Noob Big Bud/Cheese Cross *Started 7/10/2010*

Hey All! I started this journal in the outdoor section then realize it shoulda been here. Anyhow I'll used this first thread to get everyone up to speed


Thanks for stopping in and checking out my first grow. I was going to go do an indoor Aeroponic setup (Stinkbud's), but after factoring the costs for equipment, mediums, and energy I've decided to just go ALL Natural lol.

Anyway I started this grow on 7/10/2010 and even though I'm behind on the season, I figured this is my first grow with some hand me down seeds so all I'm really out is the cost of the soil. Plus I'm just starting out, so this grow is just for the experience for next season, and an ok harvest will just be a plus .

Here is a little more info

Goal:
To have a successful 6 plant grow while vegging 12 plants during the off season. In my county in California, I'm allowed to have 6 mature, and 12 immature plants. I want to utilize the free light provided by sun so my side yard is where this will all happen. I want to keep the cost of this grow as little as possible mainly because I'm not serious in super huge buds with $$$ on my mind. Not only is it therapeutic to smoke, its just as much to take part and watch it grow. So I probably wont go out and buy fancy soil, and nutes, etc. etc. Just the bare necessities. After all... in the super early ancient dinosuar'ish cannabis plant days I'm sure none of that was around, and yet it still flourished and thrived for us modern pot-heads to get our hands on it hahaha!

Any advice, comments AND criticism will be gladly accepted!



Strain:
Big Bud/Cheese cross (Got the seeds for free! WOOHOO!) From online research both strains produce a good yield so we'll see.

Soil:
Ok, so yeah I'm a total noob, and as I mentioned I'm not going with fancy nasa space age dirt, etc. etc. My medium is simple.Progress 7/10/2010-7/14/2010:
Prior to the initial 7/10 start date I germinated about 20 seeds in a soaked paper towel and zip-lock bag. It was then left in a cupboard for about three days. After the roots were about 1/2" to 1", six of them were transferred into the "pink party cups" (thanx to my daughter!) They were planted about and inch down (which I'm starting to think was a little too deep but oh well) My watering schedule is pretty much whenever I get home from work. I may skip a day, but I always check them three or four times a day to make sure the soil is moist.

On 7/13/2010 one of them sprouted! It was a nice surprise. It then gave me a little bit more motivation so I lined the box they are in with foil haha.

On 7/14/2010 I decided to plant 6 more in the white Styrofoam cups you see pictured. This time I planted the seed at a 1/2" down. At this rate I'll be at 12 immature, but will have some options just in case I run into a few males. Any left over females I will try and keep them veg'd for as long as I can.

Ok so I'm a bit worried that the 5 other seedlings have yet to sprout. I carefully dug a few up and discovered no growth. I replaced the seedlings with others from the same germination (three to be exact) the two other ones I'm assuming will suffer the same fate.

because of this I decided to start a new germination for back up. as for the seedlings from 7/14/2010 I'm remaining optimistic. I read somewhere on this forum that in order to keep the PH level with miracle grow soil stable you have to water it a lot so I've up the watering to three times a day, with just enough water to keep the soil moist.

the one super-star seedling is growing GREAT! I hope its a female (fingers crossed)

Ok, I made some huge changes for the best. I moved the setup indoors into a closet. I figured during the early stages the seedlings need a controlled environment with a steady lighting schedule.

So I basically started from scratch with the exception of the sole survivor seedling from the original 7/10 planting. The other botched seedlings I threw out.

I went out and bought:

Two 26 watt CFL 6500k Daylight
Digital Timer Running 18/6
Digital Thermometer/Humidity
4" Fan

The environment stays at 80 degrees with a humidity range from 45-50%

The latest batch that I germinated sprouted some major roots after 2 days! I planted them on 7/17 with the same soil mixture a quarter of an inch down. They sprouted and up toward the lights the very next day!

Hey there looks like a nice start you have there. All I noticed is in that first pic is the stretching with long stalks. Get those cfl's as close as you can. Be careful as they are just little girls and don't burn them. I put my cfl with fan blowing on them about 2 to 3 inches from the plants it is cool to the touch with your hand. When you transplant to larger containers you can burry those stalks up to the start of first leaves and the stalk will root. Just my 2 cents. Ill be watching

Hey man, I'm sorry to hear that some of the seedlings didn't survive outdoors but I'm glad you decided to make an indoor "breeding chamber"

I wish best of luck to you and I'm looking forward to the updates!

Cheers!

Wingman,

Very true.. Originally when I moved them to the "breeding chamber" I only had one CFL and the seedlings were about a foot away from the light. I did some research on plant stretching and one theory was that the plants absorb a certain amount of red light from the light spectrum. So neighboring plants sense the low red lights and it triggers the plant to grow taller to compete for light from it's neighbors. In short it boils down to a light shortage and distance. That's why I added the second CFL and elevated the seedlings closer to the lights.


Alistar

Cheers back to ya chum! Yeah rip to the pioneer seedlings. Trial and error. The soul survivor from the originals is growing nicely with no stretch so on gonna take extra care of her.

P.s. Thanks for coining the "breeding chamber" name for me!

I'm back! Things are looking really good! I upgraded the lighting to three 6500k 20watt florescent tubes. I also transplanted them outta the cups to a more spacious (for the time being) nursery container. Eventually they will end up in 2 or 3 gallon buckets.

BTW.. I just got back from universal studios so I was gone for three days. I'm glad they didnt die on me.