Knockout's First Ever Grow

[Knockout]

Small update.
The seeds show no progress after the initial small taproot showed. I moved them to wet paper towels last night, at the 48hour mark. I went to check them this morning, after ~12hours in the paper towels, and nothing has changed. Same length of taproot on all of them.
I am starting to worry that i have managed to killed them somehow. It has already been 60hours of germination and the taproots show no signs of growing. i moved the plates with the paper towels inside the grow box so i can give them some heat, because it seems to be the only thing they did not have in abundance while germinating.
What shall i do? Have i killed them?

 

[Bonsaiweed]

Small update.
The seeds show no progress after the initial small taproot showed. I moved them to wet paper towels last night, at the 48hour mark. I went to check them this morning, after ~12hours in the paper towels, and nothing has changed. Same length of taproot on all of them.
I am starting to worry that i have managed to killed them somehow. It has already been 60hours of germination and the taproots show no signs of growing. i moved the plates with the paper towels inside the grow box so i can give them some heat, because it seems to be the only thing they did not have in abundance while germinating.
What shall i do? Have i killed them?

I was afraid of that. Roots need air as well as water. Just leave them in a moist paper towel, in a dark warm place (70-80 Deg F) and see if they grow a taproot. They may just be stunned. If you have a cable box or a modem to put them on is good. Something to keep them warm, but not hot. NO LIGHT. Must be dark.

 

[Knockout]

bonsai you advise worked. I put them in paper towels and inside a warm place with no light and the taproots doubled over 6 hour period. I then went ahead and planted them into their final homes. i also lightly watered the soil around them.
As of now, i am waiting for seedlings to appear inside my closet to start counting days.
Thanks for the help bud

 

[Bonsaiweed]

bonsai you advise worked. I put them in paper towels and inside a warm place with no light and the taproots doubled over 6 hour period. I then went ahead and planted them into their final homes. i also lightly watered the soil around them.
As of now, i am waiting for seedlings to appear inside my closet to start counting days.
Thanks for the help bud

That's great!!!!. I'm glad they just wanted more love. Keep them warm, and if you have any other issues, let us know.

Once they sprout, keep the humidity up and keep them warm. You probably won't need to water for a good while (4-7 days).

 

[Knockout]

I have added glass humidity domes on top of the seeds this morning because i was worried the lights will evaporate all of the water while i was at work. Forgot to take pictures since i was in a rush, sorry.
Since they are glasses there are no holes on them. Do the seeds still need air at this point?
Also i added about 100ml of water on each pot around the seeds. I tried to read what is the optimal "watering" at this stage of growing but i found many conflicting answers all over the internet. Humidity was at 40% out of the domes with light on.

 

[Bilbobudkin420]

Katins has a really great point I know I wanna show all my friends my bad ass stinky nugs lol. But I don't not that I don't trust my friends but who do they tell and so on the line of trust stops for me so to me the only people that know is my wife and 420 family

To be fair I feel like that to but thats another reason this place is so amazing. 420 magazine fills that space where you are proud of what you are doing and want to share it with the world (without running the risk of getting busted or robbed)

 

[Bonsaiweed]

I have added glass humidity domes on top of the seeds this morning because i was worried the lights will evaporate all of the water while i was at work. Forgot to take pictures since i was in a rush, sorry.
Since they are glasses there are no holes on them. Do the seeds still need air at this point?
Also i added about 100ml of water on each pot around the seeds. I tried to read what is the optimal "watering" at this stage of growing but i found many conflicting answers all over the internet. Humidity was at 40% out of the domes with light on.

You don't need to water until the soil is dry again. The roots will grow as the soil dries out. the best way is to lift the cup/pot. When you think they are dry, give it a day. If the plant wilts water it. When they are lighter than you think they could ever be, then water. Take the "domes" off for 30 minutes to a couple of hours a day and let the plant breath.

It will be a while until they need more water. With a dome on, the moisture is mostly retained. It's hard, but trust, they will tell you if they need water. Just pick them up every day, and you will see. It will be like there is nothing in the cup when they are dry.

This is a great plant to talk "grow" or "weed". Much safer than the alternative.

 

[Smeegol]

Evening, evening....... hope ya don't mind if I follow along, saw you over a @Katins place and figured I'd come say hi and see what I can learn bud..... gonna catch up a bit so see ya later....

 

[Knockout]

Bonsai thanks for your input once again! I feel like i have a guardian angel over my head for my 1st grow

Smeegol thanks for subbing, good to have you here.

And now the update. First of all i would like to say sorry for not updating this journal earlier but there wasn't much to report. No seedling was showing above ground before yesterday and frankly i was starting to worry. But yesterday afternoon when i went to check on the girls look what i found:

Needless to say, i almost shat my self from happiness!!! I finally have girls above ground! This is Melissa you are seeing here! Oh, yeah, i did the most cheesy thing in the world when i named them:
Left - Lyanna
Mid - Melissa
Right - Rebecca


Right now only Lyanna and Melissa are showing above ground. Also, is that upwards curling i am seeing on Melissa's 1st real set of leaves? Should i move her away from the light?
I may have to water them again tonight. Water seems to evaporate really quickly from the relative high temps when the lights are on.

 

[Bonsaiweed]

Bonsai thanks for your input once again! I feel like i have a guardian angel over my head for my 1st grow

Smeegol thanks for subbing, good to have you here.

And now the update. First of all i would like to say sorry for not updating this journal earlier but there wasn't much to report. No seedling was showing above ground before yesterday and frankly i was starting to worry. But yesterday afternoon when i went to check on the girls look what i found:

Needless to say, i almost shat my self from happiness!!! I finally have girls above ground! This is Melissa you are seeing here! Oh, yeah, i did the most cheesy thing in the world when i named them:
Left - Lyanna
Mid - Melissa
Right - Rebecca


Right now only Lyanna and Melissa are showing above ground. Also, is that upwards curling i am seeing on Melissa's 1st real set of leaves? Should i move her away from the light?
I may have to water them again tonight. Water seems to evaporate really quickly from the relative high temps when the lights are on.

Get the seed casing off if they are impeding growth. The last picture is fine on the seed casing issue.

Keep their humidity high 70-80% or put bottles over them to prevent the leaves from drying out. The leaves are acting much like roots until the roots can grow out. Take the bottles off for 30 minutes to a couple of hours each day to help the sprout harden to the drier conditions outside the bottle.

With CFL's you probably will not have a light stress issue, but may have a heat issue, depending on how hot it is in the box. Temps should run 70-84 deg F.

You are doing fine.

Don't water too often. I had/have the tendency to do that. Remember there is pearlite in the soil, and it will retain water long after the actual dirt dries out. You want the soil dry to cause the roots to seek water. This makes the roots grow long and feathery. This is very hard, for we think soil stays wetter than it actually does.

The only time soil is dangerously dry, is if they wilt. I found if I picked up the pot, I could tell when water/feed was needed. It takes practice, but you will get it.

And congratulations, I know I really ran around I was so happy.

 

[Smeegol]

You don't need to water until the soil is dry again. The roots will grow as the soil dries out. the best way is to lift the cup/pot. When you think they are dry, give it a day. If the plant wilts water it. When they are lighter than you think they could ever be, then water. Take the "domes" off for 30 minutes to a couple of hours a day and let the plant breath.

It will be a while until they need more water. With a dome on, the moisture is mostly retained. It's hard, but trust, they will tell you if they need water. Just pick them up every day, and you will see. It will be like there is nothing in the cup when they are dry.

This is a great plant to talk "grow" or "weed". Much safer than the alternative.

Evening KO, don't water them, they don't need it honestly as @Bonsaiweed says "4-7 days" before she might need feeding... Rather just a fine misting spray on them....

in regards to your curling 1st set leaves, you haven't raised the plants up have you...? I think it might just be part of the natural unfurling of leaves..... hope it helps you....

 

[Bonsaiweed]

in regards to your curling 1st set leaves, you haven't raised the plants up have you...? I think it might just be part of the natural unfurling of leaves..... hope it helps you....

^^^^^^ this

The cotyledon leaves (first set) will always curl. They will turn yellow and fall off at some point. They are disposable leaves to get the sprout growing. I missed that question.....good catch @Smeegol

 

[Knockout]

Smeegol, yes i have raied Melissa up. She is much closer to the light than the other two. That is why i am worried it might be heat stress. I will reassess the situation tomorrow morning and maybe i will lower her down again. I will post pictures again tomorrow!

As always, thank you both for your input.

 

[Smeegol]

Morning KO, thanks for replying.......with CFLs if you hold your hand above your plant and the top of your hand gets too warm from the CFL then your girl i also getting too warm. Hope that helps bud. So any news yet on the other 2...???

 

[Knockout]

I did the hand test and it is definitely ok. I will not be moving any girl up or down for the time being.
So here are some shots of the girls.

Lyanna

Melissa

Both these girls seems to be doing ok. Although i was worried about Mellisa because i accidentaly super-cropped her
I had the glass dome fall on her, which completely leveled her. So i added some support to her for the night. She seems to take it like a champ. She can now stand on her own again! She has a slightly bend stem though, as you can see from the photos.

Rebecca is still nowhere to be found. I will go digging her up later. Can't do it right now because i have company in the house. I will also try to snap better pictures of all the girls.

 

[Smeegol]

You are looking golden so far bud, they are tough little girls, she will bounce back very quickly.......

 

[Bonsaiweed]

You are looking golden so far bud, they are tough little girls, she will bounce back very quickly.......

I agree with @Smeegol . She is fine and will probably straighten that stem over time. You are good!!

 

[Knockout]

Gm everybody.
Today is day 3 above ground. And here are the girls:

Lyanna

Melissa

So both the girls are doing fine and they are both showing new growth that is going to turn into the 2nd real set of leaves.
Melissa still has her curvy shape but i hope you all like curvy girls because i certainly do like her. Actually i am more worried about Lyanna whose leaves seem to be droopy. Although i am not worrying a lot yet, i picked her up closer to the light to be next to her sister and i hope this will fix droopiness.

Other than that i went digging for Rebecca and i could not even find the seed. I am guessing she has not sprouted at all otherwise it would have been easy for me to find her. She is already presumed dead but i will call it out Wednesday. Now i am thinking whether i should replace her with another to have the original line-up of 3 girls intended or just leave it at that since my space is small anyway. Thoughts?

 

[GreenGod4You]

If they seem droopy lay off the water for a day or so.. I usually like to get the soil fairly dry prior to watering. Some people weigh the pots right before the 1st watering when it's dry to know what it should feel like when it's time for the next watering.

Looks good mate!

 

[Knockout]

That is exactly what i did GreenGod.
I have only watered once since i planted them and i measured the pot weights so i can have a reference of when they are completely dry.
I am not sure i can do much more than moving Lyanna closer to the light at this point, since i am not actively watering them at this stage, i can not exactly withhold water from her.
I do not think she has a major issue but i will keep watching her closely to see how she does.