Caer's Bag-Lady Brigade '09!

[caerulipes]

High all!
This is my second grow overall, but my first "real" grow (thanks to the wealth of info here at GP - thanks all!). I'll have pictures up within the next couple days, as soon as I find my camera USB cable. I'm using bagseed again (which I have a wealth of...I keep finding little baggies full of seeds as I clean my room...).

Mon 6/1:
~20 beans placed in wet paper towels; glass plate and bowl used as a humidity dome, placed on my computer for heat.

Weds 6/3:
13 germinated plus 2 ungermed seeds moved from towels to peat pots filled with organic seed starter mix; 10 more fresh beans planted in additional seed started peat pots. All of these went into a seedling tray/dome, again atop the computer.

Fri-Sat 6/5-6:
14 of the 15 paper toweled seedlings have popped up! 1 unsprouted; plus the 10 new ones. Moved tray to seedling/clone cab under 2, 17w T8 tubes. CFLs to be added as seedlings establish.

Temps stay between 70-76 thus far, humidity at around 50%.
I'll likely be using CFLs for vegging (unless my cash flow increases significantly and I decide I can afford T5s...), and plan to purchase a digital HPS (or HPS/MH) ballast/fixture within the next month or two so I can get the most out of flowering. I'm still up in the air between a 250w or 400w fixture. The cost of each is about the same; I only have reservations about a) heat and b) power usage.
Thinking out loud (or, in type?) here:
a) I'll almost certainly invest in a cooltube or air-cooled hood reflector when I buy the light. Is there any real difference in effectiveness or ease of use and cooling between the two?
b) The 150w power difference really isn't all that much. I'm tempted to say "Screw it, I'll worry about it when the bill arrives." I can try to compensate for as much of the 250w or 400w increase over my current consumption as much as possible, but I worry. Silly, I know.

Enough banter for now; thanks for reading, and happy growing!

[Zigzagman]

Congratulations on the new grow caer. Sounds like you're going to have a big family this summer. Are some of these going outdoors? Good luck with it. Peace.

[ileso]

hey there cool grow. this should be a wonder.
the cooltubes work
the bill i payed over the usual with my 400W was way within what i would spend in pot.
id go for the bigger fixture judging by the number of plants. or even go for a 600W if you have the space for it. you probably do judging by the number of plants.

happy growing, any pics for the pic hogs?

[caerulipes]

Disaster, tragedy, a thousand misfortunes!

I went out-of-town for a couple (2) days this weekend. I arrived home Monday night, eager to check on the weedlings. Sometime while I was gone, my ventilation fan crapped out. I had 14 cooked seedlings, and 11 dry, unsprouted pots waiting for me. Damn.
I soaked 'em promptly, and have two somehow-still-healthy survivors, possibly one or two more, but I'm SOL with the rest of 'em.

But when life gives you lemons...throw 'em back until it hands you some sugar, too! I'll march on with the survivors; I replanted ~10 seeds last night, and put ~20 more (these were old; we'll see how it goes...) in damp paper towels. Again.

@ Zigzagman: Yes, I was planning on at least a few outdoors. We'll play it by ear after this setback...

@ ileso: That's what I was hoping to hear about the elec. bill. Thanks! Also, pictures! Cab, sprouts, death, and my two lucky survivors:

[Zigzagman]

Ouch...

[caerulipes]

Yes, but on the bright side, it was a learning experience. They probably would have been a-ok by a windowsill... The beans are nothing fancy, and I have a lot of 'em, thanks to the help of a few friends holding onto their bagseed for me.

A quick update: 2 of the roasted sprouts are looking strong, 2 more perking up; also, 1 new one popped up from the ungerminated potted seeds, surprisingly.

Blast this dial-up internet. I will get pictures up soon.

[ileso]

like i always say, its almost impossible to kill em sometimes...

[caerulipes]

...and finally, pictures!

This is my old (built-last-summer) cab that I never really used... Finally found a task to put it to!
Lights are 2, 26w 6500k CFLs; temps in the low- to mid-70s, humidity around 60%.
The seedling in the close up is a survivor from the cooked seedlings.

Also, should the lights be closer? They're about 12" away right now.

[Zigzagman]

Looking good caer. Your bulbs could be a bit closer... Keep on trucking on...

[greenqueen8]

i always love hearing how other people work. it saves having to repeat creating the wheel

[caerulipes]

Update, pictures, and some questions!
The few sprouts that survived the cooking took a turn for the worse; 2 are still alive, but stunted and/or falling over. But! There are many more now! The shot of the whole seed tray is of the sprouts at 3-5 days; the 2 leftmost columns of 5 square pots are at 3 days, the rest (round pots) are at 5.
In the closer-up shots, the seedlings in the round pots are at 1 week, square pots at 5 days.
Also, a shot of the cab. Two 26w 6500k, and one 13w 3500k CFLs, 80mm computer fan for ventilation. I leave the door cracked to keep temps down during the day; day/night temp. range is about 69 – 78F. Is this delta too large, and should I try to stay a couple degrees south of 78?

Also, as you may notice, a few of the seedlings are stretched, and some are bending and twisting a bit. Should I worry? I realize this may be due to an initial lack of adequate lighting, which I have since fixed. But when should I add more light to the equation? ( They’re 5-7 days old today).

To wrap it up, the ideal time to repot is when the roots begin to show in the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot, correct?


When the time comes (i.e., when my two 88cfm 120mm case fans - $10, shipped - arrive), these will be moved to my 35gal Rubbermaid setup under eight 26w CFLs, six 6500k and two 3500k.


Thanks for checking this out!

[caerulipes]

Today's pictures:

Here we go! They seem to have developed even more since yesterday. I'm seeing root tips barely poking through the bottoms of a few of the pots. (Same question as yesterday: time to repot?)

[jangel]

Most likely it is the tap root only. I would wait until they are much bigger sweetie....and if they are wet, you can upend them and take a look at the roots. carefully. and then just slip them back into the pot. They have quite a way to go before repotting...Hope that helps you.

Peace

[land of the free]

At least you have some survivors and they look healthy.

[caerulipes]

Originally Posted by jangel

Most likely it is the tap root only. I would wait until they are much bigger sweetie....and if they are wet, you can upend them and take a look at the roots. carefully. and then just slip them back into the pot. They have quite a way to go before repotting...Hope that helps you.

Peace

Thanks, jangel.
This is a good thing. I still need to buy pots (think I'm going with grow bags) and some of the things for Videoman's soil recipe. On that note, is ProMix a good bet for a nute-free potting soil?

[Hatch]

Look's Good, Best Of Luck, Wishes, & Karma With This Run...

Cheers`;`Hatch`;`

[I8ntLucky_UR]

Hi there Caer gr8t set up you got going. You have had some bumps along the way but you are a fighter and so are some of those plants.

They look really healthy so keep it going and you are well on your way. There are lots of nute free potting soils available almost everywhere. Just make sure to read the bag to make sure. I buy mine at WalMart it's a couple bucks a bag.

Best to you and your grow. Can't wait to see you do well.

[caerulipes]

Today's pictures:
30 total sprouts; 4 of the survivors from a couple weeks ago looking pretty rough, leaving 26 healthy (but varying in size and development) little weedlings!

Changed out my 13w bulb for a 26w, bringing my total up to two 26w 6500k and one 26w 3000k. Adequate for 10-day-old plants?

Also, take a look at the sprouts in the close-up -- their leave are drooping straight to the ground. Should I worry? The mix was fairly dry (but not crusty) when I noticed this last night. Gave a couple spritzes with the bottle, and watered this morning, and no change.

[I8ntLucky_UR]

Caer they are coming along. I wouldn't let them dry out too much in between watering. They need a bit more humidity at this stage. The peat pots will absorb some soil moisture as well.

Glad you were able to save a few of them. Good work.

[caerulipes]

Pictures at 2 weeks.

I noticed that most (and at one point, all) of the plants' leaves were curling down. Some developed yellowed leaf tips and cotyledons. Is it possible to nute burn with hard water? I previously watered with tap water, but have since switched to bottled. They're in organic seed starter; a mix of moss, perlite, and "wetting agent" (vermiculite?), so that can't be the culprit. The plants have shown some recovery since I switched waters, leading me to think that this was the cause...
They seem to be developing a bit slowly. At the end of the day today, a slight majority had developed their first pair of three-lobed leaves. I wonder if my temps are too high? Got up to 87 yesterday; usually stays between 70-82 F, 46-60% RH.

I'm terribly impatient; checking on them every couple hours. Is it better to water in one fell swoop whenever it is required, or to do periodic mistings as well? I feel like I'm barely able to keep up here!

Also, thanks to everyone for the support! I'm really glad to be able to share this with the community.