# Chem Brulee by Zamnesia | Pheno A 🌱🔥🍮 ## Germination Week | The First Chapter Hello GrowDiaries family! 👋🌱 Welcome to another new journey. As mentioned in the previous diaries, I've recently adjusted the way I document my grows. Due to the current photo limitations on GrowDiaries, each phenotype now receives its own dedicated diary rather than grouping multiple plants together in a single journal. This allows me to continue documenting every stage of development in as much detail as possible while selecting the best photographs from each week. The objective remains exactly the same as always: To create a complete educational record from seed to harvest, sharing observations, lessons learned, successes, mistakes, and everything in between. Today, we begin following Chem Brulee Pheno A. --- ## Every Seed Carries a Story One of the things I love most about growing is that every run starts the same way. A tiny seed. A hidden genetic blueprint. And an entire journey waiting to unfold. For this run, we're following Chem Brulee from Zamnesia Seeds, cultivated under a 12/12 from seed schedule from the very first day of life. A method that is a little different from what most growers choose, but one that has become part of my own cultivation style over time. Throughout this diary, I'll do my best to explain not only what I'm doing, but also why I'm doing it, allowing anyone interested to follow the process from beginning to end. Every phenotype is unique. Every plant teaches something. And every run helps us become better growers. --- ## Germination Using the Cannakan System To begin this run, I used the Cannakan germination system. For those unfamiliar with it, the Cannakan is a compartmentalized germination container that allows multiple cultivars to be organized separately while maintaining a stable environment. Each section can be individually labeled, making it extremely practical when working with several genetics simultaneously. The seeds were placed inside using only plain water. No nutrients. No additives. No stimulants. Just water. Within approximately 24 hours healthy taproots had already emerged, and the seeds were ready for the next stage. Fast. Simple. Clean. Exactly what we hope to see during germination. --- ## Why Only Water? A question that often appears during germination is: "Why not feed the seedlings immediately?" The answer is simple. The seed already contains everything required for its first days of life. Nature packed all the energy reserves necessary for the plant to establish itself and begin developing roots. At this stage, I personally prefer allowing the seed to do exactly what it was designed to do. The objective is not to feed the plant. The objective is simply to wake it up. Water is enough. --- ## First Experience With Coco Starter Plugs This run also marks my first experience using coco starter plugs. The plugs were fully saturated with water and then gently squeezed to remove excess moisture while maintaining a healthy balance between water retention and oxygen availability. The germinated seeds were carefully inserted into the plugs and placed inside a humidity dome. The dome remained useful for only a short period. In less than 24 hours the seedlings had already emerged and were ready to continue their journey. At that point, they were transplanted directly into small containers filled with Plagron Lightmix. --- ## Environment Environmental conditions were intentionally kept simple. Temperatures remained around 26–27°C. Humidity was maintained between approximately 65–70% using a Spider Farmer humidifier. While many growers prefer keeping seedlings inside a dome for longer periods, I personally like introducing them relatively early to the environment they will actually experience during growth. The idea is adaptation rather than dependence. Airflow remains extremely gentle at this stage. Just enough movement to keep fresh air circulating without creating unnecessary stress for young seedlings. --- ## Heat Mat Temperatures The propagation mat was running around 40°C. Although this number may initially appear high, the heat source itself must operate above the desired root-zone temperature in order to compensate for environmental losses and maintain stable conditions where the roots are actually developing. The goal is not to expose the seedlings directly to excessive heat. The goal is to create a warm, stable rooting environment that encourages fast and healthy germination. --- ## Lighting Lighting during germination is intentionally soft. Young seedlings simply do not require intense light levels yet. The goal is healthy establishment rather than aggressive growth. Once properly settled, these girls will move under the Future Of Grow Black Series 600W full-spectrum LED system where the real adventure begins. We'll begin discussing PPFD and light intensity in more detail during the coming weeks as the plants become capable of utilizing stronger light levels effectively. --- ## First Observations So far, everything is progressing exactly as hoped. Fast germination. Healthy taproots. Strong emergence. Good vigor. Healthy color. And perhaps most importantly: A strong beginning. At this stage, every plant remains a mystery waiting to reveal itself. And honestly, that mystery is part of what makes growing so rewarding. No matter how many seeds we start, each one still carries the potential to surprise us. --- ## Looking Ahead Over the next weeks we will begin following Chem Brulee Pheno A through the first stages of development. We'll explore: - Root establishment - Early structure - Environmental management - Watering strategies - Light intensity - Growth observations - And whatever unique characteristics this phenotype decides to reveal Because every grow starts with a seed, but no two journeys are ever exactly the same. This is only the first chapter. Huge thanks to Zamnesia Seeds for the genetics, Plagron for the substrate and nutrition, Future Of Grow for the lighting, and everyone following along on another new adventure. Grower's Love everyone. 🌱💚