Ok, so as the title indicates this is my first grow. I've spent the better part of a month reading as much as I could and asking questions once I knew enough to know what I didn't know lol. At this point I'm pretty confident that I'm going to have a pretty good grow first grow, but I'm a little apprehensive about the watering and about nutes. People are encouraged to post in this thread if they see something about the plant growth that doesn't look right and they have corrective advice to offer, or even if they just want to offer support if they think the girls are looking good.
I'm going to be growing 4 of my Easy Ryders indoors and 1 outdoors, but my first girl (Sarah) is going to be grown indoors under CFLs. I decided to use a space under my desk in my home office, which is about 27" tall. I purchased the largest cardboard box I could find at Home Depot, which was 18"W, by 18"L, and 24" tall. It turned out to be the PERFECT size, both because it allowed for a few inches of clearance under the desk, and because it PERFECTLY holds 4 square, 2-gallon plastic pots that I bought from a local Hydro shop.
The Box
I sealed up one end of the box with tape and cut the other end of the box off, and then lined the 3 sides of the box with reflective Mylar that I purchased from a local Hydro shop. I placed the box with the sealed end on the floor, and the side without the Mylar pointed toward the open side of the desk where I would be accessing the box. Next I cut a hole about halfway down the box (and in the Mylar) for a 4" cabinet fan, which can be used as an intake or exhaust fan depending on which direction the fan is mounted to the box. I then made two cuts in the side of the box that was facing outward toward me from under the desk. The two cuts were about 1/4" inward from either side of the box and extended downward about half the length of the box toward the floor. I then bent the cardboard toward me and toward the floor. This created a flap that I could open anytime I wanted in order to easily access the plants and lights inside the box, without having to slide the box out from under the desk. Once I created the flap I lined that side of the box with Mylar as well. Lastly, I fashioned a base for the box since the pots didn't come with bases and I couldn't find any for them. I used tinfoil roasting pans with 1" sides that I cut and joined using staples and shipping tape, and then covered with a plastic waterproof drop cloth when it was finished. At this point the grow box is DONE!
The Lighting
Next I needed lighting. I purchased 4, 8" reflective light bulb holders with clamps from Home Depot, and I removed the clamps since I was going to be draping the lights down into the box. I also purchased 5 short extension cords and a light bulb to electrical plug adapter, along with some adhesive hooks that can be mounted anywhere. I placed the completed box underneath the desk with the flap facing outward and the open top of the box facing upward. I had about 3" of clearance which was perfect. I measured and placed the hooks on the underside of the desk so that they would be directly above of the 4 pots in the box below. I place a 5th hook directly over the middle of the box, where there was just enough room to hang a single lightbulb in between the 4 reflective bases that would be hanging above each pot. I bought an assortment of 23w and 42w CFLs in 2700K and 6500K color spectrums. All told, with 4-23W-1750 Lumen bulbs, and 1-42W-2600 Lumen bulb, I was putting out about 9600 Lumens to cover a 1.5 square foot space. By everything I read you ideally need about 5,000 Lumens per square foot, so that should be more than enough Lumens for that space. Lighting - DONE!
Now that the hard work was done, it was time for the fun part!
Ordering The Seeds
I purchased 5 Easy Rider (fem) seeds from Attitude seed bank on 8-9-10. I used the T-shirt stealth shipping option just to make sure that I didn't waste all that money only to have the seeds seized by customs. The seeds shipped on 8-10-10 via Royal Mail/USPS First Class Mail Intl., however their website doesn't tell you which shipping method was used, only the tracking #. I had to contact Attitude to find out what shipping method was used so that I could track the delivery. Shipment was uneventful and I received my seeds promptly on 8-16-10.
Prepping The seeds
I wasted no time when I received my seeds, and I immediately placed one Easy Ryder seed in a small shot glass of tap water filtered using a Brita filtration system. (I decided to only germinate and plant one seed at first, and make sure it germinated and started to grow properly before I germinated and planted the other 4 seeds.) I placed the shot glass on top of the water heater for warmth, and covered it with a plastic cup to block out all light. About 8 hours later I checked on the seed, which had not yet floated to the bottom of the glass. I used a knife to push the seed underwater and see if it floated back to the top but it sank to the bottom, which is the indicator that the seed is ready for stage 2.
Germinating
I thorougly moistened a paper towel using the water from the shot glass, and placed it on a paper plate. I removed the seed from the shot glass, careful not to touch it with my hands at any point, and I placed it in the middle of the moist paper towel. I then moistened another paper towel with the water from the shot glass and place it on top of the seed, careful to make sure that seed was in contact with the paper towel all around. I put Saran Wrap over the plate, placed another plate upside down over the first plate, and placed the plate in a warm dark location. I checked on the seed every several hours, and had to re-moisten the paper towel twice. After 24 hours I noticed that the sprout had started to emerge from the seed, and after 36 hours it had emerged far enough that I was comfortable with planting it (the sprout was about 1/8" to 1/4" long).
Planting
My potting soil consisted of Fox Farms Ocean Forest, mixed with about 8-12 ounces of Black Gold Perlite. I placed some thin paper in the bottom of the pot to prevent the dirt from coming out, while still allowing excess water to drain from the holes in the pot if need be. I carefully removed the seed from the paper towels using tweezers, and placed it about 1/4" below the surface of the soil in a 2-gallon plastic pot, with the sprout facing down. And finally I thoroughly but carefully watered the soil using tap water filtered through a Brita filter, with a PH balance of between 6.2 and 6.5 (I used a PH kit I purchased from a local Hydro shop to test and balance the PH).
Growing
Hurry up and wait, that's the name of the game. 36 hours after planting the germinated seed I saw the first glimpse of the seedling starting to push through the soil, and I don't mind saying I was very excited! I carefully brushed away the little bit of soil on top of the seedling to help it along (I know I probably shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself
). Over the next several hours I checked back on the seedling about once every hour or two and monitored the progress. By the end of the day the little seedling was standing upright with the Cotyledon fully open and soaking up the rays, and I could see the first signs of the tiny little first "true" leaves!
That brings us up to date! Total elapsed time so far since I placed the first seed into a shot glass to soak it has been just 4 days. My other 4 Easy Ryder seeds are germinating in a paper towel right now. 3 of them will be joining their sister in the grow box, while one will be potted and will begin its life outside. It will be interesting to do a side by side comparison growing one of them outdoors and the others indoors. Aside from that I'm going to treat them exactly the same, so the only real difference will be the lighting and humidity, and possibly the water if we get any rain. I plan to post pictures of all plants regularly throughout the growing process. Feel free to follow my progress and comment if you have something you want to contribute!
I'm going to be growing 4 of my Easy Ryders indoors and 1 outdoors, but my first girl (Sarah) is going to be grown indoors under CFLs. I decided to use a space under my desk in my home office, which is about 27" tall. I purchased the largest cardboard box I could find at Home Depot, which was 18"W, by 18"L, and 24" tall. It turned out to be the PERFECT size, both because it allowed for a few inches of clearance under the desk, and because it PERFECTLY holds 4 square, 2-gallon plastic pots that I bought from a local Hydro shop.
The Box
I sealed up one end of the box with tape and cut the other end of the box off, and then lined the 3 sides of the box with reflective Mylar that I purchased from a local Hydro shop. I placed the box with the sealed end on the floor, and the side without the Mylar pointed toward the open side of the desk where I would be accessing the box. Next I cut a hole about halfway down the box (and in the Mylar) for a 4" cabinet fan, which can be used as an intake or exhaust fan depending on which direction the fan is mounted to the box. I then made two cuts in the side of the box that was facing outward toward me from under the desk. The two cuts were about 1/4" inward from either side of the box and extended downward about half the length of the box toward the floor. I then bent the cardboard toward me and toward the floor. This created a flap that I could open anytime I wanted in order to easily access the plants and lights inside the box, without having to slide the box out from under the desk. Once I created the flap I lined that side of the box with Mylar as well. Lastly, I fashioned a base for the box since the pots didn't come with bases and I couldn't find any for them. I used tinfoil roasting pans with 1" sides that I cut and joined using staples and shipping tape, and then covered with a plastic waterproof drop cloth when it was finished. At this point the grow box is DONE!
The Lighting
Next I needed lighting. I purchased 4, 8" reflective light bulb holders with clamps from Home Depot, and I removed the clamps since I was going to be draping the lights down into the box. I also purchased 5 short extension cords and a light bulb to electrical plug adapter, along with some adhesive hooks that can be mounted anywhere. I placed the completed box underneath the desk with the flap facing outward and the open top of the box facing upward. I had about 3" of clearance which was perfect. I measured and placed the hooks on the underside of the desk so that they would be directly above of the 4 pots in the box below. I place a 5th hook directly over the middle of the box, where there was just enough room to hang a single lightbulb in between the 4 reflective bases that would be hanging above each pot. I bought an assortment of 23w and 42w CFLs in 2700K and 6500K color spectrums. All told, with 4-23W-1750 Lumen bulbs, and 1-42W-2600 Lumen bulb, I was putting out about 9600 Lumens to cover a 1.5 square foot space. By everything I read you ideally need about 5,000 Lumens per square foot, so that should be more than enough Lumens for that space. Lighting - DONE!
Now that the hard work was done, it was time for the fun part!
Ordering The Seeds
I purchased 5 Easy Rider (fem) seeds from Attitude seed bank on 8-9-10. I used the T-shirt stealth shipping option just to make sure that I didn't waste all that money only to have the seeds seized by customs. The seeds shipped on 8-10-10 via Royal Mail/USPS First Class Mail Intl., however their website doesn't tell you which shipping method was used, only the tracking #. I had to contact Attitude to find out what shipping method was used so that I could track the delivery. Shipment was uneventful and I received my seeds promptly on 8-16-10.
Prepping The seeds
I wasted no time when I received my seeds, and I immediately placed one Easy Ryder seed in a small shot glass of tap water filtered using a Brita filtration system. (I decided to only germinate and plant one seed at first, and make sure it germinated and started to grow properly before I germinated and planted the other 4 seeds.) I placed the shot glass on top of the water heater for warmth, and covered it with a plastic cup to block out all light. About 8 hours later I checked on the seed, which had not yet floated to the bottom of the glass. I used a knife to push the seed underwater and see if it floated back to the top but it sank to the bottom, which is the indicator that the seed is ready for stage 2.
Germinating
I thorougly moistened a paper towel using the water from the shot glass, and placed it on a paper plate. I removed the seed from the shot glass, careful not to touch it with my hands at any point, and I placed it in the middle of the moist paper towel. I then moistened another paper towel with the water from the shot glass and place it on top of the seed, careful to make sure that seed was in contact with the paper towel all around. I put Saran Wrap over the plate, placed another plate upside down over the first plate, and placed the plate in a warm dark location. I checked on the seed every several hours, and had to re-moisten the paper towel twice. After 24 hours I noticed that the sprout had started to emerge from the seed, and after 36 hours it had emerged far enough that I was comfortable with planting it (the sprout was about 1/8" to 1/4" long).
Planting
My potting soil consisted of Fox Farms Ocean Forest, mixed with about 8-12 ounces of Black Gold Perlite. I placed some thin paper in the bottom of the pot to prevent the dirt from coming out, while still allowing excess water to drain from the holes in the pot if need be. I carefully removed the seed from the paper towels using tweezers, and placed it about 1/4" below the surface of the soil in a 2-gallon plastic pot, with the sprout facing down. And finally I thoroughly but carefully watered the soil using tap water filtered through a Brita filter, with a PH balance of between 6.2 and 6.5 (I used a PH kit I purchased from a local Hydro shop to test and balance the PH).
Growing
Hurry up and wait, that's the name of the game. 36 hours after planting the germinated seed I saw the first glimpse of the seedling starting to push through the soil, and I don't mind saying I was very excited! I carefully brushed away the little bit of soil on top of the seedling to help it along (I know I probably shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself
). Over the next several hours I checked back on the seedling about once every hour or two and monitored the progress. By the end of the day the little seedling was standing upright with the Cotyledon fully open and soaking up the rays, and I could see the first signs of the tiny little first "true" leaves! That brings us up to date! Total elapsed time so far since I placed the first seed into a shot glass to soak it has been just 4 days. My other 4 Easy Ryder seeds are germinating in a paper towel right now. 3 of them will be joining their sister in the grow box, while one will be potted and will begin its life outside. It will be interesting to do a side by side comparison growing one of them outdoors and the others indoors. Aside from that I'm going to treat them exactly the same, so the only real difference will be the lighting and humidity, and possibly the water if we get any rain. I plan to post pictures of all plants regularly throughout the growing process. Feel free to follow my progress and comment if you have something you want to contribute!
. Ill be following this journal so we can compare at the end 
. Between the lack of water, and having a CFL with a reflective base about 2 inches above the surface for 36 hours, the soil completely dried out and I couldn't possibly imagine that the germinated seed could have survived. When I brushed away some of the soil, sure that I was going to find a dried up dead seedling, I was absolutely amazed to find that the seedling apparently hasn't died and had actually grown a little. I thoroughly watered it and put it back under the light, and with a lot of luck I'll see my 5th and final seedling break the surface sometime tomorrow. At this point though I'm not getting my hopes up too high.
