New Grower First-time Grower - Nirvana Bubblelicious Feminized + Autoflower

[Peel Here]

Hi everyone. I'm a legal patient in my state, and although I've been using pot for a long time now, I've finally come to realize I can't afford to pay insane prices for a plant I can grow myself. I've spent the past month learning everything I can about growing by reading Ed Rosenthal's book, lurking on all the online forums, including this one, watching videos on YouTube, etc. I'm an obsessive geek, so I geeked out hardcore and think I know most of the fundamentals of growing now -- at least growing for the first time.

I'm growing in a Rubbermaid grow box I built out of two 18-gallon Rubbermaid totes. About six coats of flat white spray paint over two coats of flat black spray paint for the interior. Three 3-bulb light fixtures from Home Depot with Y-adaptors on the center fixture. It's running 12 26-watt GE Daylight Balanced 6,500 K CFLs for a total of 312 watts. I have a 120mm Thermaltake PC fan installed high for exhaust and a 120mm hole for passive intake at the bottom. I have the lights on a 20/4 schedule.

I germinated 2 Nirvana Bubblelicious Feminized + Autoflower seeds in a wet paper towel sealed in a plastic container. The seeds germinated in about three days and had about an inch of taproot. The shells were nicely split.

After they germinated, I put them each in a 18 oz. plastic cup filled with FoxFarms Light Warrior moistened with Pur filtered tap water. That was very early on Monday March 5. Today is Thursday March 8 and still no signs of anything above the soil-line. Today I began misting the soil with 1/4 the label directions of the following mixed with Pur filtered tap water pH balanced to 6.1:

Advanced Nutrients:
Sensi Grow A + B
B-52
VooDoo Juice

When can I expect to see the girls peek out of the dirt?

Any and all advice is appreciated

I also just received a Mr. GrowPro PC case grow kit. I think I'm going to try using that for my first hydroponic grow using the DWC setup it came with with the same seeds.

Here's some pics:

 

[Peel Here]

Here are my "Tools"

I spent a few bucks at the hydroponics store.

 

[Bikini Fettuccine]

Hey Peel, I like the setup you have, how much do you think that cost to put together. I am thinking about making a tote box for my seedlings and I like yours. Welcome to AFN and good luck, your in the right place. It sounds like you have done some research, that is great. I am excited to see your grow. How far did you put the seeds down? I would recommend planting a little earlier next time, so it won't be as likely that you will damage that taproot.

 

[Muddy]

Welcome to AFN and the New Growers forum. You're setup looks well thought out. How much vertical room do you have in there? Also, did you get the new Sensi pH Perfect nutes or are they the regular ones?

 

[Peel Here]

Thanks BF. I put my seeds down about the same depth as the size of the seed. So basically, as deep as double the size of the seed.

As for costs, I think it was about $100 more or less.

The Rubbermaid totes were $7 and change each at Home Depot.
The light fixtures were $10 each at Home Depot.
Power strip was $7 at Home Depot
The spray paint was $1 per can at Wal-Mart.
The 120mm PC fan was $15 at Radio Shack.
I forgot the price of the CFL bulbs, but they came from Wal-Mart as well.

I also had to buy a soldering iron to cut the plastic and make holes with. That was $15 at Radio Shack.
I also bought a digital thermostat at Radio Shack for about $15 too.

Hey Peel, I like the setup you have, how much do you think that cost to put together. I am thinking about making a tote box for my seedlings and I like yours. Welcome to AFN and good luck, your in the right place. It sounds like you have done some research, that is great. I am excited to see your grow. How far did you put the seeds down? I would recommend planting a little earlier next time, so it won't be as likely that you will damage that taproot.

 

[Bikini Fettuccine]

Cool man thanks. I will probably make one next time around. I don't have a whole lot of experience I haven't had a seed take more then 5 days to come up. Some people say they have had them come up 2 weeks later, so I would say keep tending to them. I usually have them sprout in about 1-3 days. And plant them about 1/4 to 1/2 inch down. Keep the soil warm and don't overwater. Maybe throw a couple of 2700 lights in there for the heat until they get above soil then switch back to the 6500k's. I have noticed that they give off a little more heat. Good luck man hopefully they will sprout soon.

 

[Peel Here]

You didn't mention anything about soil temp or using a heating pad to keep the cups warm.
If the soil is warm and you buried the seeds about a cm down, they should of broken the surface by now or shortly at least. If temps are low, it could take a while. If soil was overly wet, they might of already dampened off. No need to give nutes yet as you'll just burn them.

Hi Thai Buddha Man... I haven't been measuring soil temperature at all and no heating pad. I am measuring the ambient temperature inside the grow box, which seems to run about 5 degree F cooler than the ambient temperature outside the box. I keep the grow box in my garage where temperatures have recently been in the mid 50s F for lows and high 60s for highs.

Should I be using a heating pad?

I think my problem was that I drenched the LW soil way too much and drowned the seedlings. I knew it looked much too wet and I tried to pour out some of the excess water when I planted the germinated seeds. I think I drowned them.

Today I decided to investigate. I moved a little of the soil from the top on plant #1 and found leaves and a stem! Although it doesn't look too healthy -- it's a little wilted and the leaves look a little discolored (dark marks), it is healthy and looks viable. I may need to give it some emergency first aid. Any suggestions?

Here it is:

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As for plant #2, there was no growth under the soil. I found the seed and the root was mush and when I gently touched the seed with tweezers, the root fell off and the seed was simply mushy.

Here's a pic of the dead seed. I think I drowned it :-(

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So two questions:

1) What, if anything, can I do to keep plant #1 alive and healthy?
2) Did I drown them? How much water should I use when planting germinated seeds in LW?

Thanks all!

 

[Peel Here]

Welcome to AFN and the New Growers forum. You're setup looks well thought out. How much vertical room do you have in there? Also, did you get the new Sensi pH Perfect nutes or are they the regular ones?

It's about 3 to 3.5 feet tall, with all that as viable vertical room for growth. I currently have the cups raised to the lights on a cardboard box. The Sensi Grow I have is the older, non pH Perfect version with the old labels. The hydro store I go to seems to push the Advance Nutrients line and they seem to be trying to clear space for the new pH perfect line since they have boxes full of the new stuff throughout the store waiting to go up on the shelf. I think they used me to help clear the shelf of their old stock. I don't mind. I can pH the stuff myself.

 

[Killijin]

Of all the things I have read, I am a complete newbie as well on my first grow, overwatering is the most common mistake. I have mine in 5 gallon pots but I only made about 1/4th the overall top soil moist so that the rest could expire or seep down, that's what I would recommend, just the top 1/4 of the overall plant soil moist. If you have run off on an initial planting, you sir have messed up. good luck.

 

[GCase]

Howdy Peel Here - sorry to hear about second seed. Everyone has a problem at one time or from time to time. The first one is just making its move to the surface. Too much moisture is a danger. There are many ways and means of propagating. Check out the below link:

https://www.autoflower.org/f44/germinating-tips-first-time-grow-6751.html