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Id like to start this diary off by saying thanks to the growers who have already helped me by answering my many questions and thanks to the ones who will answer many of the questions (some embarrassingly silly) to come. I do appreciate your time, and look forward to learning enough to repay the kindness down the road when I find myself on the other side of the smoke. Special props and gratitude to @RUSSRAHL for ending my 2 week struggle to see the three little dots that let me update my germ and first veg week, and doing it without pointing out that it was right in front of my face and while they would never suggest someone stop chiefing, maybe I should slow down a little bit :)
So, without further rambling, I'm finally ready to start the first grow! I started 15 femenized Holy Grail Kush seeds by DNA Genetics. I'd like to grow 12 plants so I figured I'd germ a few extra incase some didn't make it.
Germ Day 0
I put them in R/O water with 0.5% hydrogen peroxide @ 5.8 PH and 75.5 degrees for 23 hours, kept on a seedling heat mat and in the dark. I also presoaked rockwool cubes in low PH R/O water to begin prepping them for the seeds. Might be a little early on that but they'll be stabilized in time for sure. Took a day to remember to keep them in the dark so they don't grow algae though. Hopefully it wont be a problem, I think some H2O2 might help prevent that too.
Germ Day 1
After 23 hours, all the seeds sank when pushed below the surface of the water. One was already splitting and revealing the taproot and the others all looked swollen. I placed all the seeds between paper towels on a plate and sprayed them with R/O water. I put the plate on the heat mat (I put two folded rags under it over the course of a few hours as the temp increased to 80 degrees) and kept them moist but not soaked, with the humidity dome from my germ tray over the plate. I also turned the light on in the tent, dimmed down to 20% and reading 25 PPFD at the top of the paper towels. I assume that's enough for this part of the process, no clue really though. They are currently in the 5x5 clone and seedling tent I set up, I expect to have the 5x9 veg and flower tent fully set up within the next week or so.
Germ Day 2
24 hrs after being put in the paper towel all seeds have a 1/4" to 1/2" taproot showing, a few are 3/4". I planted them in rockwool cubes and covered them up with a small tuft of rockwool. I widened the holes in the cubes slightly with a sterilized dab tool, they looked small to stuff that seed and root down in. Next time I will warm the cubes before transplanting, I worried about the temp change going from the paper towel to the cold cube. They warmed up to 77 degrees within a couple hours on the heat mat. I lowered the light to 2.5' away (can't remember where I read how high leds should start from seedlings) and set the PPFD to 100.
Germ Day 3
Holding temp at 77-78 degrees and misting cubes every few hours to maintain 90-95% r/h
By noon one seedling has emerged and is shedding its shell and what I think is the perianth referred to in my cannabis horticulture book. By 10 pm almost half the seedlings are emerging. I'm ending germ and moving to what I'm calling seedling week 1 in my own records.
I had 3 days of germ counting the paper towel and rockwool sprouting. I'm calling this week seedling wk 1 for my own personal records. I'll record it as veg when rapid leaf and root growth begin.
Seedling Day 1
8 of the seedlings are standing, and the others are beginning to emerge. I'm misting the cubes every 6 hours or so go keep them from drying out. One of the seedlings tore one of its own cotyledon off during emergence. I'm wondering if it was a planting error on my part.
Day 2
The tallest seedlings are almost 2 inches, and almost all have emerged from their cubes. Some still have shell pieces clinging to or partially enclosing their cotyledon. I began working the PPFD up from 100 to 200 throughout the day. Still holding temps in the high 70s and humidity 90 to 95%.
Day 3
Not much change, some seedlings are rising from the cube but are still stuck in their seed shells. I'm worried they're going to end up needing help. I went to 18 and 6 hr light schedule and started the first night cycle at midnight.
Day 4
The temp dropped to 70 degrees during the night cycle. I will work on stabilizing that. I helped get a few easier to remove seed shells off of cotyledons. I've got a few that look like they're in a real bind though, I'm strongly debating trying to help but I'm concerned about hurting them.
*update- after advice from @hashy I misted them a couple times throughout the day and then undertook the rescue of the three trapped in shells. It was difficult trying to gently handle the seedlings while getting the firmly stuck shells off, and I'm surprised I didn't do more damage. I don't belive the third one in the pics will survive, I think its cotyledon might have melted/rotted in the shell.
Day 5
I filled in the loose holes around the stems with slivers of rockwool. Next time I'll plant the seeds sooner instead of opening the home up to accommodate the longer roots. I mixed up 1/4 strength nutrient solution and gave 1 liter to the bottom of the germ tray. I also raised the PPFD to 300 about 4 hours before lights out.
Day 6
I'm attempting to maintain temps from 78 to 82 degrees and bring the R/H down to 80-85%. One of the rescued seedlings appears to have died. Slight growth visible from the healthy seedlings. Almost all "true leaves" are bigger than their cotyledon now. Plants are 1" to 3" tall.
Day 7
I removed the dead seedling from the germ tray. I checked 4 of the cubes, all had varying amounts of root growth showing. The 4 seedlings on one end of the tray have clearly purple stalks as opposed to the light green the rest of them display. I'm rotating the germ tray to see if maybe its a difference in lighting or nutrient solution pooling in the bottom of the tray. The one I checked with a purple stem had better root development than any others.
One of my seedlings tore one of its cotyledon off emerging from the rockwool cube. It left the leaf and half of its seed shell in the cube. Is this common or did I make a mistake planting it in the cube? Maybe too tight or too deep?
This is not an uncommon thing. I've had it happen. I've even had mine have their cotyledon die off completely but they still found a way to grow. RIP tiny you will be missed! 🤘😤
I would spray the seed casing with some water to soften it up a bit. Hopefully that will help it push off its shell. After a few days and it hasn't come off I would either try to gently pull it off with tweezers or start another seed.
Why would the plants on that edge of the tray have purple stems? Nutrient deficiency? I noticed the one I checked with a purple stem had more roots showing from the rockwool cube than any others... think they're trying harder to get to the juice cause they got shorted?
Starting week two, I'll keep the total day tally running cause that seems to be what I've seen in other diaries. Seems like I'm off to a slow start but I'm hoping to speed up growth by regulating the temp/RH and dialing in the VPD a little better.
Seedling Wk 2
Day 8
Moved all seedlings into two rows towards outer edges of tray for more equal light and nutrient solution intake/uptake.
Day 9
Mixed 1L of half strength nutrient solution and gave 500 ml to bottom of germ tray. Raised PPFD from 300 to 350 @ 4pm. All seedlings are now showing their second sets of "true leaves" and are 3 to 4 inches tall, except for a couple late bloomers.
Day 10
I removed the humidity dome from the germ tray to attempt to control the temp and humidity with the tent exhaust fans. I raised the PPFD from 350 to 400 @ 2 pm. I directed the circulation fan air flow over the seedlings at 0.5 to 1 m/s. Also gave the other 500 ml nutrient solution to the bottom of the germ tray at 4 pm.
Day 11
Snowy weather is causing slightly lower temps inside the house and tent. The seedlings appear to be growing broader leaves as opposed to taller stems now.
Day 12
I raised the PPFD from 400 to 450 at 11 am. I washed out the germ solution tray and mixed 1 liter of 1/2 strength nutrient solution and gave 50 ml over the top of each cube.
Day 13
I gave the other 400 ml nutrient solution to the top of the cubes at 7 am. Gonna have to re-arrange some plants due to crowding until I transplant to the bubble buckets.
Day 14
I've begun watering daily, over the top of the cubes in the morning. The seedlings are broadening their leaves and growing longer roots more than they are growing tall, so I'm waiting to raise the PPFD. No research or advice behind that decision, just guesswork until I take the time to look into a better lighting increasement schedule.
GrowAllOut
