Newbie DWC GSC Auto Grow: Please Help Me Get It Right

[sid]

Hello!

I have another thread in the DWC subforums, its mostly me trying to save a messed up grow! Seems to be on track.
I have struggled to get the plants to start out healthy, losing quite a few in the seedling stage, and hopefully with all your guidance, Ill look forward to changing that now.

My plan for the next grow.

Strain : Blimburn GSC auto
Nutes : Jungle juice 3 part Advanced nutrients (I have not used these nutes. Recommended dose is in 11 ratio)
Bacteria : The Nutrient company Bactorr 13
Fugi : The Nutrient company Mycorr hydro mycorrhizal
Bucket : 10L (holds between 4.5-5.5L water solution) + 2" netpot + hydroton + 2 x airstones
Water : Tap water. Typical background EC of 0.24 and a pH of 7.3
pH down + Calmag. Local company.
Environment : 15-25c, and should remain stable through March. RH @ 45-60%

Germination : Soak overnight, then paper towel. Wait for tap root to be bout 1/4" long, then straight into the netpot, with some of the paper towel/cotton swab for support. I don't have any other propagation medium, such as rockwool etc. All in plain tap water.
Question : Do I use the Mycorr or not ? If you recommend I do, then I add a pinch to the paper towel also ? I read that to establish a mycorrhizal colony, the roots need to be exposed to the fungi right from the start ?

Nutrient mix, this is where I really struggle. Should I start with just plain water, pH balanced to 5.8, when I move the seed to the bucket, or do I add a very mild nute mix, say bring the EC up to 0.5 ? I always end up with my seedlings turning a very pale yellow, and then pretty much stop growing.

I have not soaked the seed yet, Ill wait for you fine folks to advise on any shortcomings.
The grow will be indoors, in a cabinet 22x44x44 inches. Home made LED 3000k 120watt light rig. Image attached, plant in image is the other grow im trying to salvage.

Thank you all!
Cheers!

 

[KingJoe83]

7.6 is your issue bro.

Bring that ppm down seedling stage specially to 5.5 ishh area. Then bring up slowly but hydro is not soil so ph is lowered .

What are your res temps at ?

They don't need much food at seedling stage either .23 seems to be around what 500 ppm or so ? Seem bit high I lower ppm to be about 300 ish at seedling .

Good luck with your dwc .

That will be my next step one day. I am in coco.

 

[KingJoe83]

Hello!

I have another thread in the DWC subforums, its mostly me trying to save a messed up grow! Seems to be on track.
I have struggled to get the plants to start out healthy, losing quite a few in the seedling stage, and hopefully with all your guidance, Ill look forward to changing that now.

My plan for the next grow.

Strain : Blimburn GSC auto
Nutes : Jungle juice 3 part Advanced nutrients (I have not used these nutes. Recommended dose is in 11 ratio)
Bacteria : The Nutrient company Bactorr 13
Fugi : The Nutrient company Mycorr hydro mycorrhizal
Bucket : 10L (holds between 4.5-5.5L water solution) + 2" netpot + hydroton + 2 x airstones
Water : Tap water. Typical background EC of 0.24 and a pH of 7.3
pH down + Calmag. Local company.
Environment : 15-25c, and should remain stable through March. RH @ 45-60%

Germination : Soak overnight, then paper towel. Wait for tap root to be bout 1/4" long, then straight into the netpot, with some of the paper towel/cotton swab for support. I don't have any other propagation medium, such as rockwool etc. All in plain tap water.
Question : Do I use the Mycorr or not ? If you recommend I do, then I add a pinch to the paper towel also ? I read that to establish a mycorrhizal colony, the roots need to be exposed to the fungi right from the start ?

Nutrient mix, this is where I really struggle. Should I start with just plain water, pH balanced to 5.8, when I move the seed to the bucket, or do I add a very mild nute mix, say bring the EC up to 0.5 ? I always end up with my seedlings turning a very pale yellow, and then pretty much stop growing.

I have not soaked the seed yet, Ill wait for you fine folks to advise on any shortcomings.
The grow will be indoors, in a cabinet 22x44x44 inches. Home made LED 3000k 120watt light rig. Image attached, plant in image is the other grow im trying to salvage.

Thank you all!
Cheers!

Also if start at quarter dose around. Week one and bit lower then that for seeds . My two cents curious to hear what other dwc say ..

 

[sid]

Hey King!
Thanks!
Im left a bit confused ? 7.6 what ?
0.3 EC from what im reading is anywhere between 150-210ppm
I can use RO water, which whats available to me has an EC of .15 and a pH of 6.6. In which case I would need to add CalMag ?

 

[sid]

Damn this forum mooves fast! I was pushed to page 3 within hours!!!

Quick question, and an excuse for a bump!

As a propagation medium, after the paper towel, is it advisable If i sow the seed in coco, giving plain pH water till the roots develop a bit, say a week or so, before moving it to the hydroton in the DWC, or should I place the seed directly in the hydroton net pot ?

thanks again!

 

[sid]

Hey all!

So I have a small container with water pH'd to 5.8 bubbling, EC after adding pH down is 0.37.
This will sit to confirm water pH is stable and till the tap root in the seed emerges.

The GSC seed is in water, ill soak it for bout 4-5hrs and then it goes into a paper towel, all using plain tap water @ 5.8 pH
Do I want to wash and soak the clay pebbles also in 5.8 pH water, or is that not really required ?

I am undecided whether or not to use the Mycorr, and any guidance would be appreciated! Ill skip it if I don't get a positive here.

Cheers!

 

[sid]

Hello!

So the seed is now in a paper towel.

I am still figuring out what medium to use for the 1st week or so. I am thinking either plain coco in a starter cup, till I have the first set of true leaves before moving it to the DWC bucket. This would include me having to handle and wash the root to remove the coco before the transplant. My alternative is to sow directly in the net pot in the bucket with the clay pebbles. Here I am afraid I may give the seed what i am reading as 'wet feet'

For water, plain tap water with a pH of 5.8 is OK, EC is bout 0.245 ? Or should I consider RO water, with an EC of bout 0.13
I can also source distilled water from the chemist, if that is a benefit.

Thanks!

 

[sid]

Hey all!

The seed has popped in the paper towel and has a tap root!
Ill be potting it tomorrow, so if someone could be so kind to advise on the post above I would be extremely grateful!

Cheers!

 

[sid]

Hello!

Quick update.
The seed went straight into the netpot with hydroton, precariously placed.
It up today, but with a helmet! So tweezers and needle to gently take that off, came off without much trouble, the ineers seem crinkly and dry. Hopefully will be ok. Before and after pics attached.



The roots are growing fast! And have already out from the bottom.

So far its been in plain RO water with a background EC of 156 and pH of 6.4, after adding pH down to bring the EC to 214 and pH to 5.8

However, almost 48hrs later now, the EC has climbed to 300 and the pH to 7.4
I can only attribute this to the hydroton, which I did wash, boil and then soak in pH water for 6-8 hrs, but not enough i suppose. It also does not help, now i realize, that the started the seed in a real small container, waiting for it to have a first set of leaves before moving it to the main 10L bucket. heho.. let us see.

Cheers!

 

[Lewydeville]

Hi Sid welcome to 420 mate. I’m a dwc grower and I’m sure I can help if you’ve any questions. I’ve actually just started to soak a batch of seeds for my next run so our grows will be at the same stage which should be handy. First up it’s worth grabbing some seed cubes that are hydro compatible. This will give the seed something to anchor itself to in the net pot making sure it doesn’t slip out of place. I know a lot of people use rockwool cubes but I would avoid using them. Notorious for drowning seedlings. I use rockwool at work and know how much water it’s capable of soaking up and holding so I use something with better draining qualities like root riot cubes or rapid rooters. I don’t worry about ph or any nutes until the first set of true leaves are showing. Good luck and again any questions just ask buddy.

 

[sid]

Finally!! haha!
Thank you so much Lewy! I was really hoping to get some help here!

For now, the seed was placed directly in the netpot, and seems to have anchored and sprouted. So will run with it.
If you would be soo soo soo kind to help me through this grow, I promise to be a great pupil!

Im in south asia, and very very limited to what's available. But I can usually get my hands on raw materials or close substitutes.

So now this is how it looks, the bean popped outta the net pot today. It had the shell case intact, and i removed it using a tweezer and a needle, pics in previous post. The embryonic leaves seem stuck together, and I have put a dome on top to help with the humidity and hopefully they will separate themselves. Ill give it a day I suppose ?




My first post in this thread lists all equipment and feeds I intend to use for this grow, but am more than happy to follow your instructions. In the meantime, ill subscribe to your thread and hang out in a quiet corner.


Cheers mate!
Huge gratitude.

 

[Lewydeville]

For now, the seed was placed directly in the netpot, and seems to have anchored and sprouted. So will run with it.

That’s great. It won’t make any difference once the plant is established it just makes life a little easier at the start.

 

[sid]

That’s great. It won’t make any difference once the plant is established it just makes life a little easier at the start.

Yup! That's what I hoped for. I experimented using cotton with some lettuce I am also trying my hand at, and it tends to attract I think algae. So this is ok for now.

And I ok with the current state? Or do I need to do something?

The netpot is currently in a small 500ml container, I was thinking of moving it to the bucket after I get a set of true leaves.

 

[Lewydeville]

Yup! That's what I hoped for. I experimented using cotton with some lettuce I am also trying my hand at, and it tends to attract I think algae. So this is ok for now.

And I ok with the current state? Or do I need to do something?

The netpot is currently in a small 500ml container, I was thinking of moving it to the bucket after I get a set of true leaves.

I’d let the plant settle for a couple of days then think about moving to the bucket and introducing some food. Good start so far.

 

[sid]

Ok. There was a small skin from the inside of the seed casing ? holding the embryonic leaves together. Gently removed it without any resistance using tweezers (bless my wife), and looks good! The starter container pic also attached. Im keeping the dome over it for tonight atleast. Hope thats ok.

 

[Lewydeville]

Ok. There was a small skin from the inside of the seed casing ? holding the embryonic leaves together. Gently removed it without any resistance using tweezers (bless my wife), and looks good! The starter container pic also attached. Im keeping the dome over it for tonight atleast. Hope thats ok.

All looks good.

 

[sid]

Hello!

From today. Day 2 we will call it.

The water pH and EC are both quite a bit up. pH @ 7.7 and EC @ 0.377 from a backgroun of 6.4 and 0.156
Should I replace the water with the same RO water i had used, and only added pH down to it ?

The root is making good work, and I have taken the dome off now. It almost in the shadow of the larger container, so no direct close light. Im running a 20/4 lights cycle.

 

[Lewydeville]

Hello!

From today. Day 2 we will call it.

The water pH and EC are both quite a bit up. pH @ 7.7 and EC @ 0.377 from a backgroun of 6.4 and 0.156
Should I replace the water with the same RO water i had used, and only added pH down to it ?

The root is making good work, and I have taken the dome off now. It almost in the shadow of the larger container, so no direct close light. Im running a 20/4 lights cycle.

Nice progress. I wouldn’t worry about EC this early on. The seedling will be happy with just plain water at 5.8 ph.

 

[sid]

Ok cool.
So I'll get home and swap the water out.

Current solution is also plain water which I did pH to 5.8, but it's increased both it's pH and EC over the past couple of days. I'm blaming the hydroton.

 

[sid]

Hello!
So I swapped the water out last night. But im not being able to mantain a steady pH in this small container.
Im wary of adding too much pH down, and even after readjusting it to 5.8 in 30 minutes interval twice, it still wants to climb towards 7. Currently sitting at 6.9. Seedling is looking fine though, and a second root is now growing from the bottom.

In all my previous attempts, the seedling would have gone yellow by now, and then it just stops growing and never seems to recover, thats me learning to not add nutrients from the go!

Im quite pleased with this so far..
When do I expect to move this to the larger container ? Cause I would this time like to have the nute solution bubble and sit for 24hrs prior to moving the seedling to it, or is that not required. a couple of hours of letting the water sit being enough ?



I thought I saw the plant stretching a bit, so raised it by placing the container on another.

Cheers!