Thanks to all for the nice and warm welcome i received over at the introduction thread.
I started this grow on the 25th of September. 3 Auto seeds ordered from pick n mix
Paradise Pandora
Paradise whiteberry
Sweet Creme caramel
i started/germed these all off using the paper towel method. but as i had no paper towels i used toilet roll. and never will i use Andrex again.
Within 48 hours the caramel sprouted first followed by the berry and lastly the Pandora.
I didn't have any individual pots to sow my seedlings, so i cut the bottom off a 5 litre water container, made some holes and filled it with some Westlands Multi-purpose compost with added JI. I then planted all 3 seeds and added a little water. and placed the container in my groom under 3 x 25w CFLS.
(Then the excitement sets in)
2-3 days later the seedlings emerged.
the 1 on the right is creme carmel
the left is whiteberry
front its the pandora.
Within a week or so i decided i would transplant them into the 7.5 litre pots.
I was going to re-pot them into a smaller pot and gradually finalise them. But i read that some growers just plant them straight into their final growing pots straight after germination.
I only had two 7.5 litre pots. But i just managed to acquire a much bigger pot from my neighbours garden. which i thoroughly cleaned.
Id also read alot of good things about John innes no2. so that was my growing medium. along with some perlite. I did a 70% soil to 30% perlite mix.
Transplanting was a bit of a nightmare. i couldn't tip the container up side down i would have needed 4 hands to do this. a hand per plant. and a hand for the tipping action ....so i got a dohnut cutter and placed that over each little plant and sliced into the soil, twisting as i push down gently. then id tilt the cutter and pull the plant out of the soil, that seemed to do the trick. (the cutter was about 3 inches in diameter) i dont think i stressed the young plants as i was very gentle. Next i filled up my pots with the mix of perlite and JI no2. leaving about half an inch to the rim. i then got a pint glass and pushed that down into the centre of the pot to create the perfect mould for my seedlings. everything went beautifully. i sat the 3 pots on dinner plates and carefully added some water. i then carried them one by one up into my groom. and neatly sat them down in a triangle formation. positioning my lights and left them on for 24 hours and that was that.
Every time i could and daily id check on them and they seemed to start off on their vegetation stage. (i think)
3 days later i decided it was time for a watering this is where things go wrong. after watering carefully, the perlite seem float to the top and the soil would sink exposing lower parts of the stem. :cry:
I Immediately considered JI no2 to be completely crap. the stuff was too light and fluffy almost like sand. i just left it and carried on watering filling up the sunken soil with more JI each time i watered. after 8 days the plants looked like they were dying the 1st pointed leaves had patches of yellow and the points were drooping downward. I decided to switch back to westlands MP with added JI. (that was the stuff i used on my 1st two grows) So another transplantation was carefully executed.
I had ran out of perlite...so i mixed in some of the JI no2 that i previously used (it already had perlite mixed through it) with the westlands and replanted.
Now its getting on and the plants are not gaining height but are getting bushy. the temperature in there is a 24-26 degrees. im using english mineral water called ashbeck. i used that on my 1st and second grow its PH at the source is 6.2
here are some pictures taken earlier
And oh fur fuck sake the fan blew away the stick it labels identifying each plant :no:
are they not looking a bit short for their age ?
more pictures to follow shortly
I started this grow on the 25th of September. 3 Auto seeds ordered from pick n mix
Paradise Pandora
Paradise whiteberry
Sweet Creme caramel
i started/germed these all off using the paper towel method. but as i had no paper towels i used toilet roll. and never will i use Andrex again.
Within 48 hours the caramel sprouted first followed by the berry and lastly the Pandora.
I didn't have any individual pots to sow my seedlings, so i cut the bottom off a 5 litre water container, made some holes and filled it with some Westlands Multi-purpose compost with added JI. I then planted all 3 seeds and added a little water. and placed the container in my groom under 3 x 25w CFLS.
(Then the excitement sets in)
2-3 days later the seedlings emerged.
the 1 on the right is creme carmel
the left is whiteberry
front its the pandora.
Within a week or so i decided i would transplant them into the 7.5 litre pots.
I was going to re-pot them into a smaller pot and gradually finalise them. But i read that some growers just plant them straight into their final growing pots straight after germination.
I only had two 7.5 litre pots. But i just managed to acquire a much bigger pot from my neighbours garden. which i thoroughly cleaned.
Id also read alot of good things about John innes no2. so that was my growing medium. along with some perlite. I did a 70% soil to 30% perlite mix.
Transplanting was a bit of a nightmare. i couldn't tip the container up side down i would have needed 4 hands to do this. a hand per plant. and a hand for the tipping action ....so i got a dohnut cutter and placed that over each little plant and sliced into the soil, twisting as i push down gently. then id tilt the cutter and pull the plant out of the soil, that seemed to do the trick. (the cutter was about 3 inches in diameter) i dont think i stressed the young plants as i was very gentle. Next i filled up my pots with the mix of perlite and JI no2. leaving about half an inch to the rim. i then got a pint glass and pushed that down into the centre of the pot to create the perfect mould for my seedlings. everything went beautifully. i sat the 3 pots on dinner plates and carefully added some water. i then carried them one by one up into my groom. and neatly sat them down in a triangle formation. positioning my lights and left them on for 24 hours and that was that.
Every time i could and daily id check on them and they seemed to start off on their vegetation stage. (i think)
3 days later i decided it was time for a watering this is where things go wrong. after watering carefully, the perlite seem float to the top and the soil would sink exposing lower parts of the stem. :cry:
I Immediately considered JI no2 to be completely crap. the stuff was too light and fluffy almost like sand. i just left it and carried on watering filling up the sunken soil with more JI each time i watered. after 8 days the plants looked like they were dying the 1st pointed leaves had patches of yellow and the points were drooping downward. I decided to switch back to westlands MP with added JI. (that was the stuff i used on my 1st two grows) So another transplantation was carefully executed.
I had ran out of perlite...so i mixed in some of the JI no2 that i previously used (it already had perlite mixed through it) with the westlands and replanted.
Now its getting on and the plants are not gaining height but are getting bushy. the temperature in there is a 24-26 degrees. im using english mineral water called ashbeck. i used that on my 1st and second grow its PH at the source is 6.2
here are some pictures taken earlier
And oh fur fuck sake the fan blew away the stick it labels identifying each plant :no:
are they not looking a bit short for their age ?
more pictures to follow shortly
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