Mephisto Genetics White Crack and Kis Organics Soil

[Tom Bombadil]

i quit using a seedling/propagation mat..the last one was cooking the seeds ..
now just 75 degrees under h dome since ditching the mat and been doing much better germinating.. weird.. but some say those heat mats are for rooting cuttings and not germinating..others say the opposite...

 

[MrOldBoy]

weather is rarely what we want .....

Put a little KIS in bottom and top dress with a teaspoon spoonful of EWC ...... also after day 8-9 use a little fish fertilizer- like 1/10 recommended strength and a few drops of thrive B1 in that gallon oF water as well - B1 will help heal roots should any transplant shock occur .... if you like .... B1 is very important for root health ......

i am still tossing around idea of air inside the reservoir- set on a timer so as not too much but haven’t messed around with yet due to urgency of my grow - needs some variety so I don’t wanna goof up anything right now until I get some stash ....

slow you should know, you’ve been helpful with indoor / lights / and general info on our strain - hope some of my organic garden knowledge is helping you - sharing is key even if we don’t agree .... hey that rhymes ....

Anyways away we grow bro

Peace,
MOB

The Rootmakers are getting a chance now instead of direct planting. Per my own rules I will not start seeds below 80F environment. We are having a cold snap and my room is only 75F. I started soaking a couple of Magic Cookies yesterday when they arrived. Only 1 was popped open, it had a tiny tail. The other wasnt popped open yet. So with a combonation if low temps and not opening of 1 seed I opted to use Rootmakers on these 2 beans. I will clear out my smaller tent and put them in there with the heating mat at 85F.

So a bit of bad news. The 5 oz cup seedling started to look really unhappy overnight. Today is day 12. I would say she started to look a little unhappy a few days ago, thought it was just thirsty. But its from rootbounding and not enough soil to keep it happy for 12 days under Cobs. So I will keep a close eye for any signs of hunger in the Rootmaker seedlings around day 9. If so, the starter soil is weak that I am using. I already know it is weak, its starter soil, but 5oz cups are too small for keeping happy for 12 days. Once they get hungry, the cobs can yellow them fast. I see paleness from less than 24 hours ago. This will absolutely effect the size and yield, and I will never use a 5oz cup to start Soil seeds ever again. In coco its fine, cause i feed them nutes, but not good for soil. Lesson learned, if you do use 5oz cups, trsnsplant by day 8!

Regardless, my goal is to have them transplanted by day 10 to 12 with Rootmakers to avoid any slow downs at all. My Rootmakers are the ones that have 18 in a flat. I am wondering which size would be best for Juniors? I could almost see adding a little Kis Soil to the Rootmakers to feed them a little while in them. Actually I just had a GREAT idea! Not sure why I didnt think of it before?! I have a bunch of Biotabs here. I can crush them up and add a little to my starter mix to have a lttle organic food in the mix! I will add a sprinkle of Biotab dust on the top and spray with water with my spray bottle once she is up for 5 dsys or so. Im gonna go start 2 more seeds right now. Now that I have my Biotab idea, I am gonna add the tiny bit of Crushed Biotabs into the starter mix before planting the seeds. Until our cold snap goes away and I fire up my 4x4 that is drying stuff now, my seed starting temps are just too low to directly plant. Better safe than sorry on these brand new seeds. I feel more comfortable starting in smaller pots when temps are this cold outside, because it is the worst time to be low on temps. Once they are up and have some roots going good, temps can be lower than they are initally. But not having a nice tail when planting always makes me want to start in smaller pots to keep an eye on development and have nice steady warm temps. The good part is I can start 2 more seeds right away and keep in the same tent at proper temps til ready to move! If I didnt use my heating mat, it is just too damn cold right now. Once my atuff is dry, i will fire up the 4x4 and move some stuff into it. This will allow for warmer temps in my room and a good space to move all 4 plants once transplanted. They wont need 85F then. Once those 4 are transplanted hopefully the cold snap will be gone and I can start one directly for a true side by side. My plants so far have had a decent Root System under and into the Rez. We will see if the directly planted one has a good root system below as well once done. I do use Orca, which may help eith that root development.

However I honestly am concerned about having that much roots below. Could cause them to be hungrier sooner or grow different because of Water roots just soaking in Tap water? Its totally possible in theory that it could. If the Rootmakers keep the Roots out of the reservior completely, then it could theoretically differntly. If the root system was bigger below the rez line, those roots would be acting more hydro roots. Dont really want a bunch of water roots in soil. So we will see if the Rootmakers keep the roots above the rez in my house. And how Directly planting does as well. Damn cold weather is not ideal for seedlings, so your Rootmakers will get a fair shot on these 4. Gonna go drop 2 more seeds now. Peace, slow

 

[MrOldBoy]

i quit using a seedling/propagation mat..the last one was cooking the seeds ..
now just 75 degrees under h dome since ditching the mat and been doing much better germinating.. weird.. but some say those heat mats are for rooting cuttings and not germinating..others say the opposite...

Heat Mat by itself can generate too much heat ..... I have a temp controller with soil prob - temps are always perfect with prob / controller

Amazon product

 

[slowandeasy]

i quit using a seedling/propagation mat..the last one was cooking the seeds ..
now just 75 degrees under h dome since ditching the mat and been doing much better germinating.. weird.. but some say those heat mats are for rooting cuttings and not germinating..others say the opposite...

A thermostat to set the heat is what I use. There can be hot spots in some of the mats, I dont put my seedling directly on the heating pad. My guess is your seedling mat has hot spots and you got them 90 deg or so if that is your only problem. Another good technique is to grab a Tote and put the heating mat in it and set to 80-85 deg. You can use it to keep temps stable, just putting it in the tote along the side as a heat source. You dont have to put the seedlings on the mat, so noo worries of hot spots. But as long as your temps are 80-85F, you will have faster germing time than 75deg or lower. If I had to choose between 75deg or 90deg, 75F is safer. You should germ at 75F, just slower. But below 75F is when failures can happen from cooler temps. Failures can happen when temps are at approx 90F. Personally I use my temp gun and check for hot temps or cold temps during germ phase. Using the seedling mats WITHOUT using thermostat can absolutely make them too hot. But if you use the thermostat and do NOT put the seedlings directly on the mat you will have excellent results. The most important thing is consistent temps, in the 75F to 85F range. If your temps flucuate too much, its not as good for germing. Heat controller is key for success. I believe you prob did over heat yours. Maybe try to get a Heat Contoller for the future, if your temps get much lower you wil see problems too. The cheap and less effective way is to place the heating mat on a timer. If it gets too hot, adjust the timer to stay off longer. Too warm, more off time. Not perfect, but it works if you are in a pinch. When you have weather like we have here, you could have different temps daily outside. Had I not checked the temps before soaking the seed I possibly could waste some seeds.

 

[MrOldBoy]

Talking heat mats - I concur with slow - my starts NEVER sit directly on the mat, never - not saying yours do @Tom Sowell I’m just saying my starts don’t .... Mat is under start tray and start pots sit in the tray - my start pots do not have a flat bottom so less contact with tray and tray is ribbed so less heat from mat - a lot of heat for my starts come from the fluorescent light but the soil probe in the controller suggested is a key - heat gun also works but take several readings - especially the bottom of the pot .... Good luck - we are learning as we grow and it’s flippin fun!

 

[Tom Bombadil]

mine didnt sit directly on the mat either.. had a paper bag between the mat and tray..might just be a bad mat..but 75 degrees ambient in tent n they pop in 36 hrs without the mat..that last mat seemed a little too warm tho so who knows!

 

[slowandeasy]

weather is rarely what we want .....

Put a little KIS in bottom and top dress with a teaspoon spoonful of EWC ...... also after day 8-9 use a little fish fertilizer- like 1/10 recommended strength and a few drops of thrive B1 in that gallon oF water as well - B1 will help heal roots should any transplant shock occur .... if you like .... B1 is very important for root health ......

i am still tossing around idea of air inside the reservoir- set on a timer so as not too much but haven’t messed around with yet due to urgency of my grow - needs some variety so I don’t wanna goof up anything right now until I get some stash ....

slow you should know, you’ve been helpful with indoor / lights / and general info on our strain - hope some of my organic garden knowledge is helping you - sharing is key even if we don’t agree .... hey that rhymes ....

Anyways away we grow bro

Peace,
MOB

If you only use the air for short periods of time it may help. Just do it right after you fill the rez, so you know it wont dry up. Too much Dry air to roots will have negative effects. I have Airdomes if you ever want to try air injection to the roots or you can airate the rez water. However, this will most likely cause the roots to grow into the rez and you prefer not. It may help, just go lite and do it when rez is full. Peace, slow

 

[slowandeasy]

Ok, so my transplanted Grape Rolex is perking up. She will not be nearly as nice as the directly planted, the size and health difference is too great. I should have transplanted 3 days sooner, the extra 3 dsys made her hungry. Thats ok, now I know how they react to small 5oz cups, you have to transplant by day 7 or 8 max otherwise they will get hungry and rootbound. Now I have 1 Magic Cookies above ground today and the other 1 should be up by morning. They are both in Rootmakers. The rootmakers hold much more soil than 5oz cups, so hopefully hunger is not an issue. Now I have 2 new seeds soaking and I am actually going to add a little bit of Kis Soil and EWC to the next ones to see if they do better than with just starter soil. I really believe that having a little food is going to make a diffetence in speed of growth and size. I would prefer to have them go 12 to 14 days in Rootmakers with a little food, so the roots are developed well and they dont slow down at all. It usually take 3 or 4 days to see a good change in them when trsnsplanted. Because they are getting their first taste of Kis Soil once the roots start to spread out. You could totally tell when the roots reached the Kis Soil, the plant responds quickly. The directly planted seed is staying very compact, and extremely healthy. Will be intresting to see how the rootmakers do vs Directly planted. I will inspect the Rootsystems at harvest and compare. Moving forward on my SOIL grows, I will NEVER use a cup again to start a seed. It is proving to be by far the worst way to start seeds in Soil. In Coco the 5oz cups work Fantastic! But thats because you have to feed nutrients to coco and they grow very rapidly as a result, plus Coco doesnt get rootbounding effects like soil does so easily.
Purple Scoopz will be my first seeds to try adding Kis and EWC to the rootmakers. Will screen it out by hand and keep rocks and twigs out and just mix it in the bottom 1/3 layer. I was also considering using my old Biotabs crushed up, which I might do to the Magic Cookies. I may Just add a little sprinkled on top after a good week. I have a feeling that the starter soil is just a tad too weak for 14 days of growth. Clearly it is not strong enough in 5oz cups, but thats really small.

 

[MrOldBoy]

That’s exactly what I did, screen by hand KIS original with a little garden soil screener and added some peat moss to lighten up a tad ..... some EWC and even cut up straw top dressed - not much just sprinkles ...... Rootmakers will take 12-14 days and they are ready when you see roots coming out side and bottom holes .....

I use one of these to screen dirt, nice little tool to have ..... maybe you have different method but thought I’d share. Peace - MOB

Amazon product

Ok, so my transplanted Grape Rolex is perking up. She will not be nearly as nice as the directly planted, the size and health difference is too great. I should have transplanted 3 days sooner, the extra 3 dsys made her hungry. Thats ok, now I know how they react to small 5oz cups, you have to transplant by day 7 or 8 max otherwise they will get hungry and rootbound. Now I have 1 Magic Cookies above ground today and the other 1 should be up by morning. They are both in Rootmakers. The rootmakers hold much more soil than 5oz cups, so hopefully hunger is not an issue. Now I have 2 new seeds soaking and I am actually going to add a little bit of Kis Soil and EWC to the next ones to see if they do better than with just starter soil. I really believe that having a little food is going to make a diffetence in speed of growth and size. I would prefer to have them go 12 to 14 days in Rootmakers with a little food, so the roots are developed well and they dont slow down at all. It usually take 3 or 4 days to see a good change in them when trsnsplanted. Because they are getting their first taste of Kis Soil once the roots start to spread out. You could totally tell when the roots reached the Kis Soil, the plant responds quickly. The directly planted seed is staying very compact, and extremely healthy. Will be intresting to see how the rootmakers do vs Directly planted. I will inspect the Rootsystems at harvest and compare. Moving forward on my SOIL grows, I will NEVER use a cup again to start a seed. It is proving to be by far the worst way to start seeds in Soil. In Coco the 5oz cups work Fantastic! But thats because you have to feed nutrients to coco and they grow very rapidly as a result, plus Coco doesnt get rootbounding effects like soil does so easily.
Purple Scoopz will be my first seeds to try adding Kis and EWC to the rootmakers. Will screen it out by hand and keep rocks and twigs out and just mix it in the bottom 1/3 layer. I was also considering using my old Biotabs crushed up, which I might do to the Magic Cookies. I may Just add a little sprinkled on top after a good week. I have a feeling that the starter soil is just a tad too weak for 14 days of growth. Clearly it is not strong enough in 5oz cups, but thats really small.

 

[slowandeasy]

Ok, both Magic Cookies are up! Both in rootmakers. Lets see what happens! Excited for these. Peace, slow