Another First Timer. Would Love Some Input Please

Hello fellow Growmies! First timer here. I’d like to document my first grow as well as ask questions along the way. I already have a few. I’ll put all the details down on what I’m using first then go from there.

I’ve spent countless hours already reading the site and that might be apparent when you read how I’ve set things up already.

My info:
Strain; (3) GSCE Autos from the ILGM Super Mix Auto Pack

Soil in 7 gallon fabric pots using the following mixture:
Bottom 50% FFSF + Mother Earth Perlite
Top 50% FFHF + FFOF even 50/50 mix + Mother Earth Perlite

PH of 6.2-6.5 for first water. I initially watered the soil mixture to runoff prior to planting taproots. I waited approximately 30-45 minutes before planting taproots after watering soil.

Indoor/Closet 3x3 AC Infinity Tent. Exhausted top of tent. Closet door closed most of the time.

Temps; Day = 72-78F. Night = 68-72F.

Humidity; Day = 64-68%. Night 60-64%

Ventilation system; Yes. AC Infinity 6" system with charcoal filter. Exhausted topside of tent. 2 rectangle passive screen intake vents open at bottom of tent for inlet air. Left and right side of tent.

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier. None. Might need a de-humidifier later though.

Co2; No plans to use additional Co2 at this time.

Lights; Spider Farmer SE3000 300W LED. Set at 24" above soil. Dimmer at 40%. Schedule running at 18/6. PPFD measured 300-320 at soil using photone app on Iphone. I emailed Spider Farmer and asked what the reqs were for seedlings. This is what they told me.

Nutrients: I’ll be using Jack’s 321 along with Fish Sh!T for each feeding when needed. I assume I won’t need anything but proper PH water for the first few weeks anyway.

Ok… So I started soaking seeds on 18FEB in normal tap water. Did not adjust PH. Did that for 24 hours. No taproots yet at that time. 19FEB I put them in wet paper towels and put that in a plastic bag next to my cable modem in my entertainment center for about 36 hours. BAM! All 3 seeds popped and had 1/4" - 1/2" taproots. Mid day of 21FEB I planted all 3 seeds in 7 gallon AC Infinity fabric pots mixed as follows: bottom half of pot has FFSF + 20% Mother Earth Perlite No.3. Top half of pots have a 50/50 mix of FFHF and FFOF + 15% Mother Earth Perlite. I watered all 3 pots to runoff with water that had a ph of 6.2-6.5. I did add a little Fish Sh!t to the water but that was it. Maybe a few ml per gallon. Then made a 1/4"-1/2" hole in center of pots (using finger) and planted each seed taproot down. Lightly covered. All this about 30 minutes after initial pot watering. I then put a clear solo cup over each seed. No holes or vents. 23FEB no sign of seedlings yet but I expect this to take a few days anyway.

Ok, here’s my question. Should I use the clear solo cups or are they not needed? I can’t really find a straight answer searching the forums. Some do, some don’t. If I do use them, should they have vents? Should I be spritzing the seeds if I don’t use them? Or should I even if I do use them? My common sense tells me NO since I have the domes on there. But I’m not sure. I haven’t touched the seeds since planted and putting the solo cup domes on them 2 days ago.

Also, against my initial judgement I’ll probably attempt some light LST. Maybe a bend or two. But my main goal here is to just grow them healthy and learn that process first. If I can nail that down first, I’ll feel more comfortable. But again, undecided so far.

Anyway, here’s a couple pics. Looking forward to the responses!

You guys/gals are awesome. Love the info. Love the site.

Wish me luck! Let’s gooooo!!!

7 Likes

Domes are a great idea. Using a clear cup as a dome is not a great idea. Roots don’t like light and it ups the chance of having algae develop in the soil. Use colored cups.

3 Likes

Dang, with the setup and good soil mix, I think you could answer a lot of others questions! That GSCE will put you on your butt if you let it go too long. Very sticky and resiny. And welcome to the forum!!! Good luck and happy growing!

Oh and the dome isn’t necessary unless you have really low humidity. Your rh is good up until flower (probably 5 weeks with GSCE autos), then you want to bring it down to avoid mold/mildew.

2 Likes

I use domes since ambient humidity here is <25%. I have humidifiers in my veg and grow tents and they gobble up a gallon a day just to keep the tents at 55%.

1 Like

Ok. so with my RH levels looks like I can probably remove the cups/domes? So then would it be an occasional spritz to keep moist or should the initial runoff I did prior to planting seeds be enough for a few days?

Thanks again everyone.

Here is a handy dandy chart. I try hard to stay out
of the red zone one but most times can’t. Humidity is my issue.

2 Likes

welcome to the community. looks like this awesome community has you covered. happy growing

2 Likes

This chart is money! Looks like I’ll just pull off the cups and go from there. Thanks!

2 Likes

I’m a fan of clear domes (solo cup) for the first 10 days. You may need those seeing as you went straight to the forever home versus starting in a smaller container or cup. I leave the domes on so the young seedling can absorb moisture through the leaves while the roots spread out and become stronger.

4 Likes

Well whatever I’m doing is working. I just went in to do my daily check (I’m trying to leave them alone as much as possible but failing miserably) and found all 3 are starting to push through.

Is it weird that I ran around the house pumping my fists while screaming YESSSSSSS afterwards? The Wife thinks I’ve officially lost my mind.

Just gonna back off and let mother nature do it’s thing.

Obligatory pics.



8 Likes

Congrats Daddy O :love_you_gesture:

3 Likes

lol, its natural, it almost like having a kid. im always peeking in and talking to the ladies.

1 Like

Awww, happy birthday babies! Good luck with your grow!

2 Likes

I like domes until they are established with a good set of leaves. At that point the roots are kicking and doing their job.
7 gallons is big for autos indoors. Will not hurt anything though. Just heavy to move around.
Off to a good start. Jack’s is good stuff. I use it and fish sh!t but I use coco and perlite.

5 Likes

Welcome and good luck

You probably won’t need to add any water or moisture for at least 10 days with starting in presoaked 7-gallon pots keep lifting the pots until they feel lite before watering unless you see an issue

1 Like

This might be a little off topic but I gotta ask…

Is it normal to become a seed hoarder before you even harvest your first grow? Or before you even SEE your first grow maybe? lol.

Actual conversation with The Wife:

Wife: Whatcha doin?
Me: Ordering seeds.
Wife: Didn’t you just order like 30 of them from ILGM?
Me: Uhhh…
Wife: How many can you grow at one time?
Me: I’m setup for 4 at the moment. Could do more maybe. I dunno.
Wife: How long does it take to grow them?
Me: I dunno. On the average for autos I guess 4 months seed to stone? I’m not really sure yet. Learning as I go here.
Wife: So maybe 12-16 a year? You have 27 left cuz you just planted 3.
Me: …
Wife: …
Me: …
Wife: Well??
Me: You look pretty today.
Wife: sigh
Me: places order

All joking aside, she smokes with me and really isn’t bothered too much by it. I just don’t think she realized the magnitude of all this when I started. lol

Hope everyone is having a good morning so far.

4 Likes

It will only get worse no stopping once you start
Too many strains that you want to try don’t want to miss out!

1 Like

Oh it’s gonna get even deeper than that.
My wife this morning - the whole fridge smells like weed… Why?
Me- 5lbs of trim in there ( it’s actually in the freezer)
Wife- I thought that’s why you need a washer and bubble bags to make that into hash
Me- yeah but I don’t really like hash, I wanted to turn the hash to rosin. I just don’t have a nug smasher yet.
Wife- I hate you ( gives me a forehead kiss )
Me- thanks baby
It’s complete madness and the wife don’t partake :joy::rofl::joy::rofl:

3 Likes

@NewCo32 first let me stay welcome, and your set up is spot on great job you definitely did your homework before starting. Also I did 3 GSCX autos same mix pack and I love them. Few little things, i use domes to get started have a hard time keeping humidity that high, where I live, also once the sprout out of ground can remove your cups. And not alone I think I speak for most of us, my wife’s doesn’t think I’m crazy she knows it lol. Happy growing and best of luck

2 Likes

Happy Friday.

Day 2 above soil. Moving right along. If anyone sees something I’m missing let me know. But I’m pretty happy so far.




3 Likes