Uncle Ben's Gardening Tweeks and Pointers

potpimp

potpimp

Sector 5 Moderator
I had heard about the sinking seeds but never knew the reason or the difference between the sinking and floating seeds. A lot, most actually, of my seeds did float. I did not have the information, just that you put them directly into the soil as nature intended. I didn't sterilize the seeds or the soil either; didn't know to do it. I covered them with approximately 1/4" of fine, loose potting soil mix. I guess I'll just get what I get and go from there. A friend of mine has some rooted AK47 clones that he will sell me for $10 each so there is my backup plan - even though I have a few hundred dollars in these seeds in the cups. It's still chilly outside where my seeds are so I'm wondering if I should bring them in the house where it's warm. I'm afraid they will rot if left outside in the cold for too long. I'm thinking that warm soil might be one of the cues for the seed to germinate.
 
DaveCoulier

DaveCoulier

Well-Known Member
potpimp said:
I had heard about the sinking seeds but never knew the reason or the difference between the sinking and floating seeds. A lot, most actually, of my seeds did float. I did not have the information, just that you put them directly into the soil as nature intended. I didn't sterilize the seeds or the soil either; didn't know to do it. I covered them with approximately 1/4" of fine, loose potting soil mix. I guess I'll just get what I get and go from there. A friend of mine has some rooted AK47 clones that he will sell me for $10 each so there is my backup plan - even though I have a few hundred dollars in these seeds in the cups. It's still chilly outside where my seeds are so I'm wondering if I should bring them in the house where it's warm. I'm afraid they will rot if left outside in the cold for too long. I'm thinking that warm soil might be one of the cues for the seed to germinate.
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Warm soil is a good thing for our seeds. I just found this on a quick google search. It'll give you an idea how important it is. I haven't read through it all, but the table in the middle will give you what you need.

http://tomclothier.hort.net/page11.html
 
potpimp

potpimp

Sector 5 Moderator
Thank Dave, I'm getting them indoors right now! I'm going to use the Tomatoes Crop as my guideline.
 
Solcyn26

Solcyn26

Well-Known Member
quick question im tryin to up the N ratio of my mix...

my veg nute is 7-4-10
my bloom is 4-8-7

no i have this organic bosster floralicious plus thats 2-0.1-0.3

my question whats the best combination for proper nutrient ratio( im 5 week in bloom)

ive been teying to up my N for two weeks and im not sure im getting the ratio correct or if i even understand how to properly add up the n-p-k once its mixed?

please help my babies are still yellowing a bit although thanks to this thread there the best theve ever looked this far in

p.s. a quik ppm question too once i do have the proper ratio mixed in a one gallon jug am i correct to assume that i just add phed water to the mix till i reach a safe ppm level?
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
tokincarper said:
hey ub , thanks for all your info, all over the site , makes for a great read and is very usefull and informative without all the BULLSHIT that the "growing" world seems to be overflowing with.
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The "growing world" you speak of is not my world.

i normally grow from cutting's and put them straight into 11 litre pots and thats where they stay.
i intend on using 18 litre pots next time round, can you give some advice on whether this is good practice or not, regarding, creating a good, strong root system . . ?
if its NOT good practice, can you recommend a good size pot to start them off in, and what size pot you would use as the final pot?? is it a bigger is better type thing ?? many thanks , tokincarper
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Like I said in post #536 go to a 3-5 gallon pot if your plant is ready for it. If not, you'll have problems. For most growers, it's better to err on the smaller pot size than large.

Good luck,
UB
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
potpimp said:
It's still chilly outside where my seeds are so I'm wondering if I should bring them in the house where it's warm. I'm afraid they will rot if left outside in the cold for too long. I'm thinking that warm soil might be one of the cues for the seed to germinate.
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Post #536 - Place in a warm spot around 80F/26C.
 
J

jjfoo

Active Member
I went out and bought a $30 light meter. It looks like the probe has a simple photo voltaic cell hooked to a voltage meter. It is made by environmental concepts.

It goes to 10k footcandles, but when I turn it on I can't get it to read above 8k even when I put it on the glass of my 1000 watt lamp or at the Sun.

I assume the better (more expensive) meters don't have a simple solar cell and voltage meter. How much money should I plan on spending for a decent light meter?

I've seen some for around $100. They measure in lux. Is there a reason I shouldn't just use lux and convert to footcandles?

From what I am reading 10k footcandles equals 107639 lux.

I remember you specified footcandles so I was wondering if there is some kind of difference in a meter that measures footcandles over lux. It seems to me that you can just convert using this: One footcandle ≈ 10.764 lux

Any recommendations for a accurate meter than can actually measure 10k footcandles?
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
jjfoo said:
I went out and bought a $30 light meter. It looks like the probe has a simple photo voltaic cell hooked to a voltage meter. It is made by environmental concepts.

It goes to 10k footcandles, but when I turn it on I can't get it to read above 8k even when I put it on the glass of my 1000 watt lamp or at the Sun.

I assume the better (more expensive) meters don't have a simple solar cell and voltage meter. How much money should I plan on spending for a decent light meter?

I've seen some for around $100. They measure in lux. Is there a reason I shouldn't just use lux and convert to footcandles?

From what I am reading 10k footcandles equals 107639 lux.

I remember you specified footcandles so I was wondering if there is some kind of difference in a meter that measures footcandles over lux. It seems to me that you can just convert using this: One footcandle ≈ 10.764 lux

Any recommendations for a accurate meter than can actually measure 10k footcandles?
Click to expand...
Sorry, can't help ya. I used to use a GE model 214 until it bit the dust. NavySupra didn't have the 10X screen for his so I recently sent him mine. Without the screen you're only good for 1,000 f.c. Remember you're using this as a tool and need not split hairs regarding actual F.C. received as plants will react differently according to all factors involved. If lux works for you, fine. It's no different than using kilometers or miles to determine distance. You just need to be comforable with it.
 
potpimp

potpimp

Sector 5 Moderator
Thanks Uncle Ben, I put a heater in the bathroom with the plants yesterday and cranked it up to about 80-90. We went out of town today and just got back; I checked on my cups and discovered 16 little seedlings popping out of the soil. I'll post the rest in my grow journal. Thanks to you and Dave for your help!
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
potpimp said:
Thanks Uncle Ben, I put a heater in the bathroom with the plants yesterday and cranked it up to about 80-90. We went out of town today and just got back; I checked on my cups and discovered 16 little seedlings popping out of the soil. I'll post the rest in my grow journal. Thanks to you and Dave for your help!
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Super, here's hoping you have fun with your faves.
 
Mr.Oasis

Mr.Oasis

Active Member
just out of curiosity (never tried)....how do you feel about rooting seeds/cuttings in rockwool and then just transferring the plug into soil when its a few inches(no root disturbance during transplant)

im just not aware if theres anything negative long term about depositing a rockwool cube into a soil medium, seems that would be more efficient than my current party cup method which requires several weeks (and more soil!) before i can put them in their final home

pre-emptive thanks for any help!
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
Mr.Oasis said:
just out of curiosity (never tried)....how do you feel about rooting seeds/cuttings in rockwool and then just transferring the plug into soil when its a few inches(no root disturbance during transplant)

im just not aware if theres anything negative long term about depositing a rockwool cube into a soil medium, seems that would be more efficient than my current party cup method which requires several weeks (and more soil!) before i can put them in their final home

pre-emptive thanks for any help!
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If it works for you!
 
Mr.Oasis

Mr.Oasis

Active Member
maybe i forgot to ask the question there with all those extra words lol

I only grow seeds of the most negligible quality, obviously not by choice but im broke what can i say, so i have a ton hermies and oddballs in general, so germing in soil isn't always the best options as LOTS of the seeds arent viable, i use the "paper towel method" with pretty good success but i wonder if me plucking the seed/root tip/root hair from the paper towel is stress enough to cause me the high hermie % (usually atleast 50 % herm's and about 25/25 male/female)..

with the root plugs i wouldn't have to bother the seed, it would be a more "natural" transition to just bury the plug up to the 1st node in a container of soil

what do YOU think about that as a solution, or is it just a right solution to the wrong problem?
 
Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
Mr.Oasis said:
with the root plugs i wouldn't have to bother the seed, it would be a more "natural" transition to just bury the plug up to the 1st node in a container of soil

what do YOU think about that as a solution, or is it just a right solution to the wrong problem?
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How tall are those plugs?
 
notoriousb

notoriousb

Well-Known Member
I know you stress on people focusing on foliage growth during veg and not getting ahead of themselves and only focusing on flower, but do you have any links that could explain the flowering process more throroughly? Ive been searching all over with google and Im not getting anything on the specific process a plant goes through during bloom. I just want to understand the whole process better to then determine what bloom nutes to use for my next grow.

and we all know that these rocket fuels and snake oils marketed at the home grower claiming to make plants go BOOM are all garbage, so I was wondering if there were any legitimate products that actually stimulated faster and larger blooms.

thanks a ton

-nb
 
Mr.Oasis

Mr.Oasis

Active Member
anywhere from 1.5" cubes to 6" cubes, in my reading they seem most specifically designed for hydroponic systems, u just bury the cube in hydroton or w/e soil-less medium....further reading has led me to believe they'll be good in soil, neutral pH and its made from organics, either way i found a pack of 98 for 12 bucks and i ordered them so no more speculating in a few weeks
 
DaveCoulier

DaveCoulier

Well-Known Member
notoriousb said:
I know you stress on people focusing on foliage growth during veg and not getting ahead of themselves and only focusing on flower, but do you have any links that could explain the flowering process more throroughly? Ive been searching all over with google and Im not getting anything on the specific process a plant goes through during bloom. I just want to understand the whole process better to then determine what bloom nutes to use for my next grow.

and we all know that these rocket fuels and snake oils marketed at the home grower claiming to make plants go BOOM are all garbage, so I was wondering if there were any legitimate products that actually stimulated faster and larger blooms.

thanks a ton

-nb
Click to expand...
Heres something you might find interesting:

http://algorithmicbotany.org/FSPM07/Individual/10.pdf
 
mrduke

mrduke

Well-Known Member
hey U Ben I've been thinking of switching over to the dyna-gro line using foliage-pro for veg and adding mag-pro for bloom, My problem is no one in my area carries this stuff and I'm having a hell of a time finding it on the web. can you recommend a site to order from? also do you use the mag-pro in flower? Or just foliage and bloom? thanks benkiss-ass
 
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