joe-grow's first grow

Thanks faithlessxxx for that suggestion. I waited for a full 24 hours to go by, and then turned on the T5's.

Bodom - yes, that describes it well 'wonder and confusion'. To add to that, I think I would say anxiousness for the crop. Quality and reliability drove me to this. Plus, in addition to the crop itself, I hear gardening can be a good way to relieve stress.

I'll give the starter plugs a week to germinate. After that, I'll give the glass of water a shot. I've read several other people who mention that also. I don't want to change direction with these seeds at this point. Part of my objective here is to learn, so this will teach me if it's worthwhile to use the starter plugs. If they work, albiet longer germination period, is there any benefit to using this method as opposed to the glass of water or paper towel method, I wonder.

So far, I'm just checking for growth and moisture. Overnight, the temps dropped about 10F, but still high enough. (~70F in / 60F out)

So, it appears that I've cracked some seeds. The light has been on for about 18 hours straight now. Today, I added a fan, and turned off the warming mat. It hit 91F at one point, and I figured that it was getting too warm. Now, my environment is at 79F inside with 75% RH, and 68F outside.

You can see in the picture attached that (starting from top left) seeds #2, #3, #4, & #5 have cracked. #5 shows the most significant progress so far. #6 appears to have cracked, but has looked like that since yesterday. #1 is just plain slow and/or lazy. I'm not counting on all of them cracking, but would hope to get at least two. From that, hopefully one will be a female.

Anyone know when I should start using nutrients? So far, I just keep misting them with distilled water mixed with a drop of SUPERthrive.

Also, I've been reading up on the HydroHut, and am somewhat on the fence about getting it. I only have one exhaust fan. The hut would be located in a basement, where it would stay pretty cool. Any opinions on sticking with this option? How about humity and air intake? Should I get a fan to pull air into the hut? I plan to have a fan inside, circulating the air, but had not planned for an intake fan. The exhaust fan will not be connected to the light, but I was planning on leaving it running 24/7. One of the reasons I've been considering the hut, is that I've read that it's best for keeping light in/out; helps prevent flooding; can be passed off as a clothes storage unit; and costs about the same as it would if I bought enough mylar to cover the space needed.

Finally, should I leave the lights on 24/7? I've read from some that this is ok. I have a timer, but seem to recall that this might be better.

Looking good so far mate. You've got a good setup. About the intake fan, if your exhaust fan is pulling 24/7 all you should need in a grow tent is an intake duct(the exhaust pushing air out should pull air in through the intake duct. I would also tie a stocking/pantyhose around the intake to further prevent insects or anything of that nature getting inside your tent. Good luck bro, can't wait to see how your first grow turns out. :thumbsup:

Here's a suggestion Joe. Go to youtube.com and type in keywords "grow green" and check out that guys hydro setup.He's pretty thorough in his explanation of things and even though he's using a different hydro setup from yours ,many of the basics will remain basically the same.It's a nine part video series so it takes a little while to watch them all but in my opinion they are very informative.

these are some longg as postss man.. lol u'll have a fun first time grow, you
seem to be doing your homework, you can find any answers to ur questions, just start a massive search on here. You'll find all you need and more on nutes and other things, as for seedling from germination just feed them plain water for a week. and what ever nutes u decied to get follow there directions and use less then recomened by percent and go up or down untill u see where the plants like there leves. because not all strains need the same and some grow fater.

Well, good news, I had 5 out of 6 seeds crack. I transfered 4 of them to the Garden of Ease. So far all seem to have taken the transfer without any problems. The setup is still in the open in a utility room. I won't have their new home for about two weeks. I'm currently debating whether to stick with the HydroHut, or go with a storage cabinet from Lowes. I believe the storage cabinet would be easier to pass off as insignificant. In addition, I want two spaces ultimately - one for the veg room and one for the flowering room. Two cabinets from Lowes will cost me less than one of the HydroHuts. However, I'm concerned about the potential of the cabinets, which are made of particle board, warping.

The pictures attached are of the 4 that I kept. The first one is the only one to have shed it's shell completely. I'm sure it won't be long before the 3rd and 4th ones shed theirs.

Also, thanks to Ginnas, Deejay, and JackdaWack for stopping by. Ginnas, thanks for the advice. Covering intake vents is an excellent idea. Deejay, thanks for the suggestion. I've actually watched that video, 'I Grow Chronic' in it's entirety on Pot.TV. That's actually what prompted me to seriously consider doing it myself. JackdaWack, yeah, I know, I can be a little long winded. I've done a lot of searching around this forum. It's helped a lot. Usually, if I'm posting a question here, it's because I just couldn't find what I was seeking. There may be answers that I've found, but not enough supporting evidence to support the argument. One thing I've found is that there are often may variables and many methods of growing.

Thanks for reading and suggestions!

1 week 4 days of life from good ole bagseed no less. This is 1 six pack of four that i have vegging now

Deejay, that's about twice the amount of time I've had mine growing. From where I am now, it's hard to believe that mine will reach that in 11 days. What kind of light are you using? Currently, I'm still under the T5's, and they are running 24 hours a day. I was going to let them run 18/6, but it's just too cold in that room, and I was worried that if it dropped below 60F for too long they wouldn't make it. Currently, it stays pretty steady at 71F.

Good job, Deejay!

believe it or not joe.those little babies are under regular old 4 ft shoplight fixtures with cheap old wal mart bulbs.80 watts total, but i do mine a little differently than most.Those plants in the pictures are putting on their third set of true leaves now.I will transplant them into a little larger pots in the next week. they'll be put into the flower chamber in three weeks from now or less depending on growth.

By the way...Those are under 18/6 .everything needs to sleep a little.