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Overall germination is going well, 6 of 7 seeds germinated. One seed split open and had a tail but did not fully germinate. Another seedling has the shell stuck on but it seems to be working itself off as I make sure to keep a drop of water on it as much as possible. Used Dolomite lime and gypsum to amend medium. It was tricky to convert so many different measurements: grams, teaspoons/tablespoons, cubic feet, gallons. I used a 2 gallon nursery container to measure the medium first, 2 gal. vermiculite, 2 gal. peat. Then calculated 40 grams of Dolomite lime and 18 grams of gypsum. Soil pH still tested low, around 5, so I added more lime. Final pH was just below 6 but I wasn't too concerned since it was just for their 4" seedling container. They will be transplanted to their final home, 5 gallon fabric pots, when they are ready.
Environment:
Before germination: humidity 80-85%, ambient temp. around 80 F, seedling heat mat thermostat set to 80F, 2- 6" fans running, no inline exhaust (to maintain temp and humidity), lights 30" from soil at around 350 micromoles (30% power).
After germination: humidity between 60-65%, ambient temp. around 76 F, seedling heat mat thermostat set to 77 F, 2- 6" fans running, 1- 8" oscillating fan running just above seedlings, no inline exhaust (bottom tent vents open), lights 30" from soil at around 410 micromoles (40% power).
First full week with seedlings. Given this is my first grow, I was a bit stressed about over/under watering. I have another grow tent with autos (ILGM Gorilla Glue) and they are growing so much faster than this grow that I was concerning that something was off because of the size of the seedlings. With my fear of overwatering, I may have under-watered a bit so I gave them their first semi-soaking. The medium seems to dry very quickly, but I am making sure to keep the humidity levels at least 60%. In an attempt to get things moving a bit, and since the cotyledons have begun to yellow, I sprinkled about 2 teaspoons of worm castings on the soil and gave them a good watering. They have perked up a bit but my only reference for seedling growth is my auto tent, which are growing like crazy. I am hoping to begin nutrients next week depending on how they look. I did also increase the lighting a bit to 50% power at 30" from soil, about 430 micromoles. Also added a thermostat controller to turn inline fan on when ambient temperature reaches 77 degrees F. The 6" inline fan I bought is almost too powerful for this tent, even on the lowest setting, so I won't keep it on consistently until I turn the lights up more and heat the tent. Let's hope they pick up the pace a bit next week when the soil amendments start to break down and feed the plants.
After a slow start, these girls are beginning to hit their stride. I increased PPFD to 440 and adjusted temp to 71F and RH to 50%, for a VPD of 1.2, which is great. First week of nutrients (1/4 strength) and they responded well. I used a 1 liter medical squirt wash bottle to feed approximately 100 mL/plant. I was worried about this grow since they started off so slow compared to my auto Gorilla Glue, but this is my first grow so maybe they are right where they are supposed to be.
Struggling with why they are still so small. I suspect a pH issue with the soil. I had originally added Dolomite lime and I think I added too much. PPFD, temp and humidity all the same. Waiting for time this weekend to delve into soil pH and possible CalMag deficiency.
Found the issue! It was definitely nutrient lock from high soil pH. I flushed the container with water pH at 4.3 and it lowered the soil pH. The run-off from flushing was at around 1100 EC, so I knew that it was nutrient lock. I also added some Sensi CalMag just to be safe. The perked up within a day and have turned a brighter green. I also transplanted them to their final home, a 5 gallon fabric pot. I used equal parts peat, vermiculite, and perlite. The pH came out pretty good at 6.2. I also gave a quick foiler spray of the Sensi CalMag.
GrowedUp
