Original Skunk #1 - first grow for 2018

27.11.2017 23:45 - Day 1 - Germination I usualy germinate directly in paper towels between two plates. But as this is a special occasion, I'll presoak the seeds in water overnight. If I use this method, I rarely leave the seeds in water longer than 12 hours, even if the seeds don't sink. Seeds come in all colors and sizes - these are on the pale side. Not a good sign, at least not most of the time. I grow in a 100x100x180cm grow tent with AirPots. I mainline and bend the plants, so I usualy have place for 3 plants, the extra space is used for an oscilating fan on the floor and I guide some colas over the top of the fan. More in the pics later. That's why I only germinate 3 seeds (it's not just that they came in a pack of 3) :) If one of the seeds fails to germinate or underperforms when still young, I just pop another similar or faster growing strain and make sure the height is the same. Thats it for now. It begins :) 28.11.2017 - Day 2 All the seeds have sunk. It's a little over 12 hours and they've gone onto a plate, a paper towel, covered with another paper towel and soaked, then drained off. I've covered them with another plate and put them in a warm dark place. Fingers crossed :) 29.11.2017 - Day 3 Two of the three seeds popped. I moved them to a warmer place and I hope the third one is just taking its time :) I have a few plants in my grow tent, just waiting for them to finish (3x Seedsman Early Skunk), week 7 of flowering and I also decided to start the new batch in a new location. Therefore I decided to make a new and "stealthy" seedling box from an old PC case for the new apartment :) It can keep temps between 23-26°C with good air movement, so all is good, but the humidity is killing me. It's in the 30%-35% range and I even tried to raise it with a wet sponge in front of the fan, but to no avail. It raised to 39% in 2 hours, but that's still too low. I'll just use a couple of cut-off plastic bottles as humidity domes. The seeds will go to plastic cups filled with reused coco/perlite mix. I'll boil the recycled medium and flush it, because I grew a couple of autos outdoors (my own seeds, breeding, feminizing and all :) ) with mineral nutrients, and I don't want any salt remaining in there. These new babies will be organically grown, albeit with organics-from-the-bottle. I haven't decided yet, but I'll probably go with Biobizz LightMix for soil (+some more perlite) and then fertilize with Biobizz line of nutrients + molasses. I've hade some amazing results with these... UPDATE: Seed #3 also popped! 1.12.2017 - Day 5 All 3 seeds have germinated. I planted them in a reused and thoroughly washed coco/perlite mix (cca 40% perlite) about 1,5cm deep. I covered the plastic cups with cut-off plastic bottles, because the humidity is real low. Temp is OK, in the 23-26°C range. The soil is also quite nice and warm. A 23W warm white CFL is keeping things under control. All good for now. I hope :)

7.12.2017 Day 11 I was busy and didn't have much time to take photos of grass growing :) One plant came out really fast, other two are lagging. The humidity is off, so I put "humidity domes" over the two smaller ones. I'll transplant the larger one soon and bury the stem. I'll just wait a couple of days to see if it stops stretching. I should take better care of them, but I have a REALLY good (and cute) excuse ;)

12.12.2017 Day 16 The fastest plant is growing nicely, no more stretch, just turning leaves towards the light. I keep turning her to make her move :) The second largest is lagging behind considerabely, but she's also missing a leaf. New growth seems to be normal, but it'll take time to catch up to her sister. The smallest plant really is the runt of the litter. She put up some height in the last few days, so I was able to put some more coco mix in the cup, but she was growing all spindly and strange. It may become a flat plant, but we'll see. I've had one just like this a long time ago and she did become flat, but I hope that won't be the case here. I don't have much time to take care of them, so I rely on Mother Nature and my CFL to do all the work, and I also haven't set up my tent in the new location yet. I'll probably slow down the large one and wait for the other two to catch up. Usually I toss or give away such runts, but I've had a revelation a couple of months ago. I was testing 10 of my feminised seeds for germination and all of them sprouted and began growing nicely. Only one was really far far behind. I only kept that one, gave away the rest and grew her in a 1l AirPot. She was small even for an auto (Auto Durban Poison), but in the end, she was one big bud! She was glistening from trichomes, completely covered, smelling like pines and mint. Strong and refreshing. She only gave me about 20g dry weight, but the stuff is awsome! Most of her is still in the jar and curing. The moral of the story: I decided not to throw away any plant! Unless they die, of course. 14.12.2017 Day 18 They have started growing fast now. As I said, I don't have much time yet to take care of them properly, but they're doing ok. I started slowing down the big one (plain water in coco/perlite), the other two get a 1/4 dose for seedlings of a mineral fertilizer. I have to go get a couple of bags of Biobizz Lightmix. Humidity is still a pain in the a** : I need a humidifier... The big one is starting to show roots at the bottom of the pot, so all 3 go to larger pots tomorrow. I'll also bury as much stem of the largest one, as I can. Things should start going really fast right about now...

20.12.2017 Day 24 The smaller two are catching up nicely. I put them in larger pots, however I intentionally put the larger one in an even bigger "pot", so I can water her less often. They get dechlorinated water, which I let sit overnight with a bubbler on. The larger gets watered every 4-5 days or so, while the smaller ones get a fresh dose of oxygenated water and a 1/4 dose of nutrients every other day.

27.12.2017 Day 31 The smaller two finaly caught up to the big sister! Doing VERY nice now, fast growth on all three, maybe even a bit too fast. I still haven't set up the tent and they're getting a bit big for the old computer case. I also gave them a haircut, unfortunately after I took the photos. I'll be "mainlining/manifolding", so I want the stem to grow thick and I don't care about the growth above the 3rd node. I cut off all the leaves above the 3rd, to expose growth tips to direct light. I left the top growth intact to "fuel" development and growth. Internodal spacing is good and compact, but one of them, the one I thought might become flat, has odd level growth tips on the 3rd node, but even again on the 4th, so I might top to that node.