Germinating + More info needed...

[Dharok]

Hey everyone. Noob first timer here, just thought I needed to register on a dedicated forum for a new hobby of mine, to find out more information!

Having been given a couple of random seeds last Wednesday I proceeded to begin germinating, I followed a general method from YouTube which showed putting a paper towel down and then layering this with water (lightly). Then putting the seeds down and another wet paper towel on top of this.

Now, some videos I watched said keep it air tight - other said differently. I have kept it air tight for a while now, but I went out for one night and it wasn't air tight - came back the following morning and it had dried out.

Have I ruined the seeds? I used my instinct and just topped it up with water as I had done before.

I've been leaving the seeds on a plastic type plate on top of my computer case for a while now with no real success, other than a slight root sprouting, no bigger than 1mm.

Any help guys? Do I just take the plunge and buy some high grade seeds?

Dharok Reviewed by Dharok on 06-07-2009. Germinating + More info needed... Hey everyone. Noob first timer here, just thought I needed to register on a dedicated forum for a new hobby of mine, to find out more information! Having been given a couple of random seeds last Wednesday I proceeded to begin germinating, I followed a general method from YouTube which showed putting a paper towel down and then layering this with water (lightly). Then putting the seeds down and another wet paper towel on top of this. Now, some videos I watched said keep it air tight - Rating: 5

[JD1stTimer]

Search and read search and read. BTW paper towel methods have usually not done as well for me as just planting directly in soil.

[Dharok]

Interesting. I've been searching around and I've found out that I may have used a wrong method. I used tissue... It appears that this may not be such a good method?

I've heard good things about just putting them in a glass of water for 24 hours and then planting so this is what I intend to do... Good or bad?

Getting pictures of my intended grow space now and will upload in a second - I kinda need advice on the kit I'll be needing in the long run for when I start ordering my high grade seeds (can I ask this info here?)

[JD1stTimer]

I would say if you are growing indoors you should build a box with good reflection, flat white paint on the inside. Get some Y adapters, put maybe four of the 23w cfls in a good reflector, I find that the pendant lamps from ikea work great, they are flat white inside the reflector and give a nice even light spread. Do you have any electrical skills? The lamps from IKEA have a 3-prong grounded plug. I wanted mine hard-wired into the mains so I cut off the plug, added an inline switch and hung it from my ceiling over a shelf in my closet. Put three Y adaptors in the socket so I have 4 sockets to put CFLs in. I'm only using two because even though the ficture is rated for 100 watts, I found that 92 watts of CFLs caused my CFL's to burn out within about 4 months which I didn't appreciate. I think it was just too warm inside the lamp and the electronics in the CFLs weren't designed for heat.

Anyway, you want to get enough light that you don't stretch too much in veg. If they are stretching you need more light. Then once you get them growing nicely in veg, you will need much more light and a space which is lightproof for your 12/12 cycle, so you will want a good solid box with exhaust so you can put a fan in there. You also need a timer, these can be found for around $5.00. The pet store has good reflectors, I got one which holds three lamps, one lamp controlled by a separate switch. The pet store also has UV lamps for reptiles, these are a good addition to your flowering cycle as UV facilitates THC production. I wish I had bought several two-lamp reflectors because I can only fit one three-lamp reflector in my cab, but the two-lamp reflectors I could place in a different orientation and get three or four into my cab giving me 6 or 8 lamps instead of just three. I used a bathroom exhaust fan blowing air out of a hole on the back of my cabinet. I have some clones in there on a 12/12 cycle waiting for them to sex so I can get rid of all my males and have more room in my veg chamber. Here's links to my flowering cab and my entire grow:

http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-gr...e-cabinet.html

http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...g-popcorn.html

I got a fair harvest from my first grow using much less sophisticated equipment, which taught me what the heck I am looking for when growing, the basics of the plant biology and life cycle, sexing, etc. Your first grow will probably be more of a learning experience than anything very productive, but that's okay. Here's a link to my first grow, back when I was paranoid and I was trying to claim that it was a friend of mine doing the grow, lol.

http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-gro...irst-grow.html

[Dharok]

Ok that was an excellent reply and has helped me a lot, before I get on to my points, thank you JD1stTimer for every bit of that info! It's been helpful to say the least.

Here is the space I am going to be growing in... any more precise ideas for a setup in this spot?



Here is the first seed I will be planting this evening once I've bought all necessary goods to begin my growing (the seeds only been in there 15 hours and its sunk, all in good time).



Any ideas of the kind of soil I should be looking for when I take my trip to Wilkinsons later on? Remember I'm from the UK, some things may be a little harder to get hold of..? One other thing is how many bulbs and how I should connect these, easily without fiddling about with any wiring to that space. The nearest socket is roughly 2.5 meters away... Extension socket anyone..

Hah, anyways one more thing.. Do I have my timer ready to use for a 12/12 cycle? Never used one of these things before :stoned:

[Dharok]

Well, I just took a trip to my local store and found they had no CFL's, or anything clearly marked 'CFL', also went to another hardware store and still, nothing !

I do however think I have the basics and am ready to grow?

1x Multi-purpose Soil
1x Perlite
1x Vermiculite
3x 6" Pots
1x Baby Bio

basics.jpg picture by ixgod - Photobucket

What's next ? :stoned:

[syde00]

it won;'t say "CFL" on the box... it might say "Compact Flourescent Lamp"... if you live in north america somewhere (I can;t speak for other parts of the world), I would be incredibly surprised if any store that sells light bulbs doesn;t have them... dollar stores perhaps behind excluded since they typically cost a little more than incadescent bulbs.

It might not say that either though... they might just say "Energy Saver Bulb" or something along those lines.

FYI, read the lighting links in my sig for some really good info about lighting in general and CFLs... i suggest you read them before you buy your bulbs.

[Dharok]

Ok well, my seeds are planted. I have a 11w light hooked up temporarily (equivalent to 60w apparently...) for now. One quick question I need answering is how much water do I give them?

I've just put over a glass in each 6" pot of lukewarm water (I heard it's better than cold for germinated seeds?)

[stinkybudz]

look for something like this

[Dharok]

Dam I saw them as well come to think of it. How can I hook them up to the mains electric? How many will I need for my space and what wattage?