my camper closet grow

[catbuds]

Yea! Doin' the happy dance, rocking the camper! SEEDS CAME TODAY! Soil heating mat warmed up, market pks filled with seed starter & warming on the mat. I direct seed, so water warming on the mat. Will plop seeds into water to soak about 2 hrs or till saturated before sowing. Once planted, market pks go into sm aquarium on mat. I usually get germination within 24-36 hrs with the mat. Have had mats for around 30 yrs & wouldn't want to do without one. Adding ONE OR TWO DROPS of fox farms big bloom to 4 oz water. Not trying to fert them (can even use nutes at this point), just innoculating with some hormones. Helps increase females & stimulates root growth. Remember, big bloom doesn't have added hormones, but they are naturally occurring in some of the organic matter big bloom is composed of. Next trip to the grocers, picking up apples & bananas for ethylene gas. Will post again as the beans pop!

[catbuds]

Ah, the best laid plans of mice & men! Thought I'd watch a movie while my beans soaked, but I fell asleep! They ended up soaking 12 hours & one had popped. Now eveybodys nestled warm & snug, inside tank on mat, covered with foil untill they break the soil. So excited! Hard to resist the urge to check every half hour! Hard not to be an obsessive moma after having entire crop ripped this year. Just let me catch a thief! I'll smack 'em with my cane & then bite 'em to death! I would have sucked up my loss, knowing it was my gamble had I planted else where, but it was in my wooded back yard, surrounded by fence, & clearly on MY property! Shows intent to rob ME, personally! I'll stop now or I'll be ranting. Slow deep breaths, think pleasant thoughts... of my new grow!!!!! Time to get back to the happy dance!


P.S. forgot to say: (BG X BB) X BG! Sweet!

[catbuds]

2 up in 24 hrs! Trying to beat old record of 100% germ in 38 hrs, so I'm hoping for 36 hrs. Could still happen. Soil heating mat, price (3yrs ago) $48.00, size 9" x 19". Pricey? Yeah....but worth every penny! Haven't been without at least one in around 30 yrs & would hate to do without. If you can afford it, try one. You'll be glad you did! Statement in a previous post may have been misleading. Thats not USUALLY 100% germ in 24-36 hrs, but a few at a time germing begining at 24-36 hrs, but with heating mat, all germ within 2-3 days. Another big bonus with heating mats. When the soil is moist, but too cold to germ seeds, the possibility of dampening off goes WAY up. So really big boon having gentle bottom heat. Most take seed flats off the mat as soon as seeds are up & nice & green. I leave mine on untill seedlings are big enough not to be effected by D.O. so the worse that ever happens to mine is me dropping something on them or... Sam (cat) getting the top off the tank & EATING them! Ok, off to do some chores!

[catbuds]

Well, didn't beat my record, but 6 up in 36 hours, 4 to go. Not bad, I'm happy with that. Still pretty fast. Stocky looking little things. Cant wait to see how they look once the true leaves start putting out. Still a few things to do to the closet. Figure I have about a wk & 1/2 to 'get 'er done'!

[catbuds]

Anybody with doubts about the value of a soil heating mat.... 2 yr old seeds.... 100% gremination in less than 44 hrs. I'm passing out cigars, hopefully all with PINK bands! YEA!!!!!! DOING THE HAPPY DANCE! THE HAPPY DANCE! Happy Dance..... Hey! Where's the music!?!?!? I'm just slap happy silly tickled! :thumbsup:


P.S. Thats GERMINATE! No, I don't 'greminate' my seeds! Just happy fingers missing 'dance' steps on the keyboard! LMAO!

[Shovelhandle]

Two years old isn't old at all. I'd expect good germination rate of seeds over five years old stored correctly. In plastic or paper envelopes, with descant, in a jar or tupperware, in the refrigerator.

[catbuds]

Oh I wasn't implying that was old. I've germed 12 yr old seeds that I'd stored well. Had a ph conversation with a young blood last night who said he never kept seeds over 1 yr, that kinda made me think to say that as an indicator that its not old, with the fast germ to show that. When I post late at night, I don't always express myself well. Sorry.
--- Sounds like we store seeds similarly. I save the silica gel pks from meds & vitamins, hold them up to the light. Still white? Hasn't absorbed moisture, good to go. Pink or blue? Has moisture which can be removed by putting in microwave for a minute. I make little seeds pks out of paper towel, label & drop them all in a jelly jar & a couple silica gel pks & refrigerate. Oldest I've ever had were 12 & germed well. The BGXBBXBG gave me 100% germ in 44 hrs, which is great! I once beat that by 6 hrs by popping seeds straight from the plant into a cup of warm water, soaked & direct seeded into warmed soil. Will probably never beat that 38 hr record, but I keep trying anyway. (I'm talking breaking the soil)
--- Babies are looking pretty. Cant wait till they're big enough to top & put into flowering! Somewhere I saw a thread about bartering? I think it was Estebans. Anyway, I'm bartering some firewood to a carpenter friend for some labor & materials for the the cabinet. I've already framed it, one sheet short on plywood, need hinges & screws. Closet good to go, just hang light & place some CFL's among the plants once they're in there.

[EvilCartman]

Well, didn't beat my record, but 6 up in 36 hours, 4 to go. Not bad, I'm happy with that. Still pretty fast. Stocky looking little things. Cant wait to see how they look once the true leaves start putting out. Still a few things to do to the closet. Figure I have about a wk & 1/2 to 'get 'er done'!

Nice, sounds like it's coming together. :thumbsup:

Saw you were looking into some shorter strains, maybe in another thread. (lol, hope it was you)

Any-who, thought I'd give ya a look at this one: World of Seeds Northern Lights x Big Bud (AUTO)
I don't normally grow auto-flowers, it was a freebie bean. She is 7 weeks from seed in the pic. 17" tall.


I wonder what she'll yield, definitely a shortie!

[catbuds]

Yep! That was me looking for a shortie! NL & Big Bud are two of my favorite butt kickers. Had them both back in the day when Big Bud could only be had as a clone & NL had no #'s added to it. I think what I have growing now will be pretty darned manageable in tight quarters. Wk old babies looking indica as hell. (Bubble gum x blueberry back to Bubble gum). As long as I'm stuck under flourescents I'll be doing SOG. I prefer not to have to top, but since fluors don't penetrate too well, this will have to be my method till I get back in the house. Would do much better as a SCROG, but too old & gimpy to be able to bend over & stretch forward to prune under the netting, so it is what it is for now. I have plans for a well hidden room behind a big walk-in closet off of my bedroom when renovations begin on my house. Wish I could post pictures from this phone, I'd do a sketch of the plans & post it. It's gonna be sweet. Just playing the waiting games with the grant offices.
--So babies are looking good. In 2-3 wks they'll be moved to the cabinet. Then the fun begins!

[CaptainOrganicsCO]

Hey catbuds,
Hope your doing good. Ill be following your grow here, seems like your an old pro. Did someone mention yet how to post pics? It's a button on the top right with a tree on it. Took me a while to figure that out. Good luck and good growing,
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Scratch and Sniff
Captain