Creeper is creeping again.

[Creeperpark]

I just tried to start some older seeds, so far no luck. Did I miss how you start old seeds. I would be interested in your method as I still have several strains of older seeds.
I was trying to start some Turkish Cookies that are around 10 years old, so far nothing, tomorrow will be 2 weeks in peat pucks.
I get what your saying about 12/12... but either I didn't understand how you get old seeds to sprout or you just mentioned it. Would you mind letting me know. Please and thanks!

I start with a high EC potting mix and rainwater only. I use Dixie cups full of Fox Farms potting mix, weigh the cups dry, and write the dry weight on the top of the cups. On planting day wet the soil and keep it wet for the first 48 hrs with rain water. Don't water after 48 hours and put the wet seeded cups under a warm light on a 12/12 photoperiod. The best temps for germination are 78f to 82f with lights on. They always spout by day 4 and won't need water for a week or longer.

When the cup's weight drops to 20 grams above dry weight it's time to water. Using a turkey baster I give the cups 15 ml of rain water. When you water this mix it releases nutrients so over-watered plants can burn the plants. That is key and why one should weigh the cups before watering. The photo below 15-year-old Mandala seedlings. .

 

[Creeperpark]

Here are my outdoor Winter plants. They get 320 ppm of cal mag and base nutrients with every watering. They only come out on Sunny dry days for about 7 hrs a day. I return them to the barn under a 400 Watt hps to stay warm. The photoperiod is 12/12 per day. I still have a long way to go with these. Winter plants take a long time to finish and a lot of care but they are worth it. The daily temps run in the 50s and 60s but under full Sun, the plants stay warm.

 

[Creeperpark]

Speaking of Winter gardens, I have an ongoing experiment with one strain I've been growing only in colder temperatures for quite a few generations. The photoperiod has never been over 12 hrs per day in the last 4 generations. This plant is seeded now and exposed to winter conditions again to continue the experiment. She only goes indoors when there are freezes or hard frosts but stays outdoors in the colder temps. Last time the plant turned black from the colder temps and looked pretty cool. She has a lot of seeds and growing slowly but smells good. I will keep you posted when this one changes colors.

 

[Creeperpark]

Here warming area for nighttime, rainy days, and freezes.

 

[aCBD]

Here are my outdoor Winter plants. They get 320 ppm of cal mag and base nutrients with every watering. They only come out on Sunny dry days for about 7 hrs a day. I return them to the barn under a 400 Watt hps to stay warm. The photoperiod is 12/12 per day. I still have a long way to go with these. Winter plants take a long time to finish and a lot of care but they are worth it. The daily temps run in the 50s and 60s but under full Sun, the plants stay warm.

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You could use a hand truck or trolley to make things easier for you.

 

[dimodz]

You could use a hand truck or trolley to make things easier for you.

yeah that right that much easier i think also before to write that but forget it later

 

[Freezerweed]

Nice sprouting setup!

 

[Creeperpark]

Here's the main garden. I'm slowly getting dialed back in. I have some burnt tips and leaves; please forgive me for my mistake. The buds smell nice and are very sticky. I still have a long way to go, but I'm hanging in there.

 

[Creeperpark]

This is the time I ruined my cameras in the past by putting them too close to the bud. I can magnify the photos enough to see what I have. These are still early because I still have too many white pistils. Here is what I'm looking now.

 

[Creeperpark]

Mold can be a problem when the flowers get dense. Now that I'm pasted the halfway point of flowering I have to watch how I water very closely. I cut my water by over 50% and give the plants more dry time between waterings. I'm taking the plants into a drought the last weeks of the grow. If I don't put them in a drought they can mold. This will cause a leaf drop from the leaves turning yellow and giving up their water. Losing leaves naturally promotes more resin.

Here's a tip to help keep mold down during flowering. Plant your gallon insert about a inch high in the big pot raising it above the substrate. This will keep the root flair from getting saturated in the pot during watering. When I water I only water around the outer edge of the post, keeping the center dry to prevent mold. Here's what I'm talking about, these plants were just watered with only 1000 ml of nutrient water.

 

[Creeperpark]

Here's the small 180-watt closet grow, one plant is almost ready.

 

[--gigi--]

everything looks lovely .
I hope to make germination soon after reading your thread.
thank you for so much information you add to thread.

 

[Creeperpark]

Thank you gigi, here are my new White Widow sprouts under a common fluorescent light. One important thing to remember is sprouts need constant airflow so they can transpire water and nutrients. I use a loose string in the middle and at the end of the fixture to show me how much airflow I have. As long as the string is moving I know I'm getting airflow. Also, it's important to have a yellow stickie at the end of the fixture downwind to catch and identify bugs.

 

[exoticrobotic]

Very organised @Creeperpark

I always learn a few things reading your threads, like the nutrient ladder for instance.

Thank you

 

[Creeperpark]

Thank you gigi, here are my new White Widow sprouts under a common fluorescent light. One important thing to remember is sprouts need constant airflow so they can transpire water and nutrients. I use a loose string in the middle and at the end of the fixture to show me how much airflow I have. As long as the string is moving I know I'm getting airflow. Also, it's important to have a yellow stickie at the end of the fixture downwind to catch and identify bugs.

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The numbers on the cups' tops are the dry and wet weights. I have 100% success using this method for watering. Just today, I picked up a cup that felt light, so I put it on the scales, and it was heavy—over 240 grams. Had I not weighed the cup, I would have overwatered.

 

[Creeperpark]

Note, The low EC method will only work if the starting EC is already high in the substrate. When I put the FFOF into the pro mix the EC was 2.8 or 2500 ppm or more. So giving low doses of nutrients works well mixed with a high EC. However one has to monitor their EC closely so as not to get too low like I did.

 

[Creeperpark]

I'm slowly getting dialed back in again. Here's today at around 50 days. I raised the EC to 400 ppm.

 

[Creeperpark]

You can see a lot of damage but It's not a total loss. Here are a few more shots. I have to be careful with water management at this point. When the buds get dense they can't transpire water and excess water gets trapped in the bud causing mold. This garden is getting little sticky and stinky.

 

[Creeperpark]

I tried to get some bud shots. I still have a way to go with this one.

 

[aCBD]

They all look very tall. No indica-like plants in this safari mix?