Well here we are at last! Time to join in the fun!
I'm proud and humbled to be invited to participate in this massive
sponsored comparison. It's going to be a lot of fun, and collectively we'll basically be sifting (without the intention of propagating) this
@Weed Seeds Express strain. Speaking of, a big thanks to WSE for putting up the gear to make this happen! Not to mention the headache of sending (and resending) seeds to all 40 of us. A big thanks to
@420 for putting this thing on, helping to coordinate many different
sponsors with all us growers, and trying to keep things in order. It can't be an easy task.
Now, lets see what we are getting into in my tent. This time around we've got some new
sponsors to showcase. As I'm sure many of you have heard,
@Prescription Blend has teamed up with many a-grower, and I include myself, happily in that group. I think their products are very promising and I love the idea of microbe forward chelates. Creating balance is always the name of the game, (not just in growing) so I've got very high hopes/expectations with their products. As others have mentioned I'm slightly aprehensive about having to mix 6 different things every time I need nutrients, but I've seen Matthew say their nutes can be saved for up to 1 week (2 with aeration). I've got an AACT setup, so I very well might mix up 4 gallons to store and aerate before applying. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Another sponsor of ours that I'm very excited to bring to you all is our friends over at
@GreenSafe . They make some incredible all purpose products that can be used with any nutrient system and set up. Indoor or outdoor, the results they've seen with their client base so far has been astounding. They sent me their foliar spray, their nutrient amendment, and their all purpose cleaner. The foliar spray i'll use at lights off, it's supposed to help with opening and cleaning stomata for more efficient transpiration. Their nutrient amendment goes into the irrigation water and allows for more efficient uptake of water and nutrients by lowering the waters surface tension. The all purpose clean is just that, good for all surfaces, tools, and containers. The bottle says you can even clean trimming snips with it, so i'll be putting that to the test. I'm sure you all know how much of a chore that can be.
Last but absolutely not least, I'm proud to present to you all my 2'x3' tent being lit up by
@Atreum Lighting. I had a nice chat with Mike over at Atreum. He did some research into the panel I had been using in this space to try and bring me a similar experience but with a lot less power via the markets top efficiency lighting. We landed on the Hydra-1000, and I've got to say at first I was wary about how small it is, then I plugged it in. This thing is brighter than the other panel i was using before that draws 2x the wattage. I love the watt readout on the dimmer also, that's just a fun addition. I do have one gripe already though, the female side of the power cord has the rounded configuration for an outlet like you see on some laptops. It doesnt have the standard trapazoid with slots that you see on almost every other panel. I'll have to keep track of this lights particular power cord which is mildly annoying. I can't complain about the functionality though.
That's almost everything I'll need to get this grow going and to bring 'er on home! Just one final piece that I mentioned briefly before. The Girl Scout Cookies seeds from
@Weed Seeds Express. The specimens they sent me looked great, dark and striped. I took a nice macro shot of the ones I'm planning to germinate (3). I'll grow these plants probably in 3 gallon pots, and I'll be training them as low as I can. I may try and find some square pots which will allow me to go slightly bigger on root space. I've got time to figure that out though.
And that's pretty much it! I've scarified the seeds and plopped them into a cup of water. I'll prepare their solo cups and water in the first round of very light nutrients. I'm opting to do some nutrients in their initial soak to try and combat the slow start I've seen others have already. hopefully it'll be the boost they need to get going quickly.
Until tomorrow!