Terrapin On A Fence Post - Advice Welcome

[terrapin]

SOIL GROW

Strain - Unknown
# of Plants - 12
Grow Type - Soil
Grow Stage - Not emerged
Bucket Size -12 1 pt.
Lights - (2) 4' 40 Watt Florescent and (1) 18" Zoo Med Iguana light (wattage unknown )
Nutrients - just really good soil same as I use for my veg. garden
Medium - just really good soil same as I use for my veg. garden
PPM - N/A
PH - Unknown
RH - 30% to 50%
Room Temperature -78 to 82
Solution Temperature -? ? ?
Room Square Footage - 4' x 3'
Pests - None Known

Problem: Planted 4-15-14, lights on 24 x 7, running a Zoo Med mister I used to use for raising chameleons and
nothing breaking through as of yet. I don't know the age or strain of these seed so ... ?
Any thoughts greatly appreciated! And please don't make fun of my lighting, I know it sucks but I'm on an extremely tight budget (welfare waiting for SSD to come through)

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Hi terrapin! Just a couple of questions;
How deep did you plant the seeds?
Did you soak the seeds at all before planting them, or just put them in the soil?

It's not unusual to take more than a few days, depends on how deep they are and other factors.

We'll see what others say on it with the additional information.
Congrats on starting a journal too!
If you want to upload pictures, there is a link in the new members links area that I posted to you, that will show you how to do it.

 

[terrapin]

Actually I planted the seeds on 5-13.
Planted in soil, pointed end down. Did not soak.
After nothing popping, Monday I took them out of the soil, scratched the end of the seeds and soaked in warm water, covered, put in dark, warm place.
After 24 hours I checked and still nothing, put them back.
Will check again when I get home tonight.

As these were given to me, unknown strain/age, I am starting to think they are not viable seeds? Any other suggestions?

May 1, I will be ordering a few seeds either from Herbies or Nirvana ... any other suggestions? Probably will order Northern Lights as they are low growing plants and I have limited space in my apartment.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[Mike Wright]

Northern lights is a nice strain. I would soak overnight in a weak hydrogen peroxide solution. If they sink, they are ready.

 

[Kostek]

I had this problem for my first few grows and found a heat mat is the most reliable way to go. Since I have got one every seed has germ in 2 or 3 days and they are very cheap.

 

[Mike Wright]

That's true. I germ on our radiators and it never fails. A humidity cover too is a must until they sprout.

 

[terrapin]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I just got home and checked on them and still nothing happening? Should I just leave them for a few more days or take them out and soak them in a peroxide solution and then evaluate again? Oh well, I guess if it was easy, everyone would be doing it ... but wait, everyone is doing it aren't they?

 

[Mike Wright]

It sounds to me like those may be duds. I think maybe you just got some old seed. You need some seed starting medium which is really lightweight soil, you need to get it really soaked, keep it warm and covered.

 

[terrapin]

Ok, here's the deal ... it is now 4/25/14 I've had the seeds in paper towel in dark containers on my radiator since the 13th and out of the dozen seeds, it looks today like one might be popping? It looks like a small whitish protrusion is beginning to occur...hard to tell as I need new glasses! So I will check it again later and then if any noticeable change has occurred I will put it in the soil.

My 1st question, how long should I leave the other 11 seeds in paper towels before I give up on them?
My 2nd is when I put the one seeds into the soil, I believe that it should still be kept in the dark until it breaks ground. Is this correct?

Namaste

 

[Mike Wright]

If it has sprouted it is germinated so dark shouldn't matter now. I put it under lights in a plastic bag until the seedling is a couple of days old, small seedlings love really high humidity.

Based on the germinate rate (8%) it sounds like old seed stock.

 

[terrapin]

Yeh, I have no idea how old these seeds could be? My friend that gave them too me said he's had them for at least a year ... so? I'll keep them warm, damp and in the dark for maybe another week before I toss them. Thanks for the tip on the plastic bag.

 

[terrapin]

4-26-14 Saturday

Well last night I put 3 seeds back into soil ... yup 3 good seeds after 12 days! I think I may have 2 or 3 more popping today, haven't checked them yet. Anyway, I have them in 1 pt. pots and have covered them with zip-lock baggies to hopefully keep the humidity up a bit, temp is 78 - 82 F. I'm glad I took everyone's advice and waited a bit longer!
Now I'm hoping my closet will be big enough for them as I don't know what strain they may be? I have no other option than to grow indoors as I live in an apartment and can't grow them gorilla as I'm handicapped and can't navigate through the woods too well.
Anyway I'll keep ya all posted.
Thanks!

 

[terrapin]

Well, just dug up and old vented tank from the chameleon days and it's approx 15" x 15" x 22".
It has a vent strip about 3" up from bottom in the front and a screen top.
I have a Zoo Med light ... can't read specs.
About 3/4" pea gravel on bottom.
Also have a Zoo Med mister (but fan died this morning so I have to grab one asap.
Have 3 of the popped seeds in 1 pt containers with soil.
Presently Temp. 78 - 84 F Humidity 60 % - 80%
Since mister is out of commission for a few days I added about 1/2" of water to gravel. Will be able to control Humidity better with mister.

 

[terrapin]

Wow, almost a month since I've posted to my journal ... had knee surgery so just been resting up before back to the grind.
OK, out of the twelve seeds planted, I presently have only 2 that are growing. They look nice and healthy, but growing slower than I would like. I've made some changes to my closet set up. My mister bought the farm :-( but I picked up 2 nice 200 W CFL's that were mis-priced at WalMart ... got em for $5.49 each!!! So now my lighting is:

2 200 W CFL's 12" off of the top of my babies
1 2 bulb 48" florescent grow lights of unknown specs (can't read them)

Transplanted the girls (I hope) into they're forever homes they each have a nice big 5 gallon pot ... I figured the less transplanting the better. Space is at a premium, but they are the only ones I have growing so why not. I also picked up a nice little 12" fan to keep the air moving and to cool the heat from the lights.
I also just changed my lighting duration from 24 hrs / day back to 20 / 4 as I've read in several places they tend to grow more with some darkness?

At present the temp stays in the high 70's to mid 80's F and the humidity between 30% and 50% I wish I could get it more stable but still working on that one. They are both about 3 1/2" tall and just got a new set of leaves with 3 blades. I water them every day to 2 days depending on how the soil feels. I haven't fed any nutes as yet, thinking about starting after they get another set of leaves. For nutes all that I have is Bonnie Organic Herb and Vegetable food. I know there are many products that are better, but like I said, this is a super LOW BUDGET grow.
I will try to post a couple of pics later this evening.

Namaste

 

[terrapin]

Here a couple of pics of the babies ... I hope this works???

 

[terrapin]

 

[terrapin]

 

[terrapin]

 

[terrapin]

Well, here I am almost 2 months in ... the babies are doing well. growing a bit slowly but I reckon that's from the lights ... not the best you could ask for. I have 2 nice healthy plants now and they are both at about 8 inches but are kinda bushy, ton's of new growth on every node. Also I started LST'ing them and will continue with that. I'm toying with the idea of FIM'ing one of them, just can't decide which one?

I don't know if anyone else has tried this, but about a week ago I picked up some activated charcoal for aquariums and put about a tablespoon of it around the base of each plant and within 2 days their growth made noticeable progress. Now I don't know if this was just coincidence or if the charcoal actually helped? I read somewhere that it releases carbon dioxide into the soil ... yeh it also said at temps of over 85 F, but WTH I'll do it on my next imaginary grow as well. I also bought some Jobes Plant Stakes which are supposed to add good amounts of Nitrogen into the soil as well. Remember this is an extremely low-budget project so ...

I want to post a few pics but my internet connection is kind of weak so maybe in a bit ... soon as the connection improves.

Namaste

 

[David Bowman]

How did this grow turn out?

We would love to be updated with some pictures and info.

How about posting a 420 Strain Review?

If you need any help with posting photos, please read the photo gallery tutorial: Photo Gallery Guide: How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos

I am moving this to Abandoned Journals until we get updates.

Thanks and hope all is well in your world.

Love and respect from all of us here at 420 Magazine.