First Try

Just got started. Have one seed germinating using the paper towel method at the moment (being cheap and germinating only one because I have so few seeds), and the 3L DIY Smart Pot filled and ready to go. Soil Mix is about 40% homemade compost (high proportion of rabbit and bird manure), 36% coir, 7% sand, 14% vermiculite, and 3% vermi-compost. Plan is to add hydro nutrient solution later in the grow, but the mix as it stands should provide a lot of micro nutrients and N-P-K at least at the start. Am setting up my tent/lights/etc at basically the same time - these items are being shipped right now, and should be set up by the weekend. If my seedling is planted and fully sprouted before then, I do have my "Normal Plant" grow area with the mixed T8 bulbs it can live under until its final home is ready. This is going to be an interesting first grow ever, I think. Against what would probably be good advice for a novice, I'll probably try some "advanced" technique to practice, such as trying to take a clone or two, and making an attempt to produce some feminized seeds with the clones, if they make it. As mentioned, I have so few seeds - so I'm interested in sacrificing a bud or two in order to ensure that I can grow this plant again if I want (or at least something like it!) EDIT: At the end of week one, we have a successful little sprout. It seems happy - hasn't been stretching any higher than ~1", It also seems to be working hard on the next set of leaves, so I think I guessed the light-to-seedling distance correctly for this lamp. I also did soil testing on the mix, so I know what I'm working with, and dug out all my hydroponics supplies from the wax peppers for pHing water and eventually mixing up the hydroponics solutions. It's my first grow with this species, but for a newbie, I have a lot of oddly specific tools hanging around...

I feel like this experiment is a bit of a trial in patience. At the end of week two, my seedling has a set of true leaves, but not much more. I'm not experienced enough to know if this if normal, or if my particular plant is growing slowly, or in shock for some reason. I haven't seen anything too abnormal, though. Have been watering with Ph'd water at either 5.7 or 6.2 depending on which water batch I used. Temperatures have been reasonably steady between around 20c at night and around 25-27 during the day. Lights are still up at 30 inches, and the seedling isn't stretching or going leggy so that seems appropriate. The only complicating factor for this coming week is that I managed to misplace the mixing instructions form hydroponic nutrients (from my Hungarian Wax pepper system a few years back), and APPARENTLY this particular set of nutrients is made in house by a local hydro shop, which doesn't post the instructions on their website anywhere, and does not answer their phone or emails (it's been a week...) I had planned to start supplementing the soil grow with 10% to 30% hydroponic solution in week three... but this makes that a little more complicated. I can do three things here... head down to the shop and demand a new copy, bite the bullet and buy a set of nutrient solutions that actually have available online documentation/feeding schedules, or try and reverse engineer the feeding schedules from the N P K values and the schedules of other manufacturers. I'm not a fan of option one - I don't really want to visit that shop again. I also would prefer not to buy another set of nutrients, given that I HAVE these ones already hanging around. I have managed to make an approximation of a feeding schedule based on the information that General Hydroponics publishes about the Flora series (which, like what I have, is a 3 part A,B,M used for both veg and flower). I might go with that, and I'm tempted to just buy the GH stuff when this runs out, because I would like to reward companies that actually make useful info, like the damnable feeding instructions, available openly!

Normally, I update at the end of the week, on Sunday. I checked in on the plant Monday morning. End of last week the cotelydons were yellowing, but I had been thinking that was just the seed getting rid of them. This week, the faintest yellowing started on the edge of the true leaves. This was a problem. To cut to the chase, the soil pH was horribly off. Run-off was testing at 7.9 when watered with 6.2. If I had to do it again, I would NOT use a color based soil pH test again - I was pretty sure the soil was pH 7 but apparently I'm not great at differentiating small differences in shades of blue green. *facepalm* I tried flushing with a gallon of 6.3pH - only got the run off to shift to 7.6 which was disappointing. So I tried something drastic - did an emergency transplant into a coir-vermiculite media soaked in pH'd seedling strength nutrients. So far, 12 hours later, my seedling is alive the yellowing on the edge of the true leaves seems to have improved, and there are no signs of wilting or shock. So this week will be interesting. We'll see if the seedling known as Sprüht perks up or if I have to start over. Also - found the instructions for the local-shop's hydro nutrients. I was CLOSE with my guess, but now I don't have to guess about that anymore.

The tiny plant is not dead yet! The emergency transplant worked. It took about 4-5 days for the seedling to settle in, but now that she has, there is more and faster growth than I've ever seen on her. So, four weeks behind schedule but alive and growing. In other news, it turns out my Mother has experience with this species (go figure... It's news to me that cannabis growing basically amounts to a family tradition.) Based on her past experience she expects the seedling will be stunted at least a little bit, so perhaps not the biggest or best yeilding plant, but should otherwise be able to flower normally.

There is some slow but steady growth on the first plant. Emphasis on the slow. Because I am not completely sure the first plant will recover to the point of having a normal rate of growth, I did start a second seed (from the same White Kush batch), incorporating the advice I got from here and elsewhere. - Used a smaller starter container (Solo Cup) - Planted into pH'd soilless mix (NOT soil with a pH around 8!) - Used soaking to prep the seed for germination. This time the seed cracked within 24 hours. I am just waiting for the new plant to poke it's head above ground

Poor plant... turns out my old pH pen can't hold a calibration. So this week, my older plant got watered with pH 4.0 nutrients... poor thing is looking rough. But the new seed is happy - it received only water, so no pH issues there and it is outgrowing the first plant at that age handily. If the first plant lives, it might just get overtaken by this upstart second plant.

No crisis this week! I believe both plants are doing well, although the first one is still a stunted little thing. I took sprout one and did some gentle LST by bending the main stem over and gently tying it. Plant has already made strides towards righting itself. It may be my imagination but I think I am seeing more activity at the lower nodes - the bend may have gotten some of these junctions to kick up leaf growth, which I am hoping will fill out those areas where my early pH problems caused a lot of leaf loss... eh... whoops. Plant 2 is now 14 days old, with two sets of true leaves and working on a third. It looks so much happier than the first plant. Still short and stout though. On the short and stout part... I am wondering if either plant will start putting on height soon or not. All these new least nodes look as though they are basically stacked on top of each other.