For my 70th birthday, and, since we would be in New Mexico for that birthday, my wife said I could get stoned! What a gal! We’ve been toking, since. That brings me to our decision to grow our own. What a learning curve.
As ChittyChittyBangin says: add a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to the water the seeds are in, soaking, to begin germinating. The reason is: chlorine bonds with hydrogen peroxide to create water and oxygen. Of course, it would have been good to know this-so:
1b. READ THE BLOGS
NOTE: the first five seeds were Bruce Banner-none survived.
ILGM needs to develop dirt that will be readily available to Central U.S. I’m waiting 11 days for Fox Farm to arrive… Don’t use Miracle Grow. Don’t use cow manure. “Bite the Bullet” and order Fox Farm, and buy the fertilizer from ILGM. Too much money involved to do less!
We are freezing-buy the reccomended heater: VIVOSUN 1500W Space Heater for Indoor Use, Portable Electric Heater with Adjustable Thermostat, 1500W/900W/700W/Fan Only with 4 Modes for PTC Fast Heating, Overheat & Tip-over Protection, ETL Listed
Warm up the pots, soil (I will be watering the soil), tent, FIRST. Get the temp and humidity “right”, to start, then
Prepare water to begin germination: A. use a few drops of hydrogen peroxide, added to tap water (use warm water), or, B. fill gallon jugs with water, and allow the jug to sit for a few days (chlorine evaporates in any type of heat-good lesson from former lifeguard and swimming teacher). I’m going to place two-three drops of water, with one drop of hydrogen peroxide, in a dish, covered, loosely, with plastic wrap.
Place “incubator” in a warm place (not cold, nor cool) and be mindful of having to add a few drops of chlorine-free water (keep the seed in a puddle of it’s own)
Measure the depth of soil (3 mm) and mark the place where to seed it going, once sprouted. When seeds have broken through the seed casing, use tweezers (stop-put your gloves on) to gently, softly grasp a budding seed, and place in prepared hole. Since I will have watered the soil, I don’t think the newly potted, sprouted, seed will need to be spritzed.
Needs some humidity. Putting wide-mouth container of water doesn’t work. I think it was ChittyChittyBangin’s idea to cover newly potted seed with a humidity cover. That person said: spritz the inside of the cover, replace. What a great idea. With a cover over the location of the sprouted seed, the remainder of soil, in the pot, can be watered, within reason, and not drown the sprouted seed.
That’s what I’ve learned, up to now. I’ve shut everything down because I have three more days to wait for Fox Farm to arrive-if it’s on time.
Next, I’ll clean and fill the pots with Fox Farm, add the pots to the tent (2 x 2), and start up the tent. However, the new grow light (600W, instead of 100W) and new heater will arrive January 24th-so, “starting” is relative. Timing the seeds sprouting with a nice warm place for them to flourish will be key. Fortunately, I live in a State that chooses not to legalize marijuana, so I didn’t try to grow all 15 seeds…here’s to growing five seeds at a time. (Also, since the tent is 2 x 2, we are growing with no cross-contamination or mixing.)
You will only be able to do one decent plant in a 2 X 2 FYI.
You didn’t mention exhaust fans: definitely need that as well. I would also suggest fabric pots (5 gallon for soil) instead of plastic pots. You will also need a light timer.
Sprouts do well in a red Solo cup with a bunch of holes poked in it. A clear Solo cup makes a dandy humidity dome.
Welcome to the forum @Disa it sounds like you been doing your research.
I’ve got a couple of guys that are really good with cannabis knowledge. Both are renowned professors at various universities with deep knowledge in horticulture lighting and horticultural nutrition.
If you have a computer, your here so that’s a yes, and are familiar with YouTube look up Bruce Bugbee and Harley Smith.
I’ll start you off with a couple of their lectures.
And the Harley Smith spent time in the Netherlands working with major greenhouse growers in nutrition, pest and disease control. Because Amsterdam eliminated fungicides in the early 2000’s he was exposed to how they used organic control of powdery mildew and root rot.
These 2 are growing in Miracle grow (moisture control in the blue and white bag) and Ace hardware brand cow manure with lots of perlite mixed in.
Soils like foxfarm are pretty much ready to go but from my experience, just about any soil works if you add enough perlite so it drains well.
Soaking in water with proxide is great, I use a heat mat but if you soak them over night then the next day useing 2 plates fold them up in a paper towel wet it down good and place on plate with the other plate upside down on top covering them up. Then place the plates on top of any electronic device you have that stays on, like a computer or internet modem. This is a good way to speed up germination without a heat mat.
It’s not 100% necessary but can help if you have issues.
As I’ve gotten older my hands don’t work like they use to, so I don’t do any of these steps much anymore. I just plant at the start rather then break the tap root
As stated, 5 in a 2x2 is alot of plants. You could certainly do it but honestly, 1 plant, 2 at most would be easier and not effect time of growth really, while still yielding the same if not better.
I will suggest finding a normal seed starting mix at any local Walmart, Lowes or whatever you have nearby. Something like Scotts or similar that is a peat based mixture.
Soak the seed in Distilled water and a few drops of peroxide. It doesn’t have to be any more than like a tablespoon of water. You only want to start the seed germination. After an overnight soak plant that seed in the solo cup of seed start mix that has been dampened, not sopping wet. You should not be able to squeeze any water from it. Cover it with a clear cup to keep it from drying out. Don’t water it again. Also, Don’t water it again. And remember, Don’t water it again. Give it 3 to 5 days under the light and it will pop. Don’t mess with it by trying to dig it up to see if its growing. The simpler you keep it the more successful you will be.
Thank you, Myfriendis410, the suggestions are welcome because they are usable. Fortunately, the tent purchase included a grow light (100W) and timer, carbon filter and fan. The solo cup “method” is fantastic!
Thank you, 1HappyPappy, for the advice about applying a little heat, paper towel to the seeds.
Concerning starting one or two seeds: the warranty on the seeds is good for one year, so I’m committed to doing my best for the most seeds. However, I will watch the plants-and, consider purchasing a second tent…
Spiney_norman, at this point, my goal is to learn from my mistakes, quickly, and preserve as much of the agreement with ILGM as possible. I will follow your suggestion about starting germination. Thank you.
