First grow in 25+ years. THC!(Things Have Changed!)

Hello! Old Gypsy here.:blush: I have been spending a considerable amount of time reading a variety of posts in this forum this past week or so and think it is so AWESOME that there is a place like this for support.
I messed around with growing my own medicine 20+ years ago but never had time to really get into it. And back then it was bag seeds probably originating from South America in medium to low quality brown brick weed. Probably grew 4 or 5 times in a closet with miracle and fluorescent shop light. No venilation, no idea what ph was, definitely never let them reach full maturityā€¦:woman_shrugging::woman_facepalming: Might have got 1/4 oz of premature bud that was ā€œquick driedā€ in the microwave.SMFHā€¦
Well enough of the embarrassing past. Iā€™ve got plenty of time now and with some guidance from you guys Iā€™m hoping to grow a healthy plant from seed to finish and learn a lot in the next few months.
A friend of mine gave me some Northern Lights Auto seeds from ILGM and a variety of chemicals that I know nothing about. The seeds are 2 years old. I have one that I I soaked in 6.5 ph water for 24hours then transfered to moist paper towel. Itā€™s been almost an additional 24 hours and still nothing. The other has been in water with a couple drips of peroxide for 24 hrs now, nothing there yet either. Hopefully 1 of them pops today.

I purchased a Mars Hydro Ts600 kit 2ā€™x2ā€™x55" tent, 200cfm fan, carbon filter, and of course the Ts600 light.
Iā€™m using Fox Farms Ocean Forest mixed 6:1 with perlite in a 5 gallon fabric pot.
Iā€™m really hoping 1 of these seeds pop given their age.

10 Likes

As soon as one pops it will go in itā€™s final home, the 5gal fabric pot.
I also have a small bit of coco coir and was thinking if both seeds get tap roots I may try a 1/2 gallon coco plant as well, being that I have some coco chemicals and Iā€™d be sick at myself for throwing a perfectly good seed away.

2 Likes

Took another peek at my seeds. The one in the paper towel is peeking out. This might not be a total loss. Another plus note is Amazon is delivering my 6" clip on fan today. Hoping to push some warm air down from top of tent to raise temp and RH.

8 Likes

Welcome. One popped and you are on your way. When I use ocean forest, I tone it down a bit for seedlings. OF will also carry the seedling for a couple of weeks to a month before you need to worry about nutrients. You may want to check out basic low stress training. It will improve the quality of the plant and help minimize possible height issues.

Congrats and good luck
This is what I currently have going. Letā€™s Grow Some Purple Kush

7 Likes

I always have planted the root down & recently @dbrn32 suggested planting it a hair deeper than I have been & the root facing up. That way the seed will right itself & as it does it pulls the husk off the seed. Sometimes Iā€™ve (and many others on here) had the husk hang up & its a PINTA to get off without damaging the plant. It works !

7 Likes

Thank you @beardless. I have a little coco in a bag donā€™t know how old it is or how it was stored. Would you suggest mixing a small amount of that coco and OF in the center of my 5 gallon pot to turn it down a little?

1 Like

In a mix that should be ok. If used as a stand alone I would want to make sure it is washed (you can wash it) and also buffered with calcium (soak in water with CalMag)

2 Likes

Welcome @OldGypsy you got one of those to pop and thatā€™s the start of your growing! With Foxfarm your plans will feed for 4 to 6 weeks, before you need any nutrients. I also use Foxfarm! Good luck, And Happy Growing! :+1:

4 Likes

Good luck! My tent arrived yesterday. Will be setting up over the next few days. I see people going from seedling to final pot, no intermediate transplants. So thatā€™s ok to do? Ive seen some say yes, some no. Sure would be convenieconcnt! Yes, @ConcreteBudz , im finally making moves!!

4 Likes

4-22-21
Update. To everyone following along, being I am new to the group my posts are limited.
@pillsbury @Carpenter @pr @beardless
I went ahead and planted the seed that had popped. Had about 1/2" tap root by the time I put her in her pot. Burried up to my first nuckle. Put about 20ml ph 6.3 water total. A little in bottom of hole and the rest around 3" diameter of the top of the soil. I misted the inside of my 2 liter bottle dome and placed it on top.
My 6" two speed fan came also. I clipped it above my light facing down to force warm air to plant level. Works perfectly in conjunction with my variable speed 4" carbon filtered exhaust. Just playing around with them a little I see I can get a good range of temp and RH control.

The other seed started popping and is currently in paper towel. I guess thatā€™s not bad for 2 or 3 year old seeds, 48 hrs to tap roots.
Still undecided what to do with it in regards to grow medium and the fact that this is a 2x2 tent. I can see myself running out of room quick with the 1- 5gal plant. Decisions decisions. Trying not to let my impatience get the best of me here. Lol.

7 Likes

Be patient and enjoy the growā€¦ I have found that the more patient I am the more successful the grow!

6 Likes

It all depends on what u r growing for transplants autos usually a no seed pops go to final home as autos dont go thru veg stage like a photos they run on their own time and do what they want at their desired time so no transplanting to try and minimize any kind of stress on them. Photos on the other hand u can do alot with as u can keep it in a veg stage until u want it to flower. So if stressed u can veg it longer as to give repair time on the problems. Hope this makes sense on some say yes some say no. U can transplant autos but best not to ao u dont cause harm. Good luck congrats on the new setup

3 Likes

Hereā€™s a list of what I got going on:

  • Northern Lights Auto from ILGM
  • Fox Farms Ocean Forest mixed 6:1 with perlite.
  • 5 gal fabric pot
  • PH of Water going in 6.3-6.5
  • PPM 290 tap city water aired for 24 hrs minimum. After PHā€™ing down from 7.3
  • Indoor 2x2x55" Mars Hydro tent
  • Ts600 Mars Hydro LED
  • Temps; Day 76 Night 70
  • Humidity; Day 84 Night 50
  • Ventilation system; 4" inline fan and matched carbon filter 230cfm varible speed. 6" 2speed clip fan.
  • AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier, Not Yet
  • Co2; No
4 Likes

@Mark0427 Good advice. I messed around with photos over 25yrs ago so I understand that photos can be manipulated to go back and forth from veg to flowers and repair themselves in between. This is however my first serious grow ever and decided to try these autos. Done a lot of reading and seems the general consensus for beginners is get a tap root and directly into final pot with these autos. Thatā€™s what I did with the first seed. Hopefully she emerges and likes her home. Iā€™ll be waiting (patiently):joy: and post a pic as soon as she does.
Thanks Feel free to chime in anytime. Can always use good advicešŸ‘
.

7 Likes

@Nicky @Not2SureYet they do autos. They can lead u on the right path. They were my teachers for autos when i started. Dont be afraid to do work with autos lst and defols just catch them at the right times basically like photos

5 Likes

Thanks for the tag @Mark0427

@OldGypsy thanks for posting your info, if you can increase your Temps a bit to 79 that would be ideal for rapid growth.

Soil takes more energy to grow in than hydro or soil less mediums but you can still do some training as mark mentioned.
I generally recommend to FIM a healthy plant at the 4th or 5th node. Itā€™s a medium-high stress method which will give you 4 tops and a more even canopy then the original one.

Try to avoid watering with any run off if your not using nutrients. Your auto shiuld be fine for the first 4 weeks at the 5th week I would water enough to pour nutrients out the bottom, when doing run off we like a 20% run off. Run a tds check on this run off and you can tell where your nutrient levels are at within the soil.

Have you picked up a nutrient line yet?
You will probably only need bloom/flower nutrients by the way, and cal mag.

Also feel free to tag me with @ Nicky.
Iā€™m around and can answer any questions you have, if I canā€™t Iā€™ll be stoked because Iā€™ll be learning something! Lol

6 Likes

Thanks @Nicky
Outside temperatures were freezing last couple nights and my tent is in my drafty basement. I donā€™t think Iā€™m going to have a problem getting up to 80degrees in another few days when warm weather comes back to stay.
I did a ppm runoff test with a large cup full of the soil it came out at 1650 ppm water going in was 290ppm tap water. Is that crazy high not having added anything to the soil except perlite?

1 Like

Hereā€™s the meter in the runoff. Soil was in a large mcā€™ds cup full. I poked a couple holes in the bottom and poured water in this is what came out.

2 Likes

Itā€™s still good. Pick a nutrient yet?

1 Like


As far as nutes go; Rather than type all of these names heres a pic. I donā€™t have a clue how to or when to use them. I know how to use the PH up and down thatā€™s about it. These were given to me for free from a friend of a friend and if anything here will work with ffof soil I would like to use them to keep this 1st grow in my budget.

2 Likes