Raelum's first grow - log

[Raelum]

Hello!

So my first two germination attempts ended up with my little plants getting damping-off or root rot.

My first attempt, I germinated them in a test tube with room-temp water. They sprouted faster then I thought they would and were already completely out of the shell when I planted them in my grow plugs. Room temps were a little erratic because I did not have a heater yet. I also over-watered the little plants which didn't help. They broke the surface and spread their leaves but after day 3 both just died. After performing my autopsy it appears it was in fact damping-off, roots were covered with brown spots.

Second attempt I tried something completely different which didn't work out either. I decided to skip the grow plugs since they dry out so fast. I made a mix of perlite + manure and humus then dropped the germinated seeds (paper towel method this time, still waited too long they taproot were more then a cm long). Well this time the plants did not make it far at all, they just shriveled and died (day 2). It was either root rot, damping off or nutrient burn form the manure and humus.

The third attempt, I am on my last two seeds and decided to re-read everything again and do this right! I germinated in test tube again (warm water) for about 14 hours. I decided to move them to moist + warm grow plugs BEFORE the tap root came out. I turned on the heater and got the room temps in the 90's, I also covered the grow plugs with white paper to prevent light from getting to the roots and then turned on a florescent light (for additional warmth).

I checked on my plants about 10 hours later and they were already coming out! I left the white paper over them until they nearly broke the surface, then I removed it. Turned on desktop fan, moved light a little closer and dropped the temps down to the 75-80 range. Here's pics on day 3 after germinating the seeds!

[Raelum]

DAY 5

I transplanted them into cups on Day 3, with a mix of perlite + manure and humus (more Perlite then usual, but I will keep a close eye on them).
So it's been two days and I just watered them for the first time since the transplant.

Both plants have strong purple stems and their new leaves are bigger then any of my previous attempts! One plant is a little shorter then the other, but it still looks healthy. Room temps are still on the 75-80 range, and I am moving the desktop (12cm) fan around at different angles to help strengthen them.

Here's some pics!

[Raelum]

I also just bought replacement bulb for my 4 foot T5 fixture and a 400 watt HPS + MH lamp! So I am ready!

[Raelum]

Day 7

Today I watered them. I let the water sit out for about 30 hours to reach room temperature; I also read that it allows the chlorine to evaporate and is better for the plants.

They are looking pretty good and there is nothing wrong so far that I can tell. I noticed that the stem is a dark red/purple and was curious if that could possibly be a P deficiency.

As far as lighting goes, I was planning on putting them under the 400 Watt MH light at week 2. I will also be adding a 54W T5 strip light tomorrow.

Here's the pics:

[dooobster]

Hey Raelum, your babies look good so far this round.
You seem to be very passionate about learning how to do this thing.
I have a pointer for you that I'm 100% positive will help you.

This plant is a weed, it literally THRIVES in nature with no intervention from man...
They don't need a lot of help to do what they do. They don't need you to help them shed their seed shell... They've been doing it for thousands of years already

What I'm trying to say is that while I know it's really difficult to resist the urge to love on your plants, you really gotta just let them do their thing... That's what killed your previous attempts, not damping off or anything else... You loved them to death.
Here's the deal:

All they need from you is a comfortable temperature with good air cirulation, good dirt, clean water with a little nute added, and a nice bright light timed to the right schedule, and they'll do their thing.

Go get some real potting soil and lose the manure... it's too hot and will burn your babies. Adding perlite is good.

Don't overwater. Let the dirt dry out between waterings, so the roots can breathe in between meals... It doesn't need to be constantly soaked.

If you do these things and above all have patience, you will see good things happen... I promise.

Wanna see some nice plants? Check out my grow:

http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-gr...-grow-log.html

Best of luck to you Rae!

[Raelum]

BEWARE GROWERS!

-Cat's like to eat things...


Yep, I was installing my new light in the grow room and my cat ran in and started eating away! I stopped him but he managed to eat 2 of the 4 leaves of the smaller plant.

So, I am down to one and no seeds left. Should I keep growing, or order some more seeds and get started on the next batch (now that I have germination down, I can probably keep most of the 10 seeds alive next time).

[Raelum]

Day 19

Well, I looked everywhere for normal black plastic pots but couldn't find any. So I used some make shift pots, lol.

I will re-pot to a 5 gallon bucket once I pick a mother (if i get a female that is).

I got annoyed with my setup previously or lack of, so I went to the store bought a table, some chains, and a fan. Got home and reorganized the room, hung the chains, made some white walls that I could easily move around and I also started setting up my CO2 system.

My CO2 system is just a 20oz bottle of liquid CO2 attached to a paintball gun regulator and there will be a hose that runs to the plants with little holes in them. If my math is right I should be able to to bring the room to 1500 ppm about 40 times before the tank is empty and depending on how well my room holds co2 that could last me a week. My roommate can get me free CO2 refills.

Here's pics:

[MonkeyBone]

Kill the cat...(Jokin')

Grow them strong man! Try and catch my grow!

:thumbsup:

[Raelum]

Well right before I repotted my plants the lower starter leaves turned yellow. I was hoping that repotting them would fix the issue (N deficiency?). Didn't spread for a day or two but now the next set of leaves are starting to turn yellow and the little starter leaves are turning brown on the tips.

I did add a little pure blend pro grow to the water today to see if it will take care of the possible lack of N. I also ran to the pet store and grabbed a PH test kit and tested the runoff of the watering, the kit shows the runoff being around ph of 7, and water before was around 6.2-6.6 so that means the soil itself is around 7.4-7.8? Which is in the 6-8 range so I don't think PH is the cause.

[Raelum]

Day 21

Well, the yellowing seemed to stop spreading but not I am noticing something else wrong with my plant. I think it might be a iron deficiency? I have attached pics.

First and last pic are the bigger plant: I noticed that the leaves are curling up and a little brown on the tip. Also it is REALLY dark green compared to the other plant. Not sure what they is.

The other pics are the ones I am talking about, there are like little yellowish brown spots on the upper leaves. Iron deficiency? I was reading that it could be caused by high PH, so I am going to get an electronic PH tester as I dont really trust runoff.

Here's the troubleshooting form:

E-Indoor
E-Agway manure and humus + perlite
SCLR- 7
E - Tap (slightly acidic)
E - 6.8-6.4
E - 21 days
E - Pure blend pro grow
E - every 2-3 days (only used nutes once so far)
E- 400W MH, probably 12in
E-80-85 during the day, 75-80 during night
E-Air % Relative humidity - not sure
E- 24 hours
E-large fan on the floor blowing straight up, another fan blowing over the canopy, and smaller fan actually blowing on the plants
TR-Did you pre-soak your media in pH corrected solution? No