LilDads LilGrow ~ 2023

[LilDad]

Strains: Afghan auto, Northern Lights auto, Skunk auto, Presidential OG auto

Seeds: Growers Choice

Grow Goal: 10% increase from last year. Sum total 66 grams since I got 60 grams last year.

Started soaking seeds this morning! I’ve got four white fabric 5-gallon pots with Coast of Maine Growers soil and they’re ready to go!

The NL and POG are already popping after 6 hours in water, so that’s pretty sick. I’ll get those bad boiz into paper towels tonight after a 14-hour soak.

I will prep the pots in a little bit by duct taping up some wire and setting those structures into the soil for stress training. I’m using tape so that the rust that will inevitably accumulate on the wire won’t seep into the soil.

After putting them into the pots, we will likely have a few days of rain (of course). First question:

Should I bring the pots into the office to dodge the rain? I don’t have a proper light, so I don’t want stretching. Or, could I put some clear plastic glasses over where the seeds get placed to keep the soil they’re sitting in dry? Thoughts?

Stoked to be back in the saddle!

 

[gmo]

Nice!

Tell us a little about the equipment you'll be using.

If all is sound let's shoot for double or more of your harvest goal!

 

[LilDad]

Nice!

Tell us a little about the equipment you'll be using.

If all is sound let's shoot for double or more of your harvest goal!

Sure!

Pots: White fabric 5 gallon pots. I used black ones last summer, and I think they ran a little toasty towards the end of June. They are the 247 5-gallon aeration pots. They seem pretty sturdy, good volume, and the handles are solid (even though I never use handles anyway).

Soil: Coast of Maine Growers Mix (Stonington blend). Just hovering under 7 pH, which isn’t great, but it’s pretty fresh out of the bag, and the pH on my hose water tends to run in the low 6 or high 5 reading, so it should eventually balance out.

It’s an outdoor grow, so no lights or any of that jazz. The first week or so I’ll bring them in at night since we still have about a week until the final frost.

 

[WeedHopper]

The handles on mine got so hot in the texas heat they broke. Not made out of the same fabric as the pot. The pot is tough as nails though.
Never tried that brand before.

 

[Flower]

I use the 247’s in a 7 gallon tall indoors.

 

[SubmarineGirl]

May want to at least rig up an umbrella for them like hopper did if you have nowhere to keep them out of the hard rain. Seedlings cant take as much abuse as older plants and even then need to be protected from the hard rain. I’ve never used your white 247 pots before. Looking forward to your grow and I’m betting you will get at least 3 times your last years harvest at a minimum.

 

[WeedHopper]

Yeah especially when you go into flower. You don't want all that moisture on your flowers. The umbrella works great.

 

[LilDad]

May want to at least rig up an umbrella for them like hopper did if you have nowhere to keep them out of the hard rain. Seedlings cant take as much abuse as older plants and even then need to be protected from the hard rain. I’ve never used your white 247 pots before. Looking forward to your grow and I’m betting you will get at least 3 times your last years harvest at a minimum.

We’ll see! Something I learned from this past year is that if I got 3x my harvest from last year, I’d be able to give 5x more away, which would be really awesome!

It’s looking like I’ll have them in the ground on Saturday since I put them in paper towels last night. Since Saturday is set for gloomy with a drizzle throughout the day, I may either put them in our office or try the umbrella trick!

 

[user 60570]

sounds like a fun grow!

gotta love the big Light in the Sky

dont forget the Monterey Bt , spray early , keeps the worms away

dont worry about a little bad weather , cannabis is a hearty plant!

 

[oldfogey8]

sounds like a fun grow!

gotta love the big Light in the Sky

dont forget the Monterey Bt , spray early , keeps the worms away

dont worry about a little bad weather , cannabis is a hearty plant!







View attachment 324046

That sure is frosty, big…

 

[user 60570]

That sure is frosty, big…

that is how we roll here , stacking trichomes

 

[LilDad]

Popped them in paper towels Thursday night!

First picture is Skunk and it’s likely going to hit the pot at around noon today. We’re expecting a rain today, so I’ll put a cup over it and see if I can’t rig up an umbrella for that pot.

Second is Presidential, and that looks like it’ll be ready to boogie tomorrow! Which will be perfect because there isn’t any rain forecasted tomorrow.

The Northern Lights has popped, but the taproot is just peeking out, so we’ll see how the day goes.

Afghan hasn’t popped yet. It’s a seed from November last year, so I was expected a little slower progress. Do y’all think I should soak it again? I don't feel like scoring it, thoughts?

 

[user 60570]

Congratulations!

 

[LilDad]

Skunk is in the pot! Since we’re getting rain around 11, I borrowed my sons umbrella. I like to think that it’s signaling to the plant what my intentions are with it.

 

[SubmarineGirl]

Watching and waiting for her to pop out of that dirt like a rocket ship She will thank you for the umbrella protection now and in flower. Good luck LilDad

 

[LilDad]

Thanks Sub!

I typed an error earlier: they’ve been in paper towels since WEDNESDAY night. Think the Afghan needs another soak?

 

[SubmarineGirl]

Thanks Sub!

I typed an error earlier: they’ve been in paper towels since WEDNESDAY night. Think the Afghan needs another soak?

Your may wet the paper towel a bit more and put it in a warmer place for a couple days. Could be she just has a tough shell.

 

[LilDad]

Presidential OG is in the pot!

NL has a lil bb taproot going and should be boogeying into the pot tomorrow morning.

Afghan hasn’t made any moves yet, but I’ll check on her again tonight and see if something has started yet. If not, I think I’ll give her another day and then do another soak.

For now, I’ve got plastic cups to trap humidity and help get this going!

I haven’t had to do any real watering since the pots got some really good rainwater last night, so there’s plenty of moisture in there without me fussing over it.

Since we aren’t all the way clear of the final frost yet, I’ll be moving them into our separated office at night. The office hovers at 72 degrees thanks to a split system, and we have a dehumidifier in there capturing the moisture in the air. Again, I don’t have any grow lights and don’t have any intention of getting any ($$$). I’ll pop them out in the mornings when I get up to work out at some ghastly hour.

 

[LilDad]

Germ question:

The NL seed has a weenie little taproot and hasn’t been progressing in the paper towel, and the Afghan is in the same boat.

As a note, they’ve been stored in the fridge since last November.

Should I re-soak at this point, or chuck em and call it?

 

[LilDad]

Here’s the NL seed. That spot of brown doesn’t look right.