Just about to germinate my first ever seeds!

[MilfHunter316]

Hey guys, I finally got my fan today and I am ready to get my grow up and running now the grow room is all there and nearly put together! Im gonna germinate my seeds today and Im gonna use the paper towel method. I am gonna be growing 3 different autoflowers from fastbuds in 5 gallon fabric pots (accidentally ordered them instead of 16l pots) in coco coir/perlite mix 70/30. As its my first grow I want to keep it simple Im gonna be using General Hydroponics Flora Coco Grow + Bloom made specifically for coco and they say you dont need to use calmag with it as it already has enough in it (I did buy some calmag just in case tho).

Now my question is should I water the coco to 20 percent run off today with PHed water with a bit of calmag in it. Like that the coco will be a bit moist when its time to put the seeds into the pots after they have been germinated.

And I have another question with regard to lighting. I got 2 invisible sun ISH265 PRO with the type r chips and 1 which is in 3000k spectrum(they run out of the type r boards when I ordered!). I have my 3000k spectrum dimmed down as far as it can go and was wondering how long should I hold off turning on my other 2 boards while the seeds are vegging! Thanks guy. (A little hazey hope I explained everything ok)

 

[Steviestash]

I usually use some calmag in my water when getting the pots ready or expanding my bricks

 

[MilfHunter316]

I usually use some calmag in my water when getting the pots ready or expanding my bricks

So go ahead and water my pots of coco with calmag to run off??? Just finished potting them up gonna put the seeds in the shooters of ROed water and let them rest overnight

 

[Steviestash]

I would is your coco buffered was it the bricks or bag already mixed

 

[WilliamNewbridge]

I have a very similar setup. Same coco/perlite combo with 3gal fabric pots and GH Flora but the reg kind(more common & easier to find info)

Did you rinse and buffer the coco? Do this first. Here is some instruction:


Let it dry out once done, and a before you plant I would soak the Coco until runoff with PH'd distilled or RO water.

I use Spring/Mineral water to germinate, and for the first couple days when i plant and I only water in the immediate area of the seed/seedling.

I also give the seedling a few days to get its first true leaves going before I put it under the LED's or give nutes. I have a setup with a couple CFL and LED bulbs in the higher colour spectrum about 2-3 inches above the seed/seedling to start them out.

After a couple days and good health I move em to the tent/lights and start straight into a low dose daily seedling nutrient schedule but continue to water in the smaller area of the seedling. As they grow for the first couple weeks I will slowly increasing the area I water as the plant grows and move on to an early seedling and early veg dose of nutrients using the attached Coco For Cannabis Nute Sched. (I buy RO water to feed so try not to waste too much and have too many trips to fill jugs)


As I approach 2 weeks I start to water the entire pot to the point of 10-15% runoff just before switching to the Mid Veg dose of nutes.

Considering the plants now established and healthy I will be topping and following along with the schedule and start to add in some bug prevention etc.

That pretty much sums up how the first couple weeks go for me... Hope that helps.

 

[MilfHunter316]

Sorry guys I forgot to mentioned what coco I was using! Im using biobizz coco mix and read that its ok to use this brand of coco out of the bag just not sure if it was a good idea to water it with a dose of calmag before planting the seeds.. Also having trouble quoting(maybe due to the new update?) so thanks WilliamNewbridge for the advice. I have read a lot on cocoforcannabis.com and I am going to set up the automated watering system to feed my babies when they get close to flower so I can feed them multiple times a day. Just ordered all the parts today!

So to answer my question, I should water my fabric pots to run off with a dose of calmag before I plant my germinated seeds into the pot. I am thinking of starting a grow journal too, just to be selfish and have the extra help from you guys along the way!

 

[WilliamNewbridge]

Sorry guys I forgot to mentioned what coco I was using! Im using biobizz coco mix and read that its ok to use this brand of coco out of the bag just not sure if it was a good idea to water it with a dose of calmag before planting the seeds.. Also having trouble quoting(maybe due to the new update?) so thanks WilliamNewbridge for the advice. I have read a lot on cocoforcannabis.com and I am going to set up the automated watering system to feed my babies when they get close to flower so I can feed them multiple times a day. Just ordered all the parts today!

So to answer my question, I should water my fabric pots to run off with a dose of calmag before I plant my germinated seeds into the pot. I am thinking of starting a grow journal too, just to be selfish and have the extra help from you guys along the way!

If the coco is already buffered it really doesn't matter if you drench it with calmag or just plain water. You aren't really worrying about nutrients these first few days, and if the coco is buffered you don't have to worry about the issues that coco presents with nutrients anyhow. You need to understand why coco needs calmag, and it is really more to do with the way that the plant will take up the nutrients in coco. Buffering the coco and adding calmag to your feeding schedule may not even be necessary at all given your choice of nutrients. I am not familiar with them but I imagine the fact that they are designed for coco means they have more calcium and magnesium in their formulas already. Kinda the point I think...

I don't think it will hurt but I don't think it is necessary but check PH and if using tap water be sure to leave it out at least 24hrs before using the water. But yes give them a good watering before planting and then for the first few days I would give a couple ounces of water at a time right on the seed location rather than soaking the whole pot again. I was doing this twice a day the first couple days, then switched to once a day when I started with nutrients slowly increasing the amount of water given.

 

[MilfHunter316]

Just an update! I put the seeds into glasses of ROed water last night and 24 hours later out of the 6 seeds the tap roots popped out on 2 of them. Went ahead and put them in paper towels and zip lock bags and gonna check on them every 12 hours or so now. I think only 2 popped tap roots so far (same strain; Gelato) because it might have been too cold where I stored them overnight. I have left the zip lock bags in a warmer room so hopefully this will get them going!

Also just finished watering the 5 gal fabric pots with tap water phed 5.9-6. It took like 5-6 litres or so in each pot to get run off. I didnt realise how long it takes for the run off to... run off! Haha total noob here never done anything remotely like this before. While I was watering the pots I started to wonder maybe I bit off a bit too much with 6 plants on my first ever run! Haha oh well see how this turns out now!

 

[WilliamNewbridge]

Might be Coco peat in your mix... Many people rinse Coco for.that to help with drainage as Coco peat can hold water.

Either way just water as needed and be cautious of over watering.

Sounds like you are off to a good start though!

 

[Show Me]

It's not rocket science,its tending to a weed !....lol..i was quite nervous when my first plant took off,couldnt figure out why it wasnt dying....it just grew and grew!