porcupine
Well-Known Member
Hello every one. This is my first time posting here but I've been lurking for quite a while. I am putting up this real time journal because I have a passion for Doc's gear and have grown many of his strains in the past and have had good luck with all that I've tried. I want to stress that this is NOT an advertisement and this is being done because I truly believe in his genetics and personally believe he is one of the top five professional commercial breeders on the planet(probably top two).
I received my 10 pack of seeds that I ordered from Doc(actually 11 pack as I have always received an extra on every order)and proceeded to germinate six of the 11.I never attempt to germinate all the seeds at once because you never know what can happen.I mixed a shotglass sized solution of 1/8 strength Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Flowering formula with about a drop or two of Rootech cloning gel making sure the gel was well dissolved.I then started soaking the seeds in the solution at exactly 12:00 p.m. 4/19 making sure to poke them every once in a while to make sure they break the water tension and sink to the bottom.If your seeds refuse to sink they probably are not viable but keep trying as some strains have a hard time letting in the moisture to start the germination process(sometimes you need to scuff them up a bit gently).I let them soak for about 10 hours and then placed them in between two moistened folded up paper towels in an open Gladware container placed on top of a germination heating mat,checking every couple of hours to make sure the paper towels didn't dry out.At 12:00 pm 4/20 the taproots on all six seeds were poking out about 1/8" to 1/4"(not a bad date to be born on).This is where I differed from my usual germination procedure to Doc's germination instructions that came with the order.I usually place the taproot facing down but Doc's instructions said to plant them with the pointed end of seed and taproot that is protruding 1/8" to 1/4" facing UP,covering it with 1/2" of media.I followed these instructions planting them in Fox Farm"s Ocean Forest Potting Soil in 6.5"X 6.5"X 6.5" square plastic pots underneath 210 watts of 5000K tt-105 compact flourecents. I noticed that it took about an extra day for the sprouts to break the surface.None of the six had any sign of the seed shell,as sometimes they can stick to the cotyledons and cause problems.I think this MAY be Doc's reason for planting that way.
As of 4/23 all six sprouts were well above the soil line.One or two stretched a little but that was my fault because of lighting position.As of today 4/29 all six have a nice first set of true leaves and are starting to look like little plants.I will start posting pictures after they develop a couple sets of leaves as no on wants to see boring seed and sprout shots.After they develop a few sets of leaves they will be placed under 420 watts of 5000K tt-105 compact flourecents to be vegged out.Will be using Bontanicare Pure Blend Pro vegetation formula,Botanicare's Liquid Karma,Botanicare Cal Mag,Higrocorp's Organa-Add,and or unsulphured molasses/100% pure organic aguave nectar(in your supermarket sugar section) as soon as necessary.I shouldn't need to add anything except maybe the molasses/aguave nectar to get the microbial activity in the soil going,as Fox Farms Ocean Forest Potting Soil is of very high quality.
I gifted a couple of seeds to a couple other people so HOPEFULLY I will have a couple of other end products to show everyone and compare how it performs under different growing parameters.
See you soon.
I received my 10 pack of seeds that I ordered from Doc(actually 11 pack as I have always received an extra on every order)and proceeded to germinate six of the 11.I never attempt to germinate all the seeds at once because you never know what can happen.I mixed a shotglass sized solution of 1/8 strength Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Flowering formula with about a drop or two of Rootech cloning gel making sure the gel was well dissolved.I then started soaking the seeds in the solution at exactly 12:00 p.m. 4/19 making sure to poke them every once in a while to make sure they break the water tension and sink to the bottom.If your seeds refuse to sink they probably are not viable but keep trying as some strains have a hard time letting in the moisture to start the germination process(sometimes you need to scuff them up a bit gently).I let them soak for about 10 hours and then placed them in between two moistened folded up paper towels in an open Gladware container placed on top of a germination heating mat,checking every couple of hours to make sure the paper towels didn't dry out.At 12:00 pm 4/20 the taproots on all six seeds were poking out about 1/8" to 1/4"(not a bad date to be born on).This is where I differed from my usual germination procedure to Doc's germination instructions that came with the order.I usually place the taproot facing down but Doc's instructions said to plant them with the pointed end of seed and taproot that is protruding 1/8" to 1/4" facing UP,covering it with 1/2" of media.I followed these instructions planting them in Fox Farm"s Ocean Forest Potting Soil in 6.5"X 6.5"X 6.5" square plastic pots underneath 210 watts of 5000K tt-105 compact flourecents. I noticed that it took about an extra day for the sprouts to break the surface.None of the six had any sign of the seed shell,as sometimes they can stick to the cotyledons and cause problems.I think this MAY be Doc's reason for planting that way.
As of 4/23 all six sprouts were well above the soil line.One or two stretched a little but that was my fault because of lighting position.As of today 4/29 all six have a nice first set of true leaves and are starting to look like little plants.I will start posting pictures after they develop a couple sets of leaves as no on wants to see boring seed and sprout shots.After they develop a few sets of leaves they will be placed under 420 watts of 5000K tt-105 compact flourecents to be vegged out.Will be using Bontanicare Pure Blend Pro vegetation formula,Botanicare's Liquid Karma,Botanicare Cal Mag,Higrocorp's Organa-Add,and or unsulphured molasses/100% pure organic aguave nectar(in your supermarket sugar section) as soon as necessary.I shouldn't need to add anything except maybe the molasses/aguave nectar to get the microbial activity in the soil going,as Fox Farms Ocean Forest Potting Soil is of very high quality.
I gifted a couple of seeds to a couple other people so HOPEFULLY I will have a couple of other end products to show everyone and compare how it performs under different growing parameters.
See you soon.