16set Mainline - First Ever Grow & Daily Progressives c_0

Day -7 Using Fox Farm FX14047-2PK FOXFARM FX14047 pH Adjusted Happy Frog Organic Bags 2 CUFT, Brown Potting Soil from Amazon balanced my test water to 6.2 equal parts soil/water (measured 1 cup each) mixed to sit for 24hrs for soil test before brewing Day -6 Soil screened and tested PH of 4.85 and 2400ppm (concerned with those numbers being so far from what I expected, I calibrated the meter and saw that they were the same after calibration) tested tap water (before and after calibration) and found I have 8.0ph and 289ppm as a baseline in the future I will want the brewing water to be on the opposite side of my target ph, so I am adding water with a ph of 7.55 to help balance the soil at 6.2 (6.2 target - 4.85 tested soil = 1.85 deficit and then a 6.2 target +1.85 tested soil deficiency = 7.55 to balance) I am concerned about the high ppm but not sure what to do about it (organic medium so I am assuming they have more nutrients already) other than simply dont add any nutrients for at least a month. (much appreciate any tips if anyone has any.) Began the Brew! I made about 2 gallons of brew water with a ph of 7.5 and added to the pre-measured 5 gal fabric pots -- I didnt use it all but just enough to moisten the whole batch in a clean, oversized concrete mixing tub- Mixed with my hands to ensure it was all moist but not overly saturated as I could not squeeze any water out of a tight fistful Plans for brewed soil is to let it rest for 2 days and allow the mycorrhizal fungi get a chance to begin growing before day 0 (perlite wont be here until day-4 where I plan to move the soil back into the pots after I have an inch of perlite as a base in the pots for drainage) I also have two seeds in a brown bag on the counter at room temp - one was pre-chilled in the frig for the past 4 days and the other has never been chilled - I plan to take pics showing each in detail before I germinate in water on day -4 Day -5 Inspected seeds while they are still in the pack with an jewelers loupe/light attached to my camera. - 2 seeds in total and they both look good to me - not white or green, no visible open cracks, 1 has a deformity over the belly button (will ask for onions of others) but from outside the package it doesnt appear to be an open crack in the shell. Both seeds feature nice tiger markings over excellent "vein" marks on shiny casings Checked on my soil; temp was 71F and humidity was 63% - took 1 cup from center for testing now that it has brewed for 24 hrs with my 7.5ph water. made a new slurry with 1 more cup of 7.5 ph water and will let it soak for another 24hrs. I decided to check the slurry from this point as well. The ppm results were shocking... 5.97 ph and 1130 ppm --- not really sure of the ppm readings being less, but I 'did' expect the ph to be higher than yesterday's 4.85. I will drain and measure the run off again tomorrow. Day -4 Boiled water and sanitized glasses for 1 minute each - also boiled germination water to remove any chlorine from my tap water and then ph balanced it to 6.25 after it cooled. Checked soil slurry from my test and found the ph to be about 5.6 both before and after straining (I assumed this would be the same reading I got from a run-off test) Since it's still lower than what I want I plan to use 7.5ph water for first month when watering is needed since it is pulling up the ph without draining the nutrients out. Inspected my seeds outside the pack and found that the deformity was more of a shadow at the casing's "belly button" - no cracks and both seeds look to be in excellent condition. I placed each in a cup and covered in foil to soak - I plan to let them soak in the cup for a few hours and then set into rapid rooters tonight soaked my rapid rooters (used de-chlorinated water and peroxide with 6.3ph) squeezed under water then about half out (weighed 25grams) put the seeds in about an inch deep and capped with a piece from the side - set up on a warming mat and two full spectrum low level lights (pppf showed 150 to 200 at soil level of the pods - hope this is good enough while I wait for my tent to get here (listed as out for delivery by 8pm for 2 days now) Day -3 not much to do today... so I potted my soil, placed about an inch of perlite in the base and topped with my brewing soil mix. Each pot weighs 16lbs even. Built my tent (finally got here) Tested my lights (over 1K pppf at about 12 to 18 inches so I feel I can get what I need out of them[lights are still set to 150/200 at soil level for now) and placed the inline vent to pull from the top with a small fan and blow out the bottom through the carbon filter to help raise the temp - although the concrete around it might be hard to warm up without some other source of heat - Winters in MN are pretty cold so I may have to insulate around the outside of the tent. placed my seed starters and their heating pad in the tent. just monitoring temps and testing things out now. Day -2 no sprouts and no need to do anything but leave them alone. Seed starter tray temp/humidity was 85 degrees F and 77% I finished my last test with the soil and weighed it again to see that overnight in the tent cost .5 lb of weight from each pot. Satisfied with that number I placed my last amount of soil on top giving me 17 lbs. total weight (16 starting weight-.5 overnight =15.5 current weight and 15.5 +1.5 additional soil =17.0 total) I also put the cover over my filter and then my pots back. Day -1 not much to talk about today - My pre-chilled seed broke out and the other still has not.