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Hello AFN.
I started 3 auto ultimate from dutch passions a few days ago and decided to finally get a journal up. I wanted to wait and make sure I could at least get one plant to survive the harsh conditions I am subjecting it to before I started a grow log lol. I only have one survivor remaining but I think she will fill up my 3x3 tent nicely.
Due to my circumstances my growing conditions are not the best. The location of my tent is subjected to high temperatures and big temperature and humidity swings. I also battled a fungus gnat infestation, more on that later. I do think it is important to still document the grow so I can see how I can prevent the same issues in the future. And maybe it can help others that are stuck with the same conditions. I will start at the beginning of the grow and catch up to now.
***This grow log is not a fair representation of Dutch Passion Genetics. It is more of a test to see if my grow location can actually produce a decent plant in harsh conditions. If this first grow goes well I will invest in Coco or DWC and a much better light to actually try and showcase their genetics in the future.***
Supplies
Genetics: Auto Ultimate from Dutch Passion
Tent: 3x3 Vivosun, first time using this brand. Good value for the money in my opinion.
Circulation: Vivosun 440CFM 6" inline with a Vivosun carbon filter.
Light: Viparspectra 600w Reflector Series. First time using this light, I have seen good veg results with it in other grows but the spectrum seems to be lacking for flower. But it was cheap and the best I can get at the moment.
Pots: 3 gallon fabric pots. I went with 3 gallon pots because I wanted to grow 2 to 3 plants in my 3x3 space and I assumed the 3 gallon would keep them small enough to prevent them from overcrowding each other too much. If I knew I would end up with one plant I would have went 5 gallon or larger.
Medium: 3 parts Fox Farms Ocean Forest, 3 parts Fox Farms Happy Frog, 4 parts perlite. Jiffy seed starter mix for a seedling core in the pot (I will explain "seedling core" later in the grow log). I normally would have used Fox Farms Light Warrior instead of Jiffy mix but I could not locate any in time.
Nutrients: Fox Farm Trio, CAL-MAG Plus, Rhino Skin, Overdrive, Bud Candy, Garden Lime.
Pre-Grow
To start I mixed a large batch of medium at the ratios listed above (3 parts Fox Farms Ocean Forest, 3 parts Fox Farms Happy Frog, 4 parts perlite). I then added garden lime at approx 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil. I then let this mix sit for 2 weeks in a sealed container, opening for a few hours a day and stirring occasionally. The 2 week time frame is necessary to allow the lime time to be able to buffer the soil.
Fox Farm's soil line has been under scrutiny for a while regarding issues with very low soil pH in some batches. I have had nothing but good results with Fox Farms products but I decided to run some pH test before the grow just to be safe.
Soil pH with liquid pH pen procedure:
I mixed 1 part medium to 2 parts distilled H2O and let that soak for approximately 4 hours. Then I strain the medium particles out using a coffee filter and tested the pH of the solution. The results were as follows;
Ocean Forest 6.6pH
Happy Frog 6.4 pH
Finished Medium 6.6 pH (this was the mix after 2 weeks passed)
So it seems I have am lucky and my bags of Fox Farm's soil had decent pH levels
Creating the Seedling Core
I fill the fabric pots about 3/4ths of the way to the top with the soil mixture. I then create a hole in the center like in this image
I try to go almost all the way to the bottom of the pot with this cavity. I then fill this hole with Jiffy seed starter mix. This step is to prevent the seedling from getting burned by the nutrient rich fox farm ocean forest. A lot of growers will just fill the bottom half of the pot with the hotter soil and the top half with the lighter soil. With my method I try to create a column of light soil for the seedling to shoot its taproot down into so the taproot does not come into contact with the hotter soil initially. I DO NOT water in my soil mixture because that will just cause the nutrients from the ocean forest to leach into my column of seed starting mix which will defeat the entire purpose of the seedling safe column we created in the pot.
Germination
I do not do anything too fancy here. I soaked 3 seeds in a glass of distilled H2O until they all sank. Took about 30 hours for all 3 to drop to bottom of glass. Then to the good ol' paper towel method with distilled H2O in a Tupperware container. I placed on top of my internet router. All 3 beans popped 1/2 inch taproots within 24 hours. Then placed each popped seed into their final pot. Tap root down, covered with about 1/2 inch of soil. I then only watered the soil within 2 inches of the seed. I use a 25 mL syringe for more control of the water at this early stage. I want the water to penetrate strait down to the bottom of the pot, but only get the 2 inch area around the seed wet so that the nutrients do not leach in and burn our young taproots. I water every 10-12 hours to avoid the soil drying out. At this point I want the soil around the seed to remain moist until the seedling break soil and become a bit established.
Will be back soon with the first few days of the grow. Any and all comments are welcome here. Thanks for viewing!
I started 3 auto ultimate from dutch passions a few days ago and decided to finally get a journal up. I wanted to wait and make sure I could at least get one plant to survive the harsh conditions I am subjecting it to before I started a grow log lol. I only have one survivor remaining but I think she will fill up my 3x3 tent nicely.
Due to my circumstances my growing conditions are not the best. The location of my tent is subjected to high temperatures and big temperature and humidity swings. I also battled a fungus gnat infestation, more on that later. I do think it is important to still document the grow so I can see how I can prevent the same issues in the future. And maybe it can help others that are stuck with the same conditions. I will start at the beginning of the grow and catch up to now.
***This grow log is not a fair representation of Dutch Passion Genetics. It is more of a test to see if my grow location can actually produce a decent plant in harsh conditions. If this first grow goes well I will invest in Coco or DWC and a much better light to actually try and showcase their genetics in the future.***
Supplies
Genetics: Auto Ultimate from Dutch Passion
Tent: 3x3 Vivosun, first time using this brand. Good value for the money in my opinion.
Circulation: Vivosun 440CFM 6" inline with a Vivosun carbon filter.
Light: Viparspectra 600w Reflector Series. First time using this light, I have seen good veg results with it in other grows but the spectrum seems to be lacking for flower. But it was cheap and the best I can get at the moment.
Pots: 3 gallon fabric pots. I went with 3 gallon pots because I wanted to grow 2 to 3 plants in my 3x3 space and I assumed the 3 gallon would keep them small enough to prevent them from overcrowding each other too much. If I knew I would end up with one plant I would have went 5 gallon or larger.
Medium: 3 parts Fox Farms Ocean Forest, 3 parts Fox Farms Happy Frog, 4 parts perlite. Jiffy seed starter mix for a seedling core in the pot (I will explain "seedling core" later in the grow log). I normally would have used Fox Farms Light Warrior instead of Jiffy mix but I could not locate any in time.
Nutrients: Fox Farm Trio, CAL-MAG Plus, Rhino Skin, Overdrive, Bud Candy, Garden Lime.
Pre-Grow
To start I mixed a large batch of medium at the ratios listed above (3 parts Fox Farms Ocean Forest, 3 parts Fox Farms Happy Frog, 4 parts perlite). I then added garden lime at approx 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil. I then let this mix sit for 2 weeks in a sealed container, opening for a few hours a day and stirring occasionally. The 2 week time frame is necessary to allow the lime time to be able to buffer the soil.
Fox Farm's soil line has been under scrutiny for a while regarding issues with very low soil pH in some batches. I have had nothing but good results with Fox Farms products but I decided to run some pH test before the grow just to be safe.
Soil pH with liquid pH pen procedure:
I mixed 1 part medium to 2 parts distilled H2O and let that soak for approximately 4 hours. Then I strain the medium particles out using a coffee filter and tested the pH of the solution. The results were as follows;
Ocean Forest 6.6pH
Happy Frog 6.4 pH
Finished Medium 6.6 pH (this was the mix after 2 weeks passed)
So it seems I have am lucky and my bags of Fox Farm's soil had decent pH levels
Creating the Seedling Core
I fill the fabric pots about 3/4ths of the way to the top with the soil mixture. I then create a hole in the center like in this image
I try to go almost all the way to the bottom of the pot with this cavity. I then fill this hole with Jiffy seed starter mix. This step is to prevent the seedling from getting burned by the nutrient rich fox farm ocean forest. A lot of growers will just fill the bottom half of the pot with the hotter soil and the top half with the lighter soil. With my method I try to create a column of light soil for the seedling to shoot its taproot down into so the taproot does not come into contact with the hotter soil initially. I DO NOT water in my soil mixture because that will just cause the nutrients from the ocean forest to leach into my column of seed starting mix which will defeat the entire purpose of the seedling safe column we created in the pot.
Germination
I do not do anything too fancy here. I soaked 3 seeds in a glass of distilled H2O until they all sank. Took about 30 hours for all 3 to drop to bottom of glass. Then to the good ol' paper towel method with distilled H2O in a Tupperware container. I placed on top of my internet router. All 3 beans popped 1/2 inch taproots within 24 hours. Then placed each popped seed into their final pot. Tap root down, covered with about 1/2 inch of soil. I then only watered the soil within 2 inches of the seed. I use a 25 mL syringe for more control of the water at this early stage. I want the water to penetrate strait down to the bottom of the pot, but only get the 2 inch area around the seed wet so that the nutrients do not leach in and burn our young taproots. I water every 10-12 hours to avoid the soil drying out. At this point I want the soil around the seed to remain moist until the seedling break soil and become a bit established.
Will be back soon with the first few days of the grow. Any and all comments are welcome here. Thanks for viewing!
