MGOLD86's GLOG, of sorts. NEW Billy Boy Douglah Review!

MGOLD86 · Feb 5, 2012

Enough of this doom and gloom shit. I woke up this morning to this

I ordered the 4X6 T5, and it is going to fix my problem. No hoping, this beech is gonna work! :lol:

I plan to run 4 bulbs and go a bit high with it and bring it down slowly. Like maybe start at like 10 or 12 inches and let it go for a day or 2 and then slowly move it down an inch or so until I get to about 8 like Brandon recommended. If I have learned one thing is the people on here know their stuff and if you remember my opening remarks..."if you are looking for a Glog showing you the right way to do things, this aint for you..." so I am relying on them. To prep for the light swap I made sure that I dropped my MH to 50% (300w) and put it as far away from the plants as possible, and have a fan running the whole time to move the heat around. Lets pray for fast shipping!

Any tips on how to set the light, use it properly, or just a friendly "this is how i use it" is welcomed!

STBY Ma Nature, Im gonna make you my beech.

Maxsack331 · Feb 5, 2012

nice, so Matt you don't keep a dome on the Hoffman's soil right? just the heat mat, I had a dome on mine but took it off today since it just keeps it too wet, and the soil is really really good at staying wet which is great.. that stuff is crazy

maybe when it dries out a little more I will stick the dome on there if I need to..but hopefully by then I will have some seeds popping out

Spicy Chicken · Feb 5, 2012

Wow, that really bites man!

I don't think what is happening has any thing to do with the light. You could use a diffuser panel like what comes with a 2x4 florescent for about 2 bucks at the box stores.

Just wondering, do you live in town and if so do use the tap water for watering, chlorine is a killer for sure. most will fill some buckets and let em sit for a few days.

MGOLD86 · Feb 5, 2012

SC, the reason I am thinkin it is light is because I used purified gallon water after things started to turn. It promoted new growth, but the new leaves started to fry as soon as they popped out...

I will definitely give letting water hang out for a few days a shot though. May help a bit.

mrz1988 · Feb 6, 2012

Matt I was heartbroken to see all of this. I really hope a lot of your guys pull through. I've always been a fan of using low lighting for the first few leaf pairs until the plants are strong enough. Don't worry though you still have time to get a nice set of plants started before it gets warm. Sometimes the best equipment causes the biggest problems.

Siliman · Feb 6, 2012

MGold, I like your approach. Had a setback, will fix it. You are still in the time frame wheelhouse for a successful new grow.

MGOLD86 · Feb 7, 2012

Whasssupp Ameeegos?!? I know I just posted a bit of an update/call to arms/F Ma nature manifesto, but things are lookin decent and wanted to share some snaps.

I am pretty stoked, the seedlings look amazingly green and I am just beggin my shipping is quick and I get the new light. Also, as a recommendation from SC I just filled a 5gal bucket with hose water and set it in my tent with a towel to keep the bugs out. Im gonna let it sit for a couple days and use it to water with. Hopefully that will get rid of nasty sh!t in my water and alleviate my need to buy gallon water by the palette. I am also gonna pick up a few other buckets and rotate them so I always have water. Lastly, I am gonna go check with a buddy and see if he still has his fish tank bubbler thing. That could also help to make the water usable earlier.

Out of the new tray this is what is up so far. (Green means 2 for 2, yellow means 1 for 2)

I am pretty stoked because although it isn't marked, the Tobago Seasoning is sprouting up. This, aside from the Yellow 7 from THSC were the only ones to not sprout. So that is pretty cool that I am 99% for varieties. Oh Wait, half my stuff died the first go around, sooooo building it up again :banghead:

Thanks for the help and support, as well as giving me something to be jealous of...

SocalChilehead · Feb 7, 2012

That is awesome recovery Matt hope the package get to you on time, so don't have to go through that frustration again. Good luck

Spicy Chicken · Feb 7, 2012

Matt, they are looking good so far and I pray they stay healthy and happy, if there is anyone here that needs a break its you.

You will have er down to a science in no time, and then everyone will be your students, happy growing. :halo:

mrz1988 · Feb 9, 2012

Nice one Matt! Glad to see you got stuff going.

I didn't get a single seed of Neils Yellow 7's to sprout either. I had a bag of maybe 10 seeds and half of them were broken when they arrived in the mail, probably from the overseas postage and shoddy handling. The other half I guess just didn't want to grow. He might have had a cruddy harvest of them this year. I had decent germ rates with the rest of his seed though. I wound up sowing another few Yellow Brains to use instead. I hope they're just as good because all I keep seeing on this forum is Yellow 7 this Yellow 7 that haha!

Good luck dude I'm pulling for ya.

MGOLD86 · Feb 9, 2012

Hey Matt, I dont wanna speak too soon, BUT, I got a hook from a yellow 7 THSC....we shall see how this turns out.

Also, my light is coming UPS ground from CA. Shipped Wed! I am gonna leave a shitty review for the dude on eBay. I mean, for someone who isn't in my situation It wouldnt be a big deal, but when the seller has his shipping location as "Fast Shipping, USA" I would expect FAST SHIPPING! LOL. I modified the light to raise it about another 2 inches, so now it is literally as high as I can get it. Everything still looks very green and I am hoping to keep it that way.

Dulac · Feb 9, 2012

Love the bench!

mrz1988 · Feb 10, 2012

MGOLD86 said:
Hey Matt, I dont wanna speak too soon, BUT, I got a hook from a yellow 7 THSC....we shall see how this turns out.

Nice! What is that like 35 days? Maybe I shouldn't have been so impatient I gave up after like 28. Faux pas. It's okay I'm starting more yellow brains anyway I'll just watch yours grow and pretend haha.

MGOLD86 · Feb 10, 2012

I lied, they were yellow brains. They were NEXT to the yellow 7s......too much :drunk:

But at least we know they were bunk seeds...

PaulG · Feb 10, 2012

Hey, Matt - first time i've checked into your grow log (and not an 'of sorts' one, either!). I felt like I was reading a murder mystery! Sorry to hear about your first go around, but your new sprouts are looking great - nice recovery. Like S-man said, you had a set back, fixed it and moved on. Good example for the rest of us! What doesn't kill you will make you stronger : ) nothing like the school of hard knocks. Looking forward to seeing more of your plants.

MGOLD86 · Feb 12, 2012

Its time for a mini update. I have been pretty happy with my second go around and I want everyone to do me a favor and FORGET YOU READ THE FIRST 3 PAGES............

Ok, now that we got that out of the way, things have been going pretty well. It has been 2 weeks since I planted the new flat and I have had pretty good germination.

There are a couple of glaring holes, and honestly it is understandable. I have had 0 7 Pot Yellows germinate (THSC), and I have had a rough go with the Inca Red Drops as well as the Tobago Seasoning. Aside from that, the SB7Js have had mixed germ times according to some of the members here, but I have high hopes for them. I am a little confused on the douglahs though, because they were quick up the first go around. But nonetheless I am pretty happy that nothing has really died yet, and my light should be in by Tuesday. I have never tried the 2 seeds per cell before, so when should I cull the weaker of the two? Should I wait for true leaves, 2 sets, 3, or do it now?

This is pretty interesting, the Infinities I have planted have had about 50% with 3 seed leaves.

Also, I decided on Friday to cut my losses, and move the ones that look like they may make it and toss the rest to make room for another flat. I was out of the RR plugs, and Hoffman's, but I have 2 3 cu ft bags of PROMIX BX, so I gave it a shot. It is not nearly as "clean" a mix as the hoffman's, but the master grower at a local nursery swears that they use PROMIX for everything from seedlings to full grown plants. So, couldn't hurt to give it a try and it only costs 20 bucks a bag. Going off of what Sill does, I used plastic wrap to hold in moisture a bit better. I am kinda pissed that domes I ordered from Grower's supply didnt fit the flats from the same company and model number. The plastic should help to hold moisture, while the dome helps with the heat. I planted the varieties that didn't make it into the first flat.

Lastly, a bit of a help the noob. Here are a few snaps of the older plants that I kept around. What do you think?

ButchT

Douglah

Thanks everyone for reading, and I appreciate any input.

Matt

PaulG · Feb 12, 2012

Matt, nIce results on your second go around, that last flat looks great!
I still haven't culled my doubles and they are in 4" pots - it's getting close to time,
I'm sure : ) I think you can thin your starts any time you feel comfortable. I just went
ahead and transplanted them all into the 4" pots early on with the idea of thinning
once they were established. Also, I think a lot depends on whether you are trying to save
both seedlings or just one.

stc3248 · Feb 12, 2012

Nice recovery brother! Once you get the details sorted out, you will be a force to be reckoned with!

I had some that looked worse than those two and once I figured out what was wrong and switched soil they took off, but I also have a couple others that are still just sitting there stunted...I would give them a chance and see what they do.

Shane

MGOLD86 · Feb 12, 2012

PaulG said:
Matt, nIce results on your second go around, that last flat looks great!
I still haven't culled my doubles and they are in 4" pots - it's getting close to time,
I'm sure : ) I think you can thin your starts any time you feel comfortable. I just went
ahead and transplanted them all into the 4" pots early on with the idea of thinning
once they were established. Also, I think a lot depends on whether you are trying to save
both seedlings or just one.

Thanks Paul. I think I am going to wait until some true leaves come in before I start choppin them down. I think I will hold a candlelight vigil for them when they go....maybe play taps....who knows...

I plan on keeping one of them, and am hoping for 2 per variety so one can go into the ground and the second will either get given away or put into a pot. I will probably end up with plenty of pots, even though I want to grow in the ground this year.

stc3248 said:
Nice recovery brother! Once you get the details sorted out, you will be a force to be reckoned with!

I had some that looked worse than those two and once I figured out what was wrong and switched soil they took off, but I also have a couple others that are still just sitting there stunted...I would give them a chance and see what they do.

Shane

Thanks Shane. I am gonna keep my eye on them. I hope the new lights will do the trick. But honestly, there is new growth so even if it is a bit jacked up, at least they are growing and not dieing....

I can't stress enough the fact that this is my first season and I expected at least some sort of level of hell....If I can get one pod off of one plant at the end of the season, I will consider it a success. I need to find what works for me, and right now I am still looking. Everyone here has been superhelpful, so it just makes things much easier.

PaulG · Feb 12, 2012

I feel your pain, Matt - it seems like such a waste to lose a seedling.
Next year, one seed per cell! But, you've got some time to mull it
over and let things happen! For us new guys, it takes a little time
to absorb the amount of info on the forum and make it work on
the home front. It's still okay to be really jealous of some of the
incredible stuff on the site!