LL's Indoor Soil LED Grow Journal

[Nunyabiz]

Keep your LUX no more than 15k assuming that phone meter is correct.
20-24 hours of light.
Will give you a DLI (Daily Light Integral) of between 20-24 DLI.
Which is right at the max, for a seedling.
Temp about 79-80⁰ and humidity at 70% is about perfect VPD.
Then just make sure you keep the soil moist, not soaking wet and definitely not dry.

 

[LLsBestGo]

Not much progress on the seedlings. I think I overwatered them before..

Letting them dry out more before I give them anymore water

 

[Fenderbender]

Well I don't think it's that abnormal? they sprouted last week monday?
They are probably developing more below than above get that root system going.

 

[LLsBestGo]

Just about.. The taller one's sprouted may 2nd, and the shorter one's sprouted may 5th. 8 & 5 days of growth above soil. I think because how I've watered them they put on extra stretch & have been growing slower.
The stems on all the plants aren't green either which also leads me to think there's a problem.
Also checked the roots on one of them & they're not fuzzy white, instead more of a whiteish yellow. I think the overwatering caused damping off. It just hasn't progressed far yet.

 

[Fenderbender]

ooh yellow-ish doesn't sound good.
And damping off is no good, torch it sterilise it all!
But looks like leaves developing and they are not falling over.. a bit of 3% peroxide? watered and misted over them?

 

[LLsBestGo]

They seem in good health for the most part, just temporarily slowed.
I think they'll recover good as is, so long as I don't water them too soon. I can't take away the stretch they've already developed though. Concerns me since my tents smaller. Don't want to run out of room because of the finishing plant over stretching.
Going to select the more likely female plants, & weeding out the taller.
Also prepared a couple more pots & seeds to see if they turn out any differently if I water differently or perhaps correctly. Used the paper towel bowl method again to sprout 1 Lemon Sour Diesel x Frost Boss, & 3 Frost Boss seeds ( almost ready for the soil, 1/1 success rate ) & I'll be putting them in HP Promix without any nutrients until I increase the light intensity & they enter the veg stage most likely..

I'll keep this Frosty OG going for now..
However it shows a purple stem like most the others, perhaps a potential symptom of overwatering?
On the bright side it could also be a indication that this strain will turn purple when it's budding under the correct conditions which is nice.
The stretch isn't as bad on this one, but still has stretched more than I'd have preferred.

 

[LLsBestGo]

All done with the selection for now,
Left with these four Frosty OG's which are more likely female based on thier size in comparison to the other taller more likely males that were started at the same time.
Frosty OG​

​

 

[LLsBestGo]

Of the seeds I started, none of them seem to be doing any better than the Frosty OG did.
I'm still not quite understanding why the cotyledons are rising so much away from the soil before growth, or the purpling of the stem below the cotyledons.

Here's how the four Frosty OG's are looking now. They have a bit more stretch than I'd have preferred, but it'll have to work from the looks of how my 3rd seedling try is going.​

Sturdy so far, least growth, more stretch than last 2.​

This one isn't as sturdy, almost falling over​

Probably choosing this one, least stretch & best growth​

Pretty good, but more stretch than the 3rd​

Incase anyone's wondering
Growing in the background are some Chia sprouts,
& I also have some catnip off to the side.​

I might incorporate use of the Chia Seeds as a mulch if I can do so without causing problems.
If I can't use the sprouts as mulch I might try converting them into a growing medium or compost.

The Catnip's more there to hopefully keep my cat less interested in the other plants when I open the tent up.

Another week or 2 until the Frosty OG seedlings are ready to be up-potted I'm guessing. Once they're ready I'll clear up some more space for them & get a group photo.​

 

[LLsBestGo]

Damping off might have something to do with the purple stems.
I've kept the grow tent & soil temperature maintained so it can't be that.
The only other thing I'm reading online that can cause the purpling is nutrient deficiency.

The symptoms of damping off seem to fit the most.
From what I've read, seedlings suffering from damping off can appear choked off by the soil.​

 

[Fenderbender]

Ooh catnip as a distraction that's a good plan.

Just grow, the internet rarely helps, as the list of things that can cause purple stem is endless, transplant shock, any form of stress, light, ph, overwatering, humidity, temperature, deficiency, indeed some fungal or bacterial intruder, genetics, etc. aaaah

Is the new growth stem also turning or is it keeping green, kinda hard to tell.
and what's up with the leaves? is there sand on them? or are you you such a frost boss that you already have frost building up on your first pair of leaves?

 

[LLsBestGo]

The new growth is green & looking good for the most part. It's just under the cotyledons that're showing purple.
& They're just that frosty, probably seeing small trichomes.

microscope close ups​

Close up of a leaf, small trichomes

Stem close up​

Difficult getting a focused picture with microscope,
have to be zoomed in just right or it comes out as a blur.​

 

[LLsBestGo]

Cleaned up the grow space..
None of the other seedlings I started did any better than the Frosty OG & they were stretching like males, so it's looking like I'll be growing the Frosty OG after all. Not a problem though, fine with me.
Catnips in the front, Frosty OG's in the middle, 1 Frost boss left in the back left that's not doing that great, some blue fescue ornamental grass still waiting to sprout in the back right, & a spinach plant in the middle right.

I might be starting some tomatoes & sunflowers in the tent for outdoors while the plants are still small to use up some more of the light & space. If there's more plants in the tent on my next update, that's what they'll be.
Eventually it'll just be the Frosty OG & perhaps the catnip though.​

 

[MrSauga]

Looking good LL! Nice clean setup!

 

[LLsBestGo]

Going to try out the Hydrogen Peroxide & see how it works out.
I mixed it up at a ratio of 1 tablespoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide : per 1 cup of water for the plants. Hopefully that's not too strong though? I found the ratio online for early damping off, & it seemed workable..
Might give them some granular feed the watering after to replenish the microbes..
I've only given this one some of the Hydrogen Peroxide mix so far as it was ready for more water.​

& they're shedding their purple layer below the cotyledons​

 

[LLsBestGo]

 

[LLsBestGo]

I got a actual lux meter & compared it to my phone. Turns out that It's giving me nearly the same reading.
I have them each receiving 8k lux currently & they've grown as much as they have in this picture. They're on their 3rd, almost 4th node - not including the cotyledons.
Should I give them more light than that at this size or wait awhile longer before increasing?​

One difference on the plants that I treated first with the hydrogen peroxide I might be now noticing is the leaf veins seem slightly more pronounced. The first 2 treated we're the top right & bottom left. Just treated the top left today & the bottom right hasn't dried enough yet for it. So far it seems the plants haven't responded poorly to the hydrogen peroxide mix for root treatment.​

 

[MrSauga]

I got a actual lux meter & compared it to my phone. Turns out that It's giving me nearly the same reading.

What app were you using on the phone?

 

[LLsBestGo]

What app were you using on the phone?

Lux meter (light meter) by my mobile tools dev. From the google play store.
It was off by about 300 lux
& If it's of any help I use a Samsung galaxy S10. (Some phones might work better than others with the app.)

 

[LLsBestGo]

3 days later..

&
sleeping during lights off (perhaps some extra droop from being watered)​

2 different plant's and they turned out nearly identical.
Already looking potent..

Lux currently set at 10k at the plant tops. I'll decrease the light if I notice any problems.
temps have stayed above 70°F & below 80°F, Mostly around 75°F. Humidity running at about 45%.

Starting to think about transplanting/up-potting them.
Also thinking about just growing all 4 of them out to see if they all turned out female & so I can fill the tent faster to shorten the veg time before flowering.​

 

[Fenderbender]

I don't think plants ever respond badly to low strength hydrogen peroxide, unless you mix it with something that says don't mix it with it.
It's good to clear up roots if you water with it, and I'd mist it across the whole lot when the light goes out on the stems and soil to clear the area