My first time growers checklist... (looking for a bit of help?!!)

First of all hey.

I am a first time grower in Munster and I have been trawling the net (and this forum) looking for as much advice as I can get for growing in out climate.

I'm trying to put together a checklist for my first grow but there are a lot of conflicting opinions on the net so I'm hoping that someone might take a look and answer a few questions of mine.

First the seeds:

So I have bought 20 Purple Power Seeds and they have been delivered, I want to choose a second strain to grow along with these. My requirements are resistance to mould and high yield. Unfortunately when it comes to quality of the smoke I really don't have a clue whats good and whats not as I don'r have a hugh amount of knowledge around names of strains.

So far I'm thinking of the following

Hollands Hope
Big Bud (although I hear this is not all that potent, or as high yielding as the name implies)
First Girl
Skunk Red Hair

Have you guys got any opinion on these strains and purple power with regards quality of the smoke, yield and ease of growing? Or can you recommend something better?

Germination/seedlings

Okay so I have bought a few of these propagators on ebay
eBay.ie: FULL-SIZE SEED PROPAGATOR SET: TRAY, 40CELL INSERT, LID (item 170589349243 end time 11-Mar-11 21:08:39 GMT)

I will germinate with wet tissue in a lunch box in dark room, what I'm unsure about is heat, is it better to use a heat map under the lunch box? I was thinking of either having a electric sleeping bag under the boxes or buying a reptile heat mat, what do you guys think?

My plan is to plant in these once the seeds have germinated. Am I right in thinking that I should be using the same soil I plan to transport them into outside? Should i buy a heat mat to put under this to keep them warm? They will be kept in a south facing conservatory until they are put outside. Should I use a light for their first few weeks?

Moving outside

Now I have 2 choices here. The spot I'm growing in is a patch in a briar field which have cut out so that the plants will be concealed with briars all around them. I'm hoping that the briars will provide protection from wind, I have enough room to make this patch as big as I want to that the plants will get maximum sun with out the briars casting a shadow over them. I'm hoping that this will counter the fact that it is on a slight hill which is north facing. I know this is not ideal but it does get a lot of light and the location is perfect from a security point of view so i'm keen to grow here.

What I'm really unsure about is weather I should plant in the ground or not. I'm worried about rabbits and insects especially being in a briar field. So if I grow in the ground I can fence the parameter of the the patch with chicken wire, but I've been told that this is still risky with rabbits. If I do grow in the ground should I use ploy tunnels at the start to give the plant a bit of extra protection from rain/ wind/ cold?
eBay.ie: Garden Cloche Poly Tunnel 1.5m x 45cm x 45cm (item 380317376495 end time 18-Mar-11 16:57:28 GMT)

My other idea was to buy these bags and grow in them.
eBay.ie: garden pop up waste refuse/ grow bag with handles (item 250767153643 end time 02-Apr-11 17:56:20 BST)
I think that would protect me from rabbits and also maybe make things easier if I need to move the plants for shelter from especially bad weather. However I'm worried that planting in a bag will limit the plants growth potential? What are your opinions on this? Is there an optima bag size?

Soil/Fertalizer

Now soil is something I'm also not sure about. Should I just use potting compost that you get from the garden centre. If so do I just plant in that or do I mix with normal soil? What brands should I get? I want to be totally organic so I'm going to try and source some composted cow manure but again should I mix this with normal soil, with potting compost or both?? For nutes I plan on making a nettle fertilizer I think it takes about 6 weeks so what should I use in the meantime? I have ordered a PH meter also so I'll be monitoring that at all times, what PH have you guys had success with?

I think that those are my main questions for the moment, I plan to germinate the PP seeds this weekend and the next set as soon as I get them, hopefully next weekend. I know I am leaving it late but i didn't want to order all my seeds at once because I was afraid that they would not come and i wanted to test the website.

Thanks for any and all help you can give me.

Peace.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by batman1983

First of all hey.


So I have bought 20 Purple Power Seeds and they have been delivered, I want to choose a second strain to grow along with these. My requirements are resistance to mould and high yield. Unfortunately when it comes to quality of the smoke I really don't have a clue whats good and whats not as I don'r have a hugh amount of knowledge around names of strains.

So far I'm thinking of the following

Hollands Hope
Big Bud (although I hear this is not all that potent, or as high yielding as the name implies)
First Girl
Skunk Red Hair

Have you guys got any opinion on these strains and purple power with regards quality of the smoke, yield and ease of growing? Or can you recommend something better?

---

Good choice on the pp, havenâ??t tried them myself but sure bet to do well, rest of the strains are crap, if you want yield then fresian drew. However if you really have to grow on a northern slope then easy sativa is the choice, others have had success in similar situations.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by batman1983

First of all hey.

Okay so I have bought a few of these propagators on ebay
eBay.ie: FULL-SIZE SEED PROPAGATOR SET: TRAY, 40CELL INSERT, LID (item 170589349243 end time 11-Mar-11 21:08:39 GMT)

I will germinate with wet tissue in a lunch box in dark room, what I'm unsure about is heat, is it better to use a heat map under the lunch box? I was thinking of either having a electric sleeping bag under the boxes or buying a reptile heat mat, what do you guys think?

My plan is to plant in these once the seeds have germinated. Am I right in thinking that I should be using the same soil I plan to transport them into outside? Should i buy a heat mat to put under this to keep them warm? They will be kept in a south facing conservatory until they are put outside. Should I use a light for their first few weeks?

---

Not too sure about the heat mat , I just do the paper towel method in a warm room, when they have a short root I stick them in a cup with some potting soil under a cfl . if you have them in the conservatory , make sure at night they have a cfl over head or they will start to flower . maybe have them under cfl for the first few weeks, also look up leaf bleaching just in case.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by batman1983

Moving outside

Now I have 2 choices here. The spot I'm growing in is a patch in a briar field which have cut out so that the plants will be concealed with briars all around them. I'm hoping that the briars will provide protection from wind, I have enough room to make this patch as big as I want to that the plants will get maximum sun with out the briars casting a shadow over them. I'm hoping that this will counter the fact that it is on a slight hill which is north facing. I know this is not ideal but it does get a lot of light and the location is perfect from a security point of view so i'm keen to grow here.

What I'm really unsure about is weather I should plant in the ground or not. I'm worried about rabbits and insects especially being in a briar field. So if I grow in the ground I can fence the parameter of the the patch with chicken wire, but I've been told that this is still risky with rabbits. If I do grow in the ground should I use ploy tunnels at the start to give the plant a bit of extra protection from rain/ wind/ cold?
eBay.ie: Garden Cloche Poly Tunnel 1.5m x 45cm x 45cm (item 380317376495 end time 18-Mar-11 16:57:28 GMT)

My other idea was to buy these bags and grow in them.
eBay.ie: garden pop up waste refuse/ grow bag with handles (item 250767153643 end time 02-Apr-11 17:56:20 BST)
I think that would protect me from rabbits and also maybe make things easier if I need to move the plants for shelter from especially bad weather. However I'm worried that planting in a bag will limit the plants growth potential? What are your opinions on this? Is there an optima bag size?

---

Id first try really hard to find any thing other than a north facing plot, youâ??d be doing yourself a massive favour and avoiding alot of hassle down the line. Never grown north side but id imagine that they will grow slower and be smaller,
the main point is that when they are flowering (not sure if flowering on north side would be delayed?) your plants are going to be covered in morning dew and have fuck all light and heat to remove it like a south side plot, therefore perfect for mold,

try clear a bigger space around the plants and see if there is any way to increase air flow, and grow easy sativa which I read can do well on north slopes

as for bugs and pests theres plenty of threads on what to do, I use wire for rabbits, tobacco spray for bugs, and slug pellets for slugs , going to switch to copper tape though.
Plant in the soil if you can, more root space the better, however the bag idea isnâ??t bad, might try it myself, wouldnt hurt to do both.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by batman1983

Soil/Fertalizer

Now soil is something I'm also not sure about. Should I just use potting compost that you get from the garden centre. If so do I just plant in that or do I mix with normal soil? What brands should I get? I want to be totally organic so I'm going to try and source some composted cow manure but again should I mix this with normal soil, with potting compost or both?? For nutes I plan on making a nettle fertilizer I think it takes about 6 weeks so what should I use in the meantime? I have ordered a PH meter also so I'll be monitoring that at all times, what PH have you guys had success with?

I think that those are my main questions for the moment, I plan to germinate the PP seeds this weekend and the next set as soon as I get them, hopefully next weekend. I know I am leaving it late but i didn't want to order all my seeds at once because I was afraid that they would not come and i wanted to test the website.


Peace.

---

Check the soil ph first, then mix in compost, do the manure NOW, it needs time to break down (throw in some blood and bone too), hate to say it but all the irish soil brands seem to be fairly shit, b&q are suppose to be good, read around though. Nettle tea works great, tiny bit at a time though, strong and smelly stuff.

Plants donâ??t get put out till last frost and the right light hours which is VERY roughly around the 10th of may. I wont be germing till the end of april so plenty of time still.

Here for other seeds
http://www.zenseeds.com/index.php/ho...&category_id=7

also kc brains seeds

well done for making a move into growing ur own:thumbsup:


First the seeds:



Hollands Hope
this should give the same yield as the purple passion but far better at dealing with our weather.

Big Bud
not a good one for here long flowering time and does not like our weather poor results from it. Its an indoor grow for here

First Girl
great one because early flower and short. not a big yield.
Skunk Red Hair
i know sweet F A about it just from what i have read.
i do know that a lot of skunk cross breeds are Mold susceptible and late flowering but just dont know on this strain.

Hollands hope i have grown and seeds that i got called mixed berries.
one thing that i will say is when looking at seed banks take their lowest yield as ur target. Some give it on the best growing conditions and take an average. you will be on the back foot with a north facing hill. i gave 14 plants away last year clones of an indoor plant and grew the same clones outside. He planted all 14 on a north side hill my three in a south facing hill. end of the season i had more weight than him.
I got 6 oz of each one he got 7oz total. when he showed me is grow spot, nice spot
well done and laid out. just no sun it was to low down on the hill.

PROPAGATOR SET is a good buy when are you planning on starting to grow?
wait till end of April/ start of may to plant out this year as forecast for late frost.
unless you want clones?


reptile heat mat needs the controller with it but why not get a heated propagator?
use it to germinate and seedlings. Dont use tissue paper cotton wool is better/or in soil. Just soak the seeds in a jar of water before 24 hours should do it in a dark room
they should sink to the bottom.

does the conservatory get cold at night? if so put some sort of heating in there for at night. let the plants get about4/5 in high and harden them of by taking them outside on a warm day let the wind blow them about to make the stalks strong.
you can transport them in soil of the pot they were growing in.
did you dig up the ground they are going in and is the composted cow manure really composted? if not it will kill your plants.
No need for a heat mat.
when you keep them in the conservatory rotate the plants round every day so they dont grow lob sided.
You can use light but not really any need now.

The chicken wire needs to be a least a foot under ground and sloped out wards under ground.

You can use grow bags in the ground but the better prepared you are the better the grow. IT IS A WEED it will grow almost any where but the better the conditions the better it will grow

Any thing else ask away i know our growing conditions are bad but it can be done.:smokin:

o and i have used Cannabis Seeds fast free delivery, expert advice - cannabis seeds for seeds no problem

As far as animals, go to a outdoor supply store and get some fox urine. It will keep rabbits away. Pee on the trees surrounding the patch and the deer will stay away. You will still face issues with mites and what not. Guerilla growing is a pain in the ass IMO. Bat guano is great if you want to stay organic. Make sure you dig your holes out and prepare the soil at least a month in advance or you will cook your plants.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by loststix

Hollands Hope
this should give the same yield as the purple passion but far better at dealing with our weather.

First Girl
great one because early flower and short. not a big yield.

---

very very interesting, do tell more about the first girl and which breeders hollands hope it was,
dates would be great also:thumbsup:

Looks like some good answers so far. If your local soil products are weak it is always good to add supplements such as worm castings and guano. Most soils could use some vermiculite to keep them loose. If you can get michorrizae (sp?) packets or powder to place under each plant. It will attach to the roots and help the plants grow better through the entire growth cycle.

May 10th sounds like it is too early and may cause the plants to trigger. In Nor Cal which is far South of Ireland we say the 3rd week of May - WEATHER PROVIDING. If the weather is really rainy with lots of dark clouds the plants can still trigger and start flowering even if planted the 3rd week of May. Check the weather forcast as well as the calendar.

Definitely stick to sativas if possibility of mold at the end of the growing season. Sativas tend to bloom later than Indicas but they are more airy and less suceptible to mold. You will have to do some testing to find the best variety for your situation.

I like lambs bread, sour diesel and white widow for sativas.

Cheers

Thanks for your help everyone I'm going to spend a bit of time on your answers.

Not too sure about the heat mat , I just do the paper towel method in a warm room, when they have a short root I stick them in a cup with some potting soil under a cfl . if you have them in the conservatory , make sure at night they have a cfl over head or they will start to flower . maybe have them under cfl for the first few weeks, also look up leaf bleaching just in case.
Does this mean I should I have light on the constantly at the start to stop flowering?? If so just normal CFLs? I'll research this a bit more, maybe I should not have them in the conservatory is a south facing window sill better then?

I'm also really worried about my site, I will take a photo on saturday and post and see what you guys think. It is totally secure so I'm really reluctant to move however if its going to end up ruining my crop then it kind of negates the point.

Also I'll look into a heated propagator and some hollands hope.

Thanks for your help I was worried I was worried I wouldn't get any replies due to the sheer volume of first time growers threads, but thanks you've giving me some great extra tips. I thinkI'll do half in the soil and half in the grow bags where do I get blood and bone (is it actual blood and bone, from the butchers or something)?

Peace.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by werzo321

very very interesting, do tell more about the first girl and which breeders hollands hope it was,
dates would be great also:thumbsup:

---

Dutch Passion was the hollands hope i planted out side at the end of may. 2 weeks inside till was over 4in high.;)
it was the 2nd week in october that i harvest, as it was end of november that i started to smoke it after it had cured.:jointsmile:

the first girl was out same time but it finished early september.
low yield from it.

Monthly Data - Climate - Met Ã?ireann - The Irish Meteorological Service Online

thought this might help aswell.
just click on ur local area to see ur weather conditions in the map.

Okay so I put my seeds in for germination on Friday. I just used 10 this time incase I fuck it up. I used the paper towel method and I've put them in airtight containers. They are wrapped in tinfoil to keep out light and I'm keeping them under a 60w incandescent light bulb to keep warm as my airing cupboard is only at room temp.

These are the containers and how I prepared them:
http://i54.tinypic.com/nnmn1w.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/35lzyur.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/rtq8u1.jpg


They hadn't sprouted after 24 hours so I moved them to the warmer location last night and the seeds now seem to have split. I hope I didn't fuck things up by having them at room temp for the first 24h.

This is the new location:
http://i55.tinypic.com/2whim3s.jpghttp://i51.tinypic.com/339rr4z.jpg

So I'm hoping they will sprout in the next 24h. Once sprouted I am going to transfer them to my propagator, which have ordered heat mats for. The heat maps should be here monday all going well. I've bought B&Q Sowing & Cutting Compost and some Perlite:

http://i55.tinypic.com/20ti2ds.jpg

So a few more questions??!

Compost:
What ratio should I mix the compost to perlite, or should I mix at all? From what I have read I should plant the seeds about 1 seed deep, is that okay? Also the cells in my propagator do not have holes in them, should they have?

CFL's
So do I need to put these under CFL's and if so will the normal light bulb shaped ones o or do I need to buy the tubes?

Many thanks again for any and all help. I'm going to order some worm castings and guano for when I pot up and for the next round of seedlings so hopefully that will give things a boost, I also started my nettle fert so that should be ready in about 6 weeks.

Exciting stuff!!

Okay so I put my seeds in for germination on Friday. I just used 10 this time incase I fuck it up. I used the paper towel method and I've put them in airtight containers. They are wrapped in tinfoil to keep out light and I'm keeping them under a 60w incandescent light bulb to keep warm as my airing cupboard is only at room temp.

These are the containers and how I prepared them:
http://i54.tinypic.com/nnmn1w.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/35lzyur.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/rtq8u1.jpg


They hadn't sprouted after 24 hours so I moved them to the warmer location last night and the seeds now seem to have split. I hope I didn't fuck things up by having them at room temp for the first 24h.

This is the new location:
http://i55.tinypic.com/2whim3s.jpghttp://i51.tinypic.com/339rr4z.jpg

So I'm hoping they will sprout in the next 24h. Once sprouted I am going to transfer them to my propagator, which have ordered heat mats for. The heat maps should be here monday all going well. I've bought B&Q Sowing & Cutting Compost and some Perlite:

http://i55.tinypic.com/20ti2ds.jpg

So a few more questions??!

Compost:
What ratio should I mix the compost to perlite, or should I mix at all? From what I have read I should plant the seeds about 1 seed deep, is that okay? Also the cells in my propagator do not have holes in them, should they have?

CFL's
So do I need to put these under CFL's and if so will the normal light bulb shaped ones o or do I need to buy the tubes?

Many thanks again for any and all help. I'm going to order some worm castings and guano for when I pot up and for the next round of seedlings so hopefully that will give things a boost, I also started my nettle fert so that should be ready in about 6 weeks.

Exciting stuff!!