Hi all. Brand new to growing. We totally weren’t ready and germinated 4 seeds. These are my experiment batch to learn how to grow. Needless to say, I had no soil no equipment. Honestly I didn’t even expect them to seed at all. I got a “handful” of seeds from a friend who’s been saving them from bags for years.
I don’t have a timeline either. It’s been a few weeks and we’ve already lost 2 of 4. We had them in too dense soil and of course were over watering. I’ve since done a ton of reading and have tried to save the other 2. Bought a bunch of coco online a light etc.
I was getting desperate ( my supplies haven’t showed up yet). So to get them out of this bad soil, I purchased orchid medium. It’s just SUPER coarse. Looks like it’s working though. I’ll see if I can upload some pics. I’m so excited… thanks for all your great help, I’m just getting started!
Right now these babies are in the window light only. I had no idea they’d sprout so quick. I have a 300w LED coming, but it’s gonna be a week. Today I’m putting them in my closet with a few CFLs just to keep them happy. I actually thought these 2 wouldn’t make it. So now I’m scrambling to keep them alive until all my stuff comes in. The orchid mix holds zero water, so now we’re watering twice a day. Keeping our fingers crossed these girls get strong!
Thanks all! I’ll post when I can. Yeah, the over watering in that dense soil was a killer. I’ve got smart pots and coco coming but in the mean time we replanted in this coarse orchid medium. This stuff holds no water, so now we’re really keeping an eye on them. I’m off to Home Depot now to get a splitter and hang my two CFLs in the closet. LED lamp back ordered for a week. I had NO idea how stressful this would be. We’re really excited.
Welcome you have fond a great site for learning how to grow MJ. The folks here have been super helpful and patient with my questions. I have grown orchids in a medium similar to the one you are using. I would encourage you to purchase a good quality potting soil. I use Fox Farm OF with good results. The orchid mix is designed for acid loving plants that receive a good amount of moisture from the air. Good luck I’m more than happy to help anytime I can. Do you have a PH meter?
One of these guys here may be able to tag in some one with more experience
A guy on here Hillcrest is on it and from his threads seems very willing to help out
Ph meter on its way! We were sorely without supplies when these guys sprouted. Lol. I have coir bricks and pots coming too. My shipment was supposed to arrive yesterday, but now delayed up to five days. I’m bummed. Hoping I can keep these 2 happy til it comes. Hey e been in our window light for 2 wks now… with repotting and proper watering now hey look much improved. But it’s time to move them to the closet. They’re getting too skinny reaching for the light. Keeping fingers crossed they stay happy!
@Minnow55, Home Depot sells a couple of led grow lights that would be about ideal for your seedlings. They also sell seed starter mix which is designed for the purpose as well as peat starter plugs. Stay small in pot size (3") which will help with over watering.
Ph pen is an essential tool. You should also get some calibration solution AND USE IT. Many of us have been bitten by ph meters that drifted calibration.
If your new to growing then you have come to the right site, Welcome! these folks are the best & will not steer you wrong.
It sounds like your well on your way to growing well, the start of any grow can be the hardest and can be a bit
daunting. IMO 2 out 4 seeds (especially bag seed) is pretty good, I planted 30 bag seeds and now have 4, the seeds were poor quality and only 9 of them sprouted. My grow is out side and I had many errors! Perseverance is the only solution to trial and error. But with help of these folks you can avoid making most of those mistakes.
I would consider this your classroom grow, it doesn’t sound like you have much out in the way of seeds so that’s a plus and with your babies here if the soil is too compacted you can do a few things to help this;
tilling the soil helps and potting soil packs very easy so caution, don’t till if the soil is wet. when their this little a simple remedy it to go about 2" out from the sprout and poke 5-7 holes into the soil about 3"-4" down. this will help pull excess water away from the roots. if you don’t have good drainage then line the bottom of pot with rock to help shed excess water. most on here say that the fabric pots are the way to go and on my next grow I will be taking this route.
I do hope this helps you, and if one of our friends out there has a differing opinion, great! I would love to hear them as well and congrats to you and your first grow
Thanks so much for all advice ! Yes the bark soil you see is actually temporary. I had the seedlings in some dense regular soil and they were getting rotten. We lost 2 of 4. Ordered coco and fabric pots…waiting on the mail. In a desperate move we re potted the 2 survivors. They’ve been in our window and getting skinny tall. So, moved to a closet with some CFLs until my LED comes in. Attached pic shows what I’ve done this morning. I’m guessing it’s been 2 wks or so since they’ve sprouted. They were stunted and wayyy too wet so I had to do something!
So today is day one of the 18/6 schedule!
@Minnow55, if you put your hand under the light and find the distance where your hand is just slightly warm; that’s the correct distance for the lights to be above your seedlings. Water with a spray bottle and mist them a couple of times daily. Cover the plants with a clear dome to keep the humidity high and DO NOT USE ANY NUTRIENTS.
Also, be aware that the odds of having 2 male plants are 50/50.
Great advice ! Thank you! Yeah I’m a little worried about spawning males… but it’s okay. I’ve got a really good supply of bag seed so we’ll see what happens! I’m in it for the long haul, so I’ve all the time in the world
and with your babies here if the soil is too compacted you can do a few things to help this;
and congrats to you and your first grow
CB