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01/29/25:
The journey begins with five Runtz feminized seeds from Zamnesia. To ensure a strong start, the seeds are placed in room temperature distilled water pH’d to 6.0. This softens the outer shell and allows moisture to penetrate, triggering the early stages of germination. Distilled water is used to avoid any potential contaminants, ensuring a clean environment for the seeds. A slightly acidic pH of 6.0 is ideal for early root development.
The cup is set on an AC Infinity heat mat at its lowest setting. Maintaining a stable temperature around 75-80°F (24-27°C) encourages germination by simulating warm soil conditions. Too much heat could damage the seeds or dry them out, so a gentle, consistent warmth is applied.
After 20 hours, the seeds will be transferred to a growing medium consisting of 85% coco coir and 15% perlite. Coco coir is chosen for its excellent moisture retention while still allowing for proper aeration. The addition of perlite improves drainage and prevents the medium from becoming compacted, ensuring oxygen can reach the roots.
By carefully controlling the environment at each stage, these Runtz seeds are given the best possible conditions for a strong and healthy start. Updates will follow once they’re in the medium.
01/30/25:
After 20 hours of soaking, the Runtz seeds have absorbed enough moisture to begin their journey. A couple have already cracked open, revealing the tiny beginnings of their taproots—the first sign of life. With germination officially underway, it’s time to transfer them into their growing medium.
A fresh batch of 85% coco coir and 15% perlite is prepared, ensuring a light, airy structure that retains moisture while providing adequate oxygen to the roots. The mix is carefully placed into five starter pots, where each seed is planted a quarter of an inch (0.6 cm) deep before being lightly covered with more of the medium. This depth provides enough coverage to protect the seeds while still allowing them to break through the surface easily once they sprout.
After planting, the medium is watered with distilled water pH’d to 5.8, slightly lower than the initial soaking water. This pH level optimizes nutrient availability for young roots once they begin developing.
The starter pots are placed inside an AC Infinity Propagation Kit on the heat mat at its lowest temperature. To maintain high humidity within the dome, a small amount of distilled water is added to the bottom of the propagation tray. As the heat mat warms the water, it will create a steady supply of moisture in the air, helping to keep the environment stable while the seeds settle in.
With everything set up, the seeds will now be left undisturbed for the next four days while I’m out of town. The goal is to return home to find at least four out of five seeds successfully sprouted. Since I plan to run this grow with four plants, I’ll select the strongest seedlings if all five make it. The chosen four will be transferred to the grow tent to officially begin the vegetation stage.
For now, all that’s left to do is wait and let nature take its course. More updates to come once I return.
02/04/25:
After returning from a four-day trip, I found that two of the five seeds had successfully sprouted. They were standing tall, looking strong, and showing early signs of healthy development. The other three, however, had yet to emerge from the coco coir.
To assist the late starters, I carefully used a wooden toothpick to gently remove some of the surface medium over each of the unsprouted seeds, searching for signs of life. After locating them, I lightly covered them back up and used a spray bottle to redampen the surface without over-saturating it.
Now, one day later, two more have broken through the surface, bringing the total number of sprouted seedlings to four. Three of them are looking strong and healthy, well on their way to transitioning into vegetation. The fourth newly emerged seedling appears weaker and slightly struggling, but I’ll leave it undisturbed and allow it to strengthen naturally.
The fifth seed remains unresponsive, with no visible sprouting. At this point, optimism is low for that one, but since the goal was to grow four plants, everything is still on track for a successful run.
With germination now complete, I’ll be starting a new entry to track Week 1 of Vegetation on the 6th. Excited to see how these Runtz seedlings develop from here.
02/17/25:
This grow has been a frustrating one so far. Two of the four seedlings that sprouted didn’t make it, failing to grow beyond their initial stage. That left me with just two plants, and even they have been growing at an unusually slow pace. Nearly three weeks since germination, they have only just started to reach what I would consider the vegetative stage—far behind where I expected them to be at this point.
For most of this time, their growth appeared completely stalled. They remained under the same light and propagation dome, and I hadn't needed to water them once since initially planting them. The medium retained moisture well, and they weren’t drying out, yet they showed no real signs of development.
About a week ago, I decided to give them a small amount of water and a light dose of nutrients, hoping to encourage some movement. For several days, there was no immediate response, and I wasn’t even sure if the feeding had made any difference. However, two days ago, I finally noticed some significant changes—they had started to grow again.
At this point, it’s unclear if the recent progress is a direct result of the added nutrients or if something else triggered the shift. Either way, they are still far behind schedule, and transplanting isn’t even close to necessary yet. If they continue at this pace, they might still be in this state by the time of my next update.
For now, I’ll keep observing their progress and will check back in if anything noteworthy happens before next week. This grow has been nothing but frustrating so far, but I haven’t given up on it yet.