Cali-0, B52, MMM first grow

[mpro]

Hello everyone! I'll hopfully be updating this through harvest. sit back, relax.

first off, thanks to ambre, guineapig and all the other people who have shared thoughts and advice with me in the short time I've been here.

Lets get started.

Cali-O, B52 and 4 MMM seeds I kept. the first two are part of a nirvana 4-pack. Grown in hempy buckets. This is the first grow, after much research. still going to be learning while doing.

Anyway, germed 5 B52 seeds, 4 Cali-O, 4 MMM in shotglasses.

the 4 MMM seeds, have not sprouted tails, though they have all popped.

remaining 9 seeds all had sufficiant tails. placed into 8oz stirafoam(sp?) cups containing a 4 to 1 mixture of perlite and mediam coarse vermiculite. Right now they are sitting on the floor of the flower roam. 4'7" under a 400hps I don't really want the light on, but with it on, it's 73.6 F at the level of the cups.

Should I look into another heating source, or will I be okay with the light on at that distance?

pics to come once I work out this driver issue

 

[Scientist]

Hi mpro

I would suggest getting the temps higher till they are sprouts, around 28-30 but not much higher as mold and bacteria can thrive. I used a blacklite for heat, but anything that will create heat will work. I would only be afraid that the 400w would be a) too much for young seedlings even at that height or b) that the seedlings will stretch with the 400w that far away, eventually. Also, I don't know what type of floor you have but make sure it doesn't get to chilly.

GUD luck mang! You and I are starting the new year with some new green

 

[GMT]

I'm going to vote the opposite. So we need someone to tie break here. The temps are fine to high, and not low at all. That distance from a 400w hps is fine. A small fan blowing on them will first knock them over, then strengthen the stem, creating a nice plant in the long term. Although the 400 is fine, all you really need is one of those efficient light bulbs, that are flourecents that screw into normal lamps. Total cost around $25 max. It'll save on electric costs and reduce heat, (desirable not something to worry about). The lower temps will also help to reduce the effects of pests that like our grow rooms so much. You've gone for a nice little selection there, and those B52s are what I'm really tuning in for, so I'll be hanging around here for a while if that's ok. Hmm, lets see who the tie breaker is and what they say.

 

[mpro]

scientist, GMT thanks for stoppin' in. I spoke in chat with hempy and he put a nod towards loweing the light a bit more. the temp right above the cups is now 77F.

I'll be watering every day with no solution until things get going. Still wating on the MMM. There is a fan in the room now.

looking down from the top.




GMT, I can't wait for the B52. I also have white rhino and AK-48. Once I get the hang of things, I'll be popping them as well. I am going hps from seed on this run. The 5x4 flower room is part of an 8x4 frame, so I need to set up some floro's for seedling/cloning etc.

-mp

 

[Scientist]

Mmmm 77 sounds comfortable.

Remember, I've found it's better ignore than over baby.

Happy growing - I'll be watching

 

[mpro]

3 of the 4 MMM seeds sank in the last couple hours, so all but one are in 8oz cups now. I'm going to let the tail grow a bit before potting the last seed.

 

[Guest]

mpro-

Temps in the 70's are fine for the plants. I prefer to keep seedlings a bit warmer (around 80F), but they will be fine.

You might want to get one or two "daylight" or "sunlight" spectrum compact fluorescent bulbs - the warm spectrum of the HPS encourages seedling stretch; the cool white spectrum of the daylight fluoros will prevent it. I keep my seedlings & clones completely under the daylight spectrum CFL's until I switch to 12/12 for flowering and even then I supplement the warm spectrum light with cool to reduce the stretch during the first part of flowering.

Some tips if cold temps are a concern as winter develops:

Lifting the seedlings up off the floor onto a cardboard box or something will help keep them warm. Floors can be very cold and a bit of insulation between the plants and the floor can make a big difference. Root zone temps can be as important as canopy temps to the plant's health.

You can use moveable walls/barriers (sheets of cardboard covered with mylar or painted flat white) to contain heat & reflect light. These walls can be moved as the plants grow.

If you use a reservoir, keep a submersible aquarium heater in it. The heater will help keep the nute solution warm, which will also help the plants (68-72F). If you don't use a reservoir, painting the buckets black or a darker color will help them to absorb heat from the lamp (black paint also prevents algae, but it may absorb TOO much heat).

If the room gets too cold, you could have a problem when you get to flowering. The 12 hour dark period could let the grow room get pretty cold. Having the reservoir & buckets heated will help buffer the temps, but only so far. If cold is going to be a problem, you may need a space heater.

 

[GMT]

Hmmm, ok, hydro is a situation I didn't consider. Any advice I give out is for soil. Where temps of roots are fine if not in ice or not over about 80, when I find that growth pretty much stops.

 

[mpro]

I have a bunch of 23w compact floro's so I'll look into that. How cold is to cold? currently the room does not really drop below 60 ever. I'll set the tray the cups are on top of the reflective insulation.

I opted to go with a perlite/vermiculite mix instead of the dwc method this time. Using the Hempy bucket method. 4-1 ration per/ver drill a hole 2 inches above bucket and fill. then just water as needed. light and fans are the only things plugged in. It's almost 100% silent.

-mp

 

[GMT]

The ones I use are colour coded A, and 15w with a light output of 900 lumens. Cost £7 for 3. Currently vegging 3 small plants and a cutting with one bulb. It works well.

 

[Scientist]

60 is not too cold as to stunt them, but a warmer temp closer to 27-8 (80F) will speed up their processes. Speed is Def. your friend.

Or is it your enemy?? :gasp:

 

[Sleepy]

taggin' in...

 

[GMT]

Mpro, so you've gone perlite/verm for your first ever grow? Do you really feel that confident about mixing up the right nutes for them, keeping ppms right and phs? If this is your style then I'll step out, but I'd look at the gallery's of people first before taking advice from them on your own grow. Ambre's detail in her thread will show you the trouble that hydro growers go to. Look up any of mine to see how easy soil is. And Sleepy does threads on almost every medium out there.

 

[mpro]

GMT: Thanks for the concern, actually the amount of detail needed in dialing in a good medium sized dwc grow is what made me choose the hempy bucket method. I'll grab the link over at CW. the first couple posts explain it, also there is a post on IC about it.

hempy bucket info @ CW


I have floranova grow and bloom. according to hempy @ CW he only checked his nuts when mixing the solution. as long as it was around 6.5 before mixing, the per/ver handeled it no problem.

 

[mpro]

few pictures

few pictures

I put the vortex fan up today, also ordered vaportek 4000 yesterday along with a fan speed control and 240v timer. Both the hooks for the light and the holding plate for the fan are mounted on wood boards. There are screws at the end of the board so the board can't fall off the wood frame. I can move the lights to either end of the room easily.

I need to make the ducting a bit better, lots of bends. Also all of the reflective insulation is not up yet, as you can see in the picture.

While checking the cups for dryness, I noticed the husk of the seed close to the surface on B52 #1, which had a large tail when it was placed in the cup. it's already traveled 1/8" or more. I'll be watering them later on tonight if things get dry. Temps are at 72.7 right now.








-mp

 

[mpro]

more pictures

more pictures

hello, small update. wanted to get a clean shot of all the cups before things start growing. Also have two shots of the first one to break the surface.

temps are at 73.5

B52 #1 was the winner.

 

[Guest]

I think I'm the only one who doesn't know already, but what is the MMM?

Matanuska Mundermuck? heh heh

Thanks. You have a great set-up, btw.

.canine.

 

[mpro]

magical mystery mix

thanks, we'll see how well the set-up works

 

[mpro]

Day 3

Day 3

Hello all

We have some people over today, so I only had a few minutes to run in and grab a few pics, and top off the cups.

All 9 Nirvana seeds have raised up and and looking good. pictures are not great as I was in a rush to get things done.






Still using plain water, won't use nutes until I transfer from these to bigger pots. 1 or 2 gallon. unless lots of growth is seen inthese 8oz cups. I'm hoping by the time the tap root gets to the bottom, the first leaves will be arriving. In time for a transplant. Still need to get my PH checked. I'll be using full strength floranova grow. possibly 3/4, but perlite and verm carry no nutrients.

Peace all.

-mp

 

[Guest]

I see they have sprouted and on their way. Bookmark.