Entry posted by bl0nd3
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Unfortunately i have lived up to my social stigma and have been a dumb blonde. I am sadly so out of touch i still haven’t made it past the seedling phase of 4 strains. The first two however - the ones which i soaked in the Plant Estrogen are doing great. Its the other four that i planted afterwards which im having issues with, and possibly due to the fact im a dumbass. As its my first ever grow of any plant, i liked watching the daily progress, and i suppose i got a little carried away with disturbing the seeds, as they got to a certain size and stayed that size for 4 days - the other two had sprouted within 2 days, so i figured all my messing about and attempts to look at them have harmed them, so i had a good look at them, touched the little bristled hairs on the roots, dissected them to see what was happening, and kind of got my freakish curiosity of the unknown out of the way. Hey im only human, iv never grown any kind of plant before except for in primary school, so i was mesmerised watching changes take place right infront of my eyes. Urge to watch is now gone.... i can continue
Second lot of seeds (the four strains yet to become seedlings) : i was reading how the perfect PH balance for rockwool can greatly increase the rate at which the seeds sprout and emerge... i read that lemon juice was a possible alternative to altering PH levels when you dont have any PH up/down
So with the second lot of rockwool i soaked them for 24 hours in a bath of water which i added Lemon juice until i got a PH reading of 5.
Onces my paper towelled seeds split, i didn’t wait for a taproot, i just put them straight into the rockwool.... well big mistake that was, i obviously used to much lemon juice and killed them - they turned a yellow brown the day after.
Third lot of seeds - Are in PLAIN water soaked Rockwool, have been lightly rolled on sandpaper to allow better water penetration, and have been put in a cupboard with some gladwrap.... I am resisting the urge to check on them yet, it has been nearly two days, but i dont want to urge to go sifting through the rockwool again to see it they are doing anything, so i will wait patiently and i WILL LEAVE THEM ALONE!!
Im hoping to put the two already growing seedlings outside, to kind of slow the growth, so I can get these other little poppets to the same stage in growth.
Since my last entry i now have 2 x different PH measuring tools, and PH test strips. I have also purchased PH up/down for when its needed.
Light: At this point (seeds none) seedlings are kept under a 68W CFL under a photographic "softbox" so pretty much a cube of foil at night time
during the day, they are put on the trampoline under the sun
Grow Medium: Rockwool cubes soaked in normal tap water. PH rockwool is 4cm x 4cm, so my plants look teeny for their age, but its a large rockwool cube
feed: Seedlings have been feed daily with 2ml of water using a medicine dropper. The rockwool is still very damp from the rain, so i wont be adding much until they really need it. The water iv been giving them contains an extremely diluted (2mls per litre) of yates seaweed booster. I wanted to use seasol as iv read good things about it, but as the purpose was the establish healthy looking roots, which is what yates seaweed booster claims to do, i figured...whats the harm in adding such small amounts. So far they seem to like it, the roots seem to have grown alot since.
What have i learnt?
*Plants wont grow if i keep disturbing them. Put them where they will live, and LEAVE them alone...
*PH shouldnt be altered with lemon juice.
*The 7.5 x 7.5cm rockwool cubes with the "deep" 3 x 3 centermeter hole would be better off being turned upsite down before use. The roots would of had alot more space to grow, as they could hang from the rockwool and be protected by the surrounding sides of the rockwool, keeping in moisture and allowing more oxygen. With my seeds that i have in the cupboard they are in folded wet paper towels but when the time comes to transfer them, i will be planting them in the upside down rockwool
*Anyone in Perth or WA, if your after cheap Hydro stuff such as nutrients etc, for a fraction of the cost offered in typical hydro shops Hydroponic solutions sells online - their online prices are cheaper than their in store prices, but postage isnt bad, and the service has been great. I havent had to say what i was growing, but they have given great advice an information regardless, and appear to be extremely helpful and willing to answer any questions which is a bonus... i assumed for these prices i would have to purchase of ebay from the other side of australia, so i was stoked to see a WA seller, selling at the same discounted prices. So if anyone on the forums is after a decent WA store, or online store http://www.hydroponicsolutions.com.au/
If your wondering why it looks dull iv blocked the light to take the photo, its actually really bright
Heres my original two, im assuming thats the roots at the bottom - im a little unsure whether they need a bigger pot yet or if they are happy for the time being - im about to look it up. I was a little concerned that one looked as though it was turning yellow in the middle, but im unsure if thats the normal colouring. I did read that purple roots are a bad sign.... IF that is true then these two wont live long as they have purplish red roots...but time will tell.
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