like. So I removed about 1/4" of soil from the top to raise it closer to the surface & recovered it. When I got home it was bending through the surface, this morning it was just out of the soil & still unfolding.
View attachment 1334399
View attachment 1334400


I had a mystery seed (it was a freebie but they didn't label what it was) that I started germinating a couple days ago that popped, so I prepared another cup & in she went, hoping to see her break the surface in the next couple days.


So one final thing I want to note, while my methods left a lot to be desired at first I'm actually thinking I may have been partly set up to fail. I have yet to see one of my Girl Scout Cookie seeds even so much as crack open. The first 2 were soaked 24 hours & planted directly into soil, they showed no signs of opening before I planted & I was actually able to find both seeds in my tear down & both seemed to be fully intact. Since I've started 2 more & neither has done anything, one has been soaking in paper towel for almost 4 days now, the other went in at the same time as the mystery seed which germinated last night but still nothing. So it looks like my first run won't feature GSC lol.

Just a bit about your “mold”. If I remember correctly you say you are using fox farms happy frog? That soil has been inoculated with mycorrhizae it’s a beneficial fungus and it will be white and atop of the soil.
I too use ffhf as a base soil, add dry amendments and other goodies. Be happy to share my mix with you.

 

[Scotty420]

Just a bit about your “mold”. If I remember correctly you say you are using fox farms happy frog? That soil has been inoculated with mycorrhizae it’s a beneficial fungus and it will be white and atop of the soil.
I too use ffhf as a base soil, add dry amendments and other goodies. Be happy to share my mix with you.

OMG yeah definitely I'll take any tips I can get. Also do you use the amended ffhf for the entire grow or are you switching to ocean forest after seedling stage?

 

[CannaGranny]

OMG yeah definitely I'll take any tips I can get. Also do you use the amended ffhf for the entire grow or are you switching to ocean forest after seedling stage?

I use it plain for popping seeds and seedlings. It actually will feed a plant for six weeks (yes, I have tried it out) with nothing added.
When my cupped seedlings are ready to be up potted I do my amendments and pot in that.
As for me, I’m not fond of the ocean forest blend. In some cases, I don’t know if it’s from the initial mixing or what, seems extremely hot.
My entire grow is an organic easy method, I use kelp, seaweed and molasses primarily. It’s designed to go an entire grow with little to no probs.
I will send you the soil info and any other that you may want this evening.

 

[Scotty420]

I use it plain for popping seeds and seedlings. It actually will feed a plant for six weeks (yes, I have tried it out) with nothing added.
When my cupped seedlings are ready to be up potted I do my amendments and pot in that.
As for me, I’m not fond of the ocean forest blend. In some cases, I don’t know if it’s from the initial mixing or what, seems extremely hot.
My entire grow is an organic easy method, I use kelp, seaweed and molasses primarily. It’s designed to go an entire grow with little to no probs.
I will send you the soil info and any other that you may want this evening.

That's perfect! That will give me some time to get the additional ingredients & should be ready to go by the time I'm ready to transplant. Thank you for the help, you're awesome!!

 

[CannaGranny]

That's perfect! That will give me some time to get the additional ingredients & should be ready to go by the time I'm ready to transplant. Thank you for the help, you're awesome!!

On a good day

 

[Scotty420]

Another brief update, Friday evening I decided to give my 2 GSC seeds one more look to see if by some miracle they germinated & the 2nd one actually did. So I got her in some dirt.

DKB is still hanging in there, not growing very fast, but not dieing either.

The original Mimosa Cookie came up with something on het cotyledon & she hasn't opened yet. I was able to gently separate them so I know whatever it is isn't holding her closed, but she doesn't seem to be opening. However I can see the first fan leaf starting to poke out. Hopefully it's able to get out & start collecting light. Fingers crossed, hope she's ok.

My mystery seed that I planted Friday started coming up sometime today. Went down this afternoon & she was about halfway out, this evening she is almost all the way out.

Still waiting on 2 to surface at this point. Also strangely enough I apparently won a reverse auction on Greenpoint that I thought I didn't get. Just checked the tracking number & it's supposed to be here tomorrow, which means I'm probably going to try to pop 1 more LOL

 

[MDK]

What's with the baked beans in the pan?

Also curious as to what it is that looks like frosting on top of your soil cup?

Mimosa cookies sounds good