New Grower Mephisto Strawberry Nuggets, 4 Assed Monkey & Fantasmo Express x Sour Stomper

[NiceOption]

Hey guys,

Noob grower here with only 1 auto grow under my belt.

After browsing here, there and everywhere, Mephisto Genetics were the breeder calling my name and I ordered 1 Strawberry Nuggets and 1 4 Assed Monkey which i'm excited to test after having two non-germing Gorilla Glue seeds from Fast Buds
HUGE shout out to Brad @mephisto for great communication and doubling my order, sending me 2 seeds of each strain rather than the 1 ordered AND including 2 free seeds of Sour Stomper x Fantasmo Express!

I've just started to soak 2 Strawberry Nuggets seeds and 1 4 Assed Monkey which I'll pop into paper towels this afternoon with Mephisto's dvd-case-in-the-tent-method. I've found that a 24hr soak in tap water tends to get things going a bit better (thoughts?) I'll let you know how they germ in a couple of days.

In the meantime, here's my lil' basic set up:

1m x 1m white lined BudBox tent
600w HPS with dimmable Omega ballast and crappy no-name reflector
15L Smart Pots
Ram Exhaust fan with carbon filter
2 Ram clip on desk fans for circulation

Growing in Canna Coco with added perlite, I also line the pots with clay balls.

I've been using General Hydroponics Flora series nutes with Plant Magic Cal-Mag. So I'll continue in this way.
I like to add something for flower too, I've tried Big Bud but I'm not sure it did a lot. I also tried something from Sugar Peak which from what I could tell, was basically guano, worm casings and molasses. This seemed to do a better job and I had no issues from nute burn which I got a hint of with the Big Bud.

I'm totally open to suggestions, feel free to tell me when I mess up!

 

[bad dragon bzzz]

cheers for starting a journal

cant go wrong with Mephisto
good luck n keep er lit.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

@NiceOption You have a couple of grows under your belt already so I want to share with you some of my personal beliefs about growing and why I choose to do it this way.

Germinating seeds:

I know that a lot of growers swear by it and their proof is the fact that many plants survive the technique but unless seeds are old or have been stored poorly soaking seeds is not needed and can drown them. Then because they need the instant gratification of seeing the tap root they germinate them in paper towels. If you look at a tap root under 200x magnification you will see the “root hairs” that grow laterally out from the tap root. These become the plant’s uptake roots. They will grow into the fibers of the paper towels and are ripped off every time the seedling is move or the towel is opened – ouch. Then when transplanting it is very easy to bump the tap root tip and damage it or kill the seedling – Why?


Put the fresh or properly stored seed ½” deep in a Rapid Rooter, Root Riot, rock wool cube or similar. Keep moist – not wet, and ~78°F, 60% humidity with your lights running on 18/6 and they will germinate if viable. Don't use cups or domes that keep the humidity too high or you may risk damping off. Most strains will germinate in 5 to 7 days. Some strains take longer than others. The African sativas can take 21+ days so be patient. 7 plus year old seeds require special treatment.


Old TmingMan germinated 40 year old seeds using this method. Here is a quote from him:


“ Old TimingMan

I wish there was a easier way but so far my best luck has been scuffing them in a sandpaper tube, letting them set in a H2O2 bath for an hour while plunking them down every 15 minutes, and then using the GA3 at a rate of 500 PPM in distilled water with temps at the 80 degree mark from soak to sprout.”

Nutrients:

Learn about Liebig's Law of the Minimum. It is about how important it is to maintain a balance between the various plant nutrients for optimal uptake. This is the reason I recommend that you choose a nutrient line designed for cannabis. Then use the entire line ONLY. The better companies spend millions with the best scientists making products that work together in a balanced manner. Take advantage of that.

 

[Need4Weed]

Good luck with your grow!

Btw, I always soak seeds for 24 hours!

 

[Dudeski]

I'm here, thanks! I'll be following along for sure. My opinion on germination, it's dark, moist and warm in the soil. Just like a paper towel, and then I never have to mess with the seed or taproot.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Dark, moist and warm - ooh lala................

 

[Dudeski]

Dark, moist and warm - ooh lala................

yup

 

[NiceOption]

@NiceOption You have a couple of grows under your belt already so I want to share with you some of my personal beliefs about growing and why I choose to do it this way.

Germinating seeds:

I know that a lot of growers swear by it and their proof is the fact that many plants survive the technique but unless seeds are old or have been stored poorly soaking seeds is not needed and can drown them. Then because they need the instant gratification of seeing the tap root they germinate them in paper towels. If you look at a tap root under 200x magnification you will see the “root hairs” that grow laterally out from the tap root. These become the plant’s uptake roots. They will grow into the fibers of the paper towels and are ripped off every time the seedling is move or the towel is opened – ouch. Then when transplanting it is very easy to bump the tap root tip and damage it or kill the seedling – Why?


Put the fresh or properly stored seed ½” deep in a Rapid Rooter, Root Riot, rock wool cube or similar. Keep moist – not wet, and ~78°F, 60% humidity with your lights running on 18/6 and they will germinate if viable. Don't use cups or domes that keep the humidity too high or you may risk damping off. Most strains will germinate in 5 to 7 days. Some strains take longer than others. The African sativas can take 21+ days so be patient. 7 plus year old seeds require special treatment.


Old TmingMan germinated 40 year old seeds using this method. Here is a quote from him:


“ Old TimingMan

I wish there was a easier way but so far my best luck has been scuffing them in a sandpaper tube, letting them set in a H2O2 bath for an hour while plunking them down every 15 minutes, and then using the GA3 at a rate of 500 PPM in distilled water with temps at the 80 degree mark from soak to sprout.”

Nutrients:

Learn about Liebig's Law of the Minimum. It is about how important it is to maintain a balance between the various plant nutrients for optimal uptake. This is the reason I recommend that you choose a nutrient line designed for cannabis. Then use the entire line ONLY. The better companies spend millions with the best scientists making products that work together in a balanced manner. Take advantage of that.

View attachment 963136 View attachment 963137

That sure is some food for thought, and you're right, it makes perfect sense. I hadn't thought of that the paper towel method essentially causing the same stress, and potentially at an even more crucial stage in the plant's life.

I've also seen a lot of people saying these starter cubes are a waste of money but to be honest, they're a whole lot cheaper than seeds so I'll definitely give it a go next time.
Actually I would have probably tried them on this run if they'd been in stock at my local grow shop!

I was a little worried about the germination, I didn't order many seeds from Mephisto (though they kindly bulked out my order) so want to ensure they all pop. I had such a bad germ rate from Fast Buds that I thought it might be something more common with autos, but actually I think Fast Buds just have slightly less rigorous quality control than Mephisto. Half the seeds I received from Fast Buds were pale and small, even a little green and I had a terrible germ rate. I started 2 Tangie, 2 GG, 2 Pineapple Express, 2 GSC, only 1 of each got going except for the GG, neither of which started

Thanks again for your thoughts and I'll take your advice next time and go with Root Riot cubes. After seeing your journal, you clearly know what you're talking about!

40 yr old seeds! Wow! I would love to get the chance to grow some true old school genetics like that and see what they were really smoking way back when...

 

[NiceOption]

I'm here, thanks! I'll be following along for sure. My opinion on germination, it's dark, moist and warm in the soil. Just like a paper towel, and then I never have to mess with the seed or taproot.

You stick em straight into the dirt? I did this with my first ever grow and it worked but I feel like planting straight into coco might not work so well as it seems to have less density than soil would and doesn't hug the seed in the way that soil does. Maybe that's crazy though!?

 

[NiceOption]

After soaking in water 24 hrs, I'm happy to report that all the seeds seem to be itching to get going and have cracked already with a lil' taproot poking out.

I've dropped em into paper towels then a wrapped up DVD case in the boiler cabinet. Now to give the tent a bit of scrub down and ready the smart pots.

Go go Mephisto

Quick question... in my 1 x 1 tent, how many plants do you think I can get away with? Ideally I'd like to run 4 but went for 3 as it sounds like both these strains can bush out a lot. My last grow was 2 plants and it really filled the tent but one of those plants was an absolute monster (Tangie'Matic)