New Place- New Grow

[tastyness]

My last grow ended prematurely because I was leaving the country for 10 weeks. The girls really needed another few weeks of flowering, but the yield was pretty good for my first try. Even made some potent cannabutter since I had extra to spare.

Now settled in a new location and have just started 8 little babies.
2 Blueberry, 2 Kushies and 4 assorted indoor mix.
Where I live has no central heating and though I have them on the top of the fridge for germination- I'm worried it is too cold, especially at night.

Since supplies and options are limited - I'll be going back to a little bit of the old fashioned method (seedling mix to start them out)
Hoping to get some coir soon so that I can use the coir bucket method listed here as it worked AWESOME the last time I used it.
So far the two kushies are up and one of the mystery seeds.

I've moved them under some two small florescent bulbs (mixed) for 18 hrs while waiting for my tent to show up (end of May I hope)- I'll be reading up on the other thread for making the most of that system. First time I've ever had a "real" light as well.

I'll be using juice from my composting system as the main source of nutrients.

Any advice for keeping them from getting too leggy?
I'll post some pictures soon.
Wish me luck- my stash of seeds would be really challenging to replace so I need some girls to make clones from.

 

[SquidyPacheco]

I say if they are under floros keep the floros a few inches above the sprouts.. if thats what you mean by leggy... best of luck with your grow

Aloha :48:

 

[pcduck]

Any advice for keeping them from getting too leggy?

Get your light closer if using floro's you can just about touch the leaves with no problems. Also I prefer 24/7 lighting to help reduce stretching.

Good luck on your grow, grabbing my popcorn to sit and watch

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

My last grow ended prematurely because I was leaving the country for 10 weeks. The girls really needed another few weeks of flowering, but the yield was pretty good for my first try. Even made some potent cannabutter since I had extra to spare.

Now settled in a new location and have just started 8 little babies.
2 Blueberry, 2 Kushies and 4 assorted indoor mix.
Where I live has no central heating and though I have them on the top of the fridge for germination- I'm worried it is too cold, especially at night.

Since supplies and options are limited - I'll be going back to a little bit of the old fashioned method (seedling mix to start them out)
Hoping to get some coir soon so that I can use the coir bucket method listed here as it worked AWESOME the last time I used it.
So far the two kushies are up and one of the mystery seeds.

I've moved them under some two small florescent bulbs (mixed) for 18 hrs while waiting for my tent to show up (end of May I hope)- I'll be reading up on the other thread for making the most of that system. First time I've ever had a "real" light as well.

I'll be using juice from my composting system as the main source of nutrients.

Any advice for keeping them from getting too leggy?
I'll post some pictures soon.
Wish me luck- my stash of seeds would be really challenging to replace so I need some girls to make clones from.

What are your plans until the end of May? That is a long ways off and your plants are going to need way more light than 2 small fluoros to take them through veg. The 2 small fluoros are probably only going to be adequate for a week or two. After that you are going to want (need) adequate light--3000 lumens per sq ft--to prevent stretch. If you do not get good lighting, they will stretch. There are really no other options.

I'm also with pcduck on the 24/7 veg. And I don't think I would be using mixed spectrum. You might also want to try some supercropping, fimming, or other training method.

 

[ishnish]

:yeahthat:
Are yo using flouro tubes or compact?

 

[tastyness]

I too prefer 24/7 lighting but it just isn't possible here. The cost of electricity is ridiculous (4X more expensive than Canada) and no such thing as cheap shop lights from Home Depot. Ahhh the days. The little flouros I bought were 119.00 and are only about 2 feet long tubes.
The three babies are snuggled up close for now.
the five others show no signs of life- I'm surprised as I usually get a good germination rate.
Would cold have effected them? Or maybe I just got a bad bunch of seeds. Problem is that getting more would be exceptionally tricky.
How long should I wait before I just give up on the ones that I already put in their little pots. Has been about 8 days.
I really will post pictures soon, not much to look at for the moment though.
I'll start searching online for used lights- maybe I can find something.
This has to work since there seems to be nothing available for purchase to tide us over in the meantime. Boy I miss the bounty we had at the Compassion Club.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

It is false economy to believe that 18/6 lighting is saving you money--you are simply spreading the vegging over a longer time period. In addition, the 18/6 light schedule will encourage stretch which means you end up with fewer bud sites.

Yes, cold will affect germination. You might want to very gently dig down into your medium and see if the babies that haven't poked their heads up are doing anything. I use a toothpick or chopstick to gently move the growing medium aside.

"This has to work since there seems to be nothing available for purchase to tide us over in the meantime" It isn't going to--you absolutely need more light. If you are not able to get it, I predict really unsatisfactory results--tall gangly plants with few bud sites. I don't know where you live, but if you have a Home Depot, I am guessing the US. Why not order what you need online? You can get a far better deal than a 2' fluoro of unknown size, spectrum, and lumens for $119. I order virtually all my growing supplies online.

 

[tastyness]

Hemp Goddess-
I agree totally with what you are saying. I was afraid to take a look down and see what was going on for fear of disturbing them but will check it out. At what point should I give up on them?
I'm in NZ which means- they don't even sell shop lights that I used to get at Home Depot. Because of the difference in voltages 110 vs. 240 I couldn't bring any of my old tubes with me. I would buy better lights if they were available. I'm still looking at sources.
Re: the cold- it is fall here and so temps are starting to drop. With no central heating there is no way to really keep house warm at night. I'm currently bringing ones I'm trying to germinate into the bedroom at night to keep warm- but I fear it may be too late.
I'm going to germinate some new seeds tomorrow, but am wondering what method I should use for best results. - the seller recommended in distilled water, but I've never tried that before. I know there are lots of ideas listed on other threads, but you are a goddess in this forum, so if you would point me to your preferred method I would really appreciate it.
I will take you advice and go with 24 hours starting immediately and cost be damned~ our current electricity bill is about 55.00 A WEEK and it isn't even winter yet!

 

[tastyness]

OK, so I know better, but somehow did it anyway.
The baby that is doing the best got too much water (and I was using a tablespoon to do it to make sure I didn't give too much) near the stem and is starting to lean.
How can I best remedy this problem?
The soil needs to be dried out near the base of the stem.
I'm thinking a little perlite near there and some sunshine?
Any ideas?
On the plus side they've grown some new lush leaves and are doing well in spite of my current limitations.
Thanks as always.

 

[tastyness]

OK big leaves are coming off. One pair I pulled. The next pair you can see in the pics.
Looks like they might not have liked the little bit of compost juice I gave them and the weather is getting cold. But it concerns me that the foliage is getting smaller and tighter instead of growing some healthy foliage to get started.

Good news is that Strong warm light should be here this week.
Still waiting to germinate the others, couldn't figure out a way to keep them warm, and the low results (3 out of 8) from the first try was disappointing.

Here is what they look like now.

They were near some plants (lettuce) that seem to have some buglies- but I see nothing on these girls.
Any ideas appreciated as always.

 

[tastyness]

OK - Started all over again from scratch. Think I'll declare this thread closed and start a new one. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[tastyness]

Good news : Replacement grow is coming along gangbusters