Mythbusters

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Of course, PH is for nute uptake! And I knew that too, I just didn't make the connection, d'uh... I won't worry about that 4.5, thank you
I have to nitpick, I'm curious now... bottled or distilled?

Just reg bottled water,
 
Just reg bottled water,

It's no better than tap water or so I thought. Am I wrong AGAIN?
Is your tap water hard or unsuitable? I'm wondering why the expense of bottled water.

(I am on a rant today and totally unoffended if folks tire and stop replying. No pressure. :)
 
Yes, there is a lot of differing opinions when it comes to growing cannabis. And some are okay and some aren't.

While 4.5 may be closer to 6.0 than 8.0, I am not sure why you believe that 6.0 is a pH to aim for? It is too low for soil grows and too high for hydro grows. Are you certain your distilled water is that low? Distilled should be close to neutral, which is 7.0. However for seedlings, the water will not need to be pH'd unless your water is way out of whack. IMO, a pH of 4.5 is too acidic for anything and I do question that pH reading from distilled water. How exactly are you measuring it? Some pH meters are not worth the space they take.

>>>>>>>I think I responded elsewhere THG but just in case... It's a nice metre, milwakee M820, 3 days old, I think I forgot to rinse the tip or measured the wrong sample. I re-checked today and it's 6 - 7ish... I do ramble on about the metre somewhere else too though, I'm kind perfectionist stoopid so I'm still frustrated with it but gotta be better than pool test strips I was using :)


I never ever use products like Thrive for seedlings. I have never found the need. IMO, it is a good idea to know what you are giving plants and why.

>>>>>>>> my seeds were all popping up and just standing there refusing to grow. I >was crying about it at the grow shop when I went in for mat and >presented them with another opportunity to sell me crap I didn't need.

Just someone saying they do it is not good enough. There needs to be a scientific reason that is plausible. I, like Rosebud grow organic when I grow soil. I sow directly into my medium, which is organic. And do not give the plants anything that is not also organic.

Different plants are going to be able to go different amounts of time before you feed. A good rule of thumb is to feed when the cotydons start yellowing. And then, you start at a low dose, like 1/4 strength and slowly work up. Do not use soil that has nutrients or those moisture crystals in it. I do not use ANY Miracle Grow or Scott products because I hate Monsanto so much. When you do start feeding, I recommend using something formulated for cannabis.

Growing cannabis is complicated and it does take a lot of time, money, skill, knowledge, and love. And, of course, to make it more complicated, there are a lot of differing opinions. Why not tell us what you have in the way of equipment, how your space is set up and about your grows in general...medium, nutrients, temps, humidity, etc, etc.

> you asked for it...

Two rooms, each about 8' x 6', 7' ceiling, about 700 sq ft
I have a passive intake from outside (closed these days, -20C out there) and a booster fan and door on a 5" heat vent from the furnace.
The two intakes are at one end by the floor where the humidifier sits. I aim for 60RH and maintain at least 19C in the rooms (winter season)
I use mats with temp probes in the medium turning them on and off to maintain 21C (I don't control them when germinating but they don't get much warmer anyways (19C in the room I guess)
The exhaust fan feeds the sewer line in my basement after a carbon filtre and it's at opposite end of rooms and at the ceiling with the can filtre. It's 400cfm and on for 2 minutes every 15 minutes OR I put it on low and just let it constantly run if company coming, (it's loud on high)
I had a 1k HPS in one room and a 600 MH in the other but switched to LEDS in both and yields were similar to the lamps (not saying much in my case) but I was just too uncomfortable with a streetlamp in my basement.
(I did notice much better node spacing with the LEDS though)

I was doing okay but now I'm trying coco/perlite 50'50 because the earth is a pain to discard. (I'm regretting the change but I still have bags of dirt in my garage to discard and I thought it was a good idear)

I can't make it work so far.
I'm doing what I did with soil. I seed in 4 inch pots on heat mats but no domes and keep seeds moist with distilled water sprayer say 3 times a day.
I germinate just fine and they all come up within 4 - 8 days
and here is where it goes in to the toilet.

I've tried
-my old 4 foot flourescent tubes an inch on top of the plants
-my T5 (with 3 tubes removed) an inch on top of the plants
-my LEDS 18 inches from the plant
It does not matter, they simply stop growing at about 1-2 inch height, 1st or 2nd set of leaves and they are puny. Yet they look fine, they just stop and flip me a digit, I could scream.

I do use POWER THRIVE B1 half dosage but I've just planted 5 more and won't use it and will wait for yellow cotythings :)
We chat elsewhere about this... I think you are right about coco but I hate to give up.

I was thinking of trying a peat/perlite mix next but I think it's waste of time. Next 5 will be in soil. I was using Miracle Grow potting mix throughout my last grows but I don't like Monsato either. If I go back to soil, I have no idea what to try so I will seek out a bag of any non-Monsato potting soil for the next 5 seeds.

I've had the odd male ruin my day, but never any mites or diseases or bugs or problems, other than so-so yields (oz each), I really thought it was shitty seeds but that doesn't make sense with 3 different sources!

I think you're right, it's gotta be the coco or the thrive.
I hope it's the THRIVE.
 
It's no better than tap water or so I thought. Am I wrong AGAIN?
Is your tap water hard or unsuitable? I'm wondering why the expense of bottled water.

(I am on a rant today and totally unoffended if folks tire and stop replying. No pressure. :)

If you dont get responses it could just be that people have lives and are busy, just my opinion, there is no expenses for bottled water $2 dollars for 24 bottles and it leaves me 23 bottles to drink. And yes i do this because i dont care for the quality of my tap water. You said your seeds pop but dont survive? Sorry to say but if thats the case it isnt the seeds fault.
 
If you dont get responses it could just be that people have lives and are busy

>>> I didn't post that sentence as a complaint. I have gotten fantastic response here and just didn't want to push my luck so I wrote that in case you or someone reading any of my posts would know I was quite alright with being ignored, god knows I was being a pest.

, just my opinion, there is no expenses for bottled water $2 dollars for 24 bottles and it leaves me 23 bottles to drink. And yes i do this because i dont care for the quality of my tap water.

>>> I thought it was like a buck a bottle, I'll have to shop around, thanks for the tip.

You said your seeds pop but dont survive? Sorry to say but if thats the case it isnt the seeds fault.

no argument here
 
Hello The Hemp Goddess! Please don't bother with this. I'm coming on way too strong here. I was surprised with all the help I was getting yesterday and frankly, I ran with it. My apologies.
You got me off to a great start troubleshooting here and I think I'll have more answers after I try soil/no thrive with the next five. The five I planted without the Thrive 4 days ago are starting to come up so this should be a telling week.
Thanks kindly for your help!
 
Just want to say, superthrive probably isn't your problem. It is only B1 and something else... I am not proud of this, but I drank a small 1/2 juice glass of superthrive and water once...called the poison center. I was not harmed.... lol Superthrive is a nice thing. I always used it when cloning roses.

Green mojo to the seedlings.
 
Well let's hope for the best. I would get the temps up around 23-24C for the babies. do not plant them in a large container. Start out with a small container and work up. It is easier to control everything. For instance, a container that you can put probes in is probably too large for small seedlings. And even if Thrive might not be the problem, you have had no luck with it and you really do not need it, so I wouldn't use it.

You are way underlit if you are using a 1000W in a 48 sq ft space. Even with both lights in that space, you are pushing the lights to the max. I also do not understand venting into the sewer (I am a plumber). But let's get your plants to the stage that they need the bigger lights and we will go from there. I would recommend a smaller CFL while the plants are small. They do not need a lot of light when tiny. Also, I would water, not spray, as soon as the seed broike ground. Spraying can cause a condition called damping off that will kill seedlings.

Green Mojo!
 
Well let's hope for the best. I would get the temps up around 23-24C for the babies.

> it gets close to that in the medium with the mat, they're sprouting.

do not plant them in a large container. Start out with a small container and work up. It is easier to control everything. For instance, a container that you can put probes in is probably too large for small seedlings. And even if Thrive might not be the problem, you have had no luck with it and you really do not need it, so I wouldn't use it.

> I've used 4" pots for years with no trouble, I don't like handling them, and only do two transplants: 4 - 6 - 8. I'd start them in the 8s if they'd all fit on the mat :)
Damn THRIVE was 50 bucks


You are way underlit if you are using a 1000W in a 48 sq ft space. Even with both lights in that space, you are pushing the lights to the max.

> yep, I know but I don't try to light the entire floor either, I walk around in there

I also do not understand venting into the sewer (I am a plumber).
> you shudda used Josephine instead of THG :)

> I don't want nosy teenagers to know what's in here. Although I use the can filtres, I notice it, they would too. And there's the heat thing. I'm in row housing, attic is out, a dryer vent exhausting for 2 minutes every 8 might raise an eyebrow. The plumbing stack? Not in the winter time. That (basement) drain is all I had left, I just sucked the water out of the trap and dropped in a duct from the vortex. I was concerned about gases but I'm not noticing any odors.... if I do, I'll run it slower 24/7 or perhaps a one-way flap thingie. I guess I just have to hope nobody else's traps dry out which is why I still use the cans. I think I know which sewer grate it is out there too but there's nothing suspicious about no snow on a sewer grate.

But let's get your plants to the stage that they need the bigger lights and we will go from there. I would recommend a smaller CFL while the plants are small. They do not need a lot of light when tiny. Also, I would water, not spray, as soon as the seed broike ground. Spraying can cause a condition called damping off that will kill seedlings.

>yes, I got those tips from you somewhere else and have changed but aren't the T5s a better quality light? I still have my old florescents, maybe I should try a batch of 5 under them too.

Green Mojo!


too many variables in this stuff :)
thanks eh?
 
Just want to say, superthrive probably isn't your problem. It is only B1 and something else... I am not proud of this, but I drank a small 1/2 juice glass of superthrive and water once...called the poison center. I was not harmed.... lol Superthrive is a nice thing. I always used it when cloning roses.

Green mojo to the seedlings.

It's hard to just leave a post like that just sit there, Rosebud.
Was it accidental? Picked up the thrive instead of the 7-up?
None of my business if you were trying to check out once, But, if so... Everything is okay now, right? Not reaching out here, are you?
I'll talk your friggin' ear off if you like, I can't shut up, it's embarrassing.
 
LOL--I am sure it was accidental. She was just pointing out that it is not poisonous. However, since it is not working for YOU, I recommended that you quit using it. If what you are doing is not working, then it is time to change it up. If they do grow with the new medium and no Thrive, you can add it on another try, if you want and then see if it was the medium or the Thrive. It may well have had nothing at all to do with your problems, but correcting problems is a process of elimination.
 
LOL--I am sure it was accidental. She was just pointing out that it is not poisonous. However, since it is not working for YOU,

>> maybe it's the only reason they're still standing :)

I recommended that you quit using it. If what you are doing is not working, then it is time to change it up. If they do grow with the new medium and no Thrive, you can add it on another try, if you want and then see if it was the medium or the Thrive. It may well have had nothing at all to do with your problems, but correcting problems is a process of elimination.

I don't see any difference with or without it but I didn't use much.
The seeds from IronSeeds are looking hopeful, nice colour but small, I've now got seedlings under the T5, reg 4' tubes and the LED.
 
I am in the process of teaching my son to grow. I am an organic soil grower. The first thing my son noticed was that there are many different ways to grow and the rules are more guidelines and not written in stone. Bottled or distilled...really?

I was surprised at the difference between the two.
Distilled has a ppm of 0 where the bottled I bought was 730

I'll use distilled for the seeds and switch to bottled when they sprout.
Did you notice Dman's pics. Bottled water.
I'm probably just starving mine if it's not the coco.
 
I was surprised at the difference between the two.
Distilled has a ppm of 0 where the bottled I bought was 730

I'll use distilled for the seeds and switch to bottled when they sprout.
Did you notice Dman's pics. Bottled water.
I'm probably just starving mine if it's not the coco.
That's not really the question, the question was whether it made a difference in germinating seeds, not whether they were minerals in the water or not. The post was about Mythbusters, and the myth that bottled water or distilled water makes a difference to germinating seeds. Everybody may have a preference, but to the seed there is no difference, period!
 
That's not really the question, the question was whether it made a difference in germinating seeds, not whether they were minerals in the water or not. The post was about Mythbusters, and the myth that bottled water or distilled water makes a difference to germinating seeds. Everybody may have a preference, but to the seed there is no difference, period!

I can germinate fine, they pop up after 4 or 5 days but just stand there. There's nothing in the coco (distilled) so I understand that the seed feeds itself for a week or so and then I can start adding nutes. (3rd set)
The trouble is, they don't get there, they stop and stare. I'm thinking bottled water might bridge that gap.

BUT I have since discovered my coco is something like 600 ppm so I'm flushing now and hoping I can save them. You're likely right the bottled water won't help but it won't hurt to try. If the flush & bottled water don't bring them back, I'll nute them. I'm steeling myself for the worst though.
 
It's hard to just leave a post like that just sit there, Rosebud.
Was it accidental? Picked up the thrive instead of the 7-up?
None of my business if you were trying to check out once, But, if so... Everything is okay now, right? Not reaching out here, are you?
I'll talk your friggin' ear off if you like, I can't shut up, it's embarrassing.


thanks for the laugh Sopappy. Yes it was an accident. I thought it was my little glass of water.... i was mortified....but Hick, our old mod, just kidded me about my ability to grow roots after that.
 
thanks for the laugh Sopappy. Yes it was an accident. I thought it was my little glass of water.... i was mortified....but Hick, our old mod, just kidded me about my ability to grow roots after that.


That's why you can't clone rose take a shot of super thrive in the morning lol
 

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