New Grower HERE WE GO! first time budget grower

[blue]

morning everyone! 8am on friday july 12th where i am.

Sharkbite has surfaced and is actually doing better than everyone else already. she's the only one who was able to shed her seed casing as soon as she came out.

i'm definitely worried about Pickled Diesel at this point. she looks thin. i took @Zollies_zn 's advice and misted the seed casing, but she just seems a little sick.

Short and Sweet is also pretty stringy looking, but she's finally shed her seed casing so i expect her to unfurl her leaves and hopefully stand up straighter today.

i've decided to move the babies out of the closet for some actual sunlight on the front windowsill today. other than that, imma leave em be and let nature do its magical thing.

CHEERS!

View attachment 1077642

Hey Maz ... How you doing??

I don't wanna sound like the harbinger of doom .. but i'd be a little concerned too!
Do you have any back up seeds ... just in case?

How deep did you plant the beans in those peat pugs?
Did you soak and then squeeze the pugs before putting the seed in?

Don't stress out - it's early days ... but best causght early rather than late



I can help a bit if needed

 

[marilyn monGROW]

Hey Maz ... How you doing??

I don't wanna sound like the harbinger of doom .. but i'd be a little concerned too!
Do you have any back up seeds ... just in case?

How deep did you plant the beans in those peat pugs?
Did you soak and then squeeze the pugs before putting the seed in?

Don't stress out - it's early days ... but best causght early rather than late



I can help a bit if needed

hey blueeee

MY POOR BABY!!!! just to be clear: you're talking specifically about Pickled Diesel, right? cuz i worry a little about Short and Sweet being as long and stringy as she is.

i have a bunch more seeds, no more PD, but a variety of others just hanging out in the fridge waiting for their day. i can recover from this, even if PD can't.

the rapid rooter was soaked briefly, but not "squeezed". they were left to drain, though, so they weren't "soaked" when i added the seeds. next time, you think i should squeeze?

the seeds were placed no more than 1 centimeter down and lightly covered with a torn off piece of rooter.

i will take all the help i can get!

 

[blue]

hey blueeee

MY POOR BABY!!!! just to be clear: you're talking specifically about Pickled Diesel, right? cuz i worry a little about Short and Sweet being as long and stringy as she is.

i have a bunch more seeds, no more PD, but a variety of others just hanging out in the fridge waiting for their day. i can recover from this, even if PD can't.

the rapid rooter was soaked briefly, but not "squeezed". they were left to drain, though, so they weren't "soaked" when i added the seeds. next time, you think i should squeeze?

the seeds were placed no more than 1 centimeter down and lightly covered with a torn off piece of rooter.

i will take all the help i can get!

Yey - It's good you're upbeat! A happy grower makes a happy plant (sometimes with a bit of help from friends).

So ^_^.... If i'm brutally honest (and i don't want you to think i am brutal) ... I'd say the bottom left one has a "chance" .. but i'd be seven shades of concerned (rather than 50 shades of content) if mine came up like that.

I won't advise on the rapid rooter (as i've only rarely used similar pete plugs, but a long long time ago) ... I do think they looked a bit wet, and think this may be why

rapid rooter was soaked briefly in warm, lightly-lemoned tap water and then i added a quarter inch of the same water to the germination box before closing it up.

They've also come up a bit leggy and limp (not a critism.. just observation). This could be fixed by lowering your light (like it's not getting enough).

If this is your first try and you're going direct into soil anyway (which should probably be talked about aswell), maybe a different germination method may work better?
There's loads of germination methods .. but i'll tell you mine as it works well.

You'll need

1 paper kitchen towel
1 ziplock bag
1 Cardboard Box (VHS sized or thinner ... remember those?!? lol)
1 Heatsource (like a Sky/Tivo box)
1 Seed

I'll explain this in the style of Buffallo Bill from Silence of the Lambs

"She puts the seeds in the kitchen towel and folds in half and then folds the sides in."
"She lightly dampens the folded towel with water" (dont run it under the tap - flick water on it until moist - not soaked)
"She puts the damp towel in the zip lock bag and seals"
"She puts the zip lock bag in the box and closes"
"She puts the box on the heat source"

(wow ... this nutter is demanding!!)

"She waters the pot with soil in with a litre of water and then puts a clear plastic cup upside down in the middle"

2 days later

"She checks in the towel for seeds with little white tails" BINGO! (looks like we're gonna make it out alive!!)

"She pokes a hole in the top of the moist soil underneath the clear plastic cup about an inch to an inch and a half down" (depending on tail length ... longer tail ... deeper hole ... seed casing need to be below the top of the soil)

"She sprays the inside of the cup for water beads and puts it back over the middle "

2 ...3.....4 days later and she's UP ... and thinking of dropping her casing.

(Enough of buffallo bill ... he's had his fun!! )

When the seedling is up, you can give it a day in the cup for humidity ... but soon you'll need to get a movement fan lightly blowing it in the breeze ... this will make her strong for a good start!!!

Try and lower the light to about 3 feet above the seedling ... seems like that should not be too much.

I think that's it for now! Hope it either helped or at least amused you!


All the best
Blue

 

[marilyn monGROW]

Yey - It's good you're upbeat! A happy grower makes a happy plant (sometimes with a bit of help from friends).

So ^_^.... If i'm brutally honest (and i don't want you to think i am brutal) ... I'd say the bottom left one has a "chance" .. but i'd be seven shades of concerned (rather than 50 shades of content) if mine came up like that.

I won't advise on the rapid rooter (as i've only rarely used similar pete plugs, but a long long time ago) ... I do think they looked a bit wet, and think this may be why



They've also come up a bit leggy and limp (not a critism.. just observation). This could be fixed by lowering your light (like it's not getting enough).

If this is your first try and you're going direct into soil anyway (which should probably be talked about aswell), maybe a different germination method may work better?
There's loads of germination methods .. but i'll tell you mine as it works well.

You'll need

1 paper kitchen towel
1 ziplock bag
1 Cardboard Box (VHS sized or thinner ... remember those?!? lol)
1 Heatsource (like a Sky/Tivo box)
1 Seed

I'll explain this in the style of Buffallo Bill from Silence of the Lambs

"She puts the seeds in the kitchen towel and folds in half and then folds the sides in."
"She lightly dampens the folded towel with water" (dont run it under the tap - flick water on it until moist - not soaked)
"She puts the damp towel in the zip lock bag and seals"
"She puts the zip lock bag in the box and closes"
"She puts the box on the heat source"

(wow ... this nutter is demanding!!)

"She waters the pot with soil in with a litre of water and then puts a clear plastic cup upside down in the middle"

2 days later

"She checks in the towel for seeds with little white tails" BINGO! (looks like we're gonna make it out alive!!)

"She pokes a hole in the top of the moist soil underneath the clear plastic cup about an inch to an inch and a half down" (depending on tail length ... longer tail ... deeper hole ... seed casing need to be below the top of the soil)

"She sprays the inside of the cup for water beads and puts it back over the middle "

2 ...3.....4 days later and she's UP ... and thinking of dropping her casing.

(Enough of buffallo bill ... he's had his fun!! )

When the seedling is up, you can give it a day in the cup for humidity ... but soon you'll need to get a movement fan lightly blowing it in the breeze ... this will make her strong for a good start!!!

Try and lower the light to about 3 feet above the seedling ... seems like that should not be too much.

I think that's it for now! Hope it either helped or at least amused you!


All the best
Blue

YES! this both helped AND amused me!

i gotta go out of town for the day so i'm gonna leave the germination box on my windowsill for the morning/afternoon and see if they enjoy the natural light any better.

when i get home this afternoon, i'll assess my wins and losses. tomorrow, i'll pour a sip on the concrete for the deceased and pull out a couple more seeds to try germination your way.

alright, the hubs is yelling at me to get up and brush my teeth, so i'll let it go for now.

fingers and toes crossed i've only lost the one!

and thank you SO MUCH, blue, for taking the time to help a girl out

 

[marilyn monGROW]

okay, saturday july 13th, evening where i am.

i may be acting dramatic (i am marilyn mongrow, after all) but a LOT has happened since the last time i posted...(yesterday?)

i got to researching my leggy seedlings. i think if i didn't have the job i have, i'd love to be some sort of researcher. i get off on finding the best information.

obviously, my lighting situation was dire. that was the main problem i could see. i need to invest in a better light, which makes my wallet sad, but i ALSO needed to drastically close the gap between the seedlings and the light i have now.

to fix the leggy problem that's already occurring, the consensus is to replant and bury the "leg". these babies are so friggin' young, but the alternative was to wait and i knew that wouldn't help at all, so i figured it was experiment time. if i'm gonna lose these puppies, i'm gonna lose them while trying to save 'em.

UNFORTUNATELY, i didn't have any of the soil i wanted ready for the transplant. when the experts say to have all your shit together before starting autos, LISTEN TO THEM. sometimes, life moves in fast forward and they do NOT sell fox farms at the local home depot. i asked my husband to dig through the shed and, lo and behold, he found an unopened bag of miracle gro organic potting mix. it's got guano, it's got castings, it's got perlite, it's a go. talk about budget! and free-from-the-shed turns out to be perfect for this comedy of errors.

i decided to transfer my rapid rooter micro seedlings straight to the 3 gallon cloth pots filled with shed dirt. i buried the pods up to the first set of leaves on all three viable seedlings (sadly, i had to pull the plug on Pickled Diesel). the rooter pods were pretty wet still so i planted them in dry-ish soil and then watered around them lightly with rain water. my feeling is that if they're not drenched, the roots will spread out more to search for any moisture they can, forcing a better root structure. thoughts?

i lowered my light CONSIDERABLY. its currently about six inches from the seedling tops. i will DEFINITELY need another/new light. i want to spend the least amount possible and i KNOW i will do better with a better light, but i'm just not there yet, guys. any suggestions are welcome.

anyway, that was last night.

i gotta say, guys, this may work out okay! everyone has perked up. the babies are all standing on their own as you can see for yourselves.

it's still so early. next time, i gotta start this thing from, like, second nodes or sumptin'.

 

[420Forever]

okay, saturday july 13th, evening where i am.

i may be acting dramatic (i am marilyn mongrow, after all) but a LOT has happened since the last time i posted...(yesterday?)

i got to researching my leggy seedlings. i think if i didn't have the job i have, i'd love to be some sort of researcher. i get off on finding the best information.

obviously, my lighting situation was dire. that was the main problem i could see. i need to invest in a better light, which makes my wallet sad, but i ALSO needed to drastically close the gap between the seedlings and the light i have now.

to fix the leggy problem that's already occurring, the consensus is to replant and bury the "leg". these babies are so friggin' young, but the alternative was to wait and i knew that wouldn't help at all, so i figured it was experiment time. if i'm gonna lose these puppies, i'm gonna lose them while trying to save 'em.

UNFORTUNATELY, i didn't have any of the soil i wanted ready for the transplant. when the experts say to have all your shit together before starting autos, LISTEN TO THEM. sometimes, life moves in fast forward and they do NOT sell fox farms at the local home depot. i asked my husband to dig through the shed and, lo and behold, he found an unopened bag of miracle gro organic potting mix. it's got guano, it's got castings, it's got perlite, it's a go. talk about budget! and free-from-the-shed turns out to be perfect for this comedy of errors.

i decided to transfer my rapid rooter micro seedlings straight to the 3 gallon cloth pots filled with shed dirt. i buried the pods up to the first set of leaves on all three viable seedlings (sadly, i had to pull the plug on Pickled Diesel). the rooter pods were pretty wet still so i planted them in dry-ish soil and then watered around them lightly with rain water. my feeling is that if they're not drenched, the roots will spread out more to search for any moisture they can, forcing a better root structure. thoughts?

i lowered my light CONSIDERABLY. its currently about six inches from the seedling tops. i will DEFINITELY need another/new light. i want to spend the least amount possible and i KNOW i will do better with a better light, but i'm just not there yet, guys. any suggestions are welcome.

anyway, that was last night.

i gotta say, guys, this may work out okay! everyone has perked up. the babies are all standing on their own as you can see for yourselves.

it's still so early. next time, i gotta start this thing from, like, second nodes or sumptin'.

View attachment 1078186 View attachment 1078187 View attachment 1078188

hmmmmmm...........well, everything was goin okay in that story...jus munchin me popcorn & readin along...until i read the wordz "miracle-gro"...ahhh!! yes yes, certain otherz will probly chastize me a bit, but quite simply, i meself am NOT a fan of mg, at all, whatsoever

but, what'z done is done (shudderz), and they seem to look okay, so we'll hope fer the best one ques tho, do ya know exactly-ish just how old was the aforementioned "unopened bag that had to be dug to to be gotten"-? lol reazon i ask is that after a while, the soil becomez microbially dead, and well, jus givin a headz up is all and as far as a new light goez, as with other aspectz of growing, it'z a matter of investment...mebbe spendin a bit more now, but come harvest time, the resultz speak for themselvez & u'll be glad u did hell, i got a 1000w full white led from amazon fer $90 & the girlz be luvin it!

 

[marilyn monGROW]

hmmmmmm...........well, everything was goin okay in that story...jus munchin me popcorn & readin along...until i read the wordz "miracle-gro"...ahhh!! yes yes, certain otherz will probly chastize me a bit, but quite simply, i meself am NOT a fan of mg, at all, whatsoever

but, what'z done is done (shudderz), and they seem to look okay, so we'll hope fer the best one ques tho, do ya know exactly-ish just how old was the aforementioned "unopened bag that had to be dug to to be gotten"-? lol reazon i ask is that after a while, the soil becomez microbially dead, and well, jus givin a headz up is all and as far as a new light goez, as with other aspectz of growing, it'z a matter of investment...mebbe spendin a bit more now, but come harvest time, the resultz speak for themselvez & u'll be glad u did hell, i got a 1000w full white led from amazon fer $90 & the girlz be luvin it!

yeah, buddy, lemme scare you.

that bag he found was at least a year old. but if i waited for the soil i planned on to arrive, i was afraid these ladies would be like Legs Go All The Way Up Griffin



i kinda thought i messed these up from the get go. the fact that they're growing anyway just makes me happy.

by the way, how do you feel about the light watering? i'm really wondering if i'm so focused on not over-watering that i'm under-watering. whooomp.

thanks for your input!!

 

[420Forever]

yeah, buddy, lemme scare you.

that bag he found was at least a year old. but if i waited for the soil i planned on to arrive, i was afraid these ladies would be like Legs Go All The Way Up Griffin



i kinda thought i messed these up from the get go. the fact that they're growing anyway just makes me happy.

by the way, how do you feel about the light watering? i'm really wondering if i'm so focused on not over-watering that i'm under-watering. whooomp.

thanks for your input!!

well, me def do share ur outlook of not over-watering, lol...that very mistake led to fungus gnatz my first time around, and this time, me water em every 5-6 dayz...i'll be damned if i EVER wanna deal with them little bastardz again, ahh! besidez, ya gotta remember -> it'z a weed it'll let u know when it needz to be watered

 

[FullAuto245]

At Home Depot or Menards etc... you can pick up some decent medium. Pro mix there are several types of it and also people have been doing well with an organic soil made by miracle grow. The exact brand name I’m not sure of but there are threads on here about it.

I just suggest to do some research on the exact brand before purchasing so you can see how people use it just for future plans possibly . Good luck you’ll figure it all out.

 

[AutoMagicallyDelicious]

okay, saturday july 13th, evening where i am.

i may be acting dramatic (i am marilyn mongrow, after all) but a LOT has happened since the last time i posted...(yesterday?)

i got to researching my leggy seedlings. i think if i didn't have the job i have, i'd love to be some sort of researcher. i get off on finding the best information.

obviously, my lighting situation was dire. that was the main problem i could see. i need to invest in a better light, which makes my wallet sad, but i ALSO needed to drastically close the gap between the seedlings and the light i have now.

to fix the leggy problem that's already occurring, the consensus is to replant and bury the "leg". these babies are so friggin' young, but the alternative was to wait and i knew that wouldn't help at all, so i figured it was experiment time. if i'm gonna lose these puppies, i'm gonna lose them while trying to save 'em.

UNFORTUNATELY, i didn't have any of the soil i wanted ready for the transplant. when the experts say to have all your shit together before starting autos, LISTEN TO THEM. sometimes, life moves in fast forward and they do NOT sell fox farms at the local home depot. i asked my husband to dig through the shed and, lo and behold, he found an unopened bag of miracle gro organic potting mix. it's got guano, it's got castings, it's got perlite, it's a go. talk about budget! and free-from-the-shed turns out to be perfect for this comedy of errors.

i decided to transfer my rapid rooter micro seedlings straight to the 3 gallon cloth pots filled with shed dirt. i buried the pods up to the first set of leaves on all three viable seedlings (sadly, i had to pull the plug on Pickled Diesel). the rooter pods were pretty wet still so i planted them in dry-ish soil and then watered around them lightly with rain water. my feeling is that if they're not drenched, the roots will spread out more to search for any moisture they can, forcing a better root structure. thoughts?

i lowered my light CONSIDERABLY. its currently about six inches from the seedling tops. i will DEFINITELY need another/new light. i want to spend the least amount possible and i KNOW i will do better with a better light, but i'm just not there yet, guys. any suggestions are welcome.

anyway, that was last night.

i gotta say, guys, this may work out okay! everyone has perked up. the babies are all standing on their own as you can see for yourselves.

it's still so early. next time, i gotta start this thing from, like, second nodes or sumptin'.

View attachment 1078186 View attachment 1078187 View attachment 1078188

Great job so far ! I am not an expert, just a newbie myself who is near the end of my 2nd grow. I am having great success with water only and organic soil that I put together. If soil is going to be your medium, I suggest creating your own. It is very easy and when you provide a buffet of all the nutrients the plant needs, they will grow so well. If you build a good living organic soil you can reuse it over and over again. As far as lights go...check out the COB shop here at AFN.
Feel free to check out what just good soil and a COB will grow in my organic journal. Best of luck!