So, I decided to go ahead and start a grow journal on my first attempt at growing. My two sons and I have been talking about growing for sometime because of the increased costs lately and we got a reluctant but OK nod from mom. I did a lot of reading and I think the biggest thing I learned from that is that there are many many methods and results can be all over the map. Since this was my first attempt, I decided, I was going to keep it simple and do what we could but don't plan to spend a bunch of money on the setup and attempt to be as natural as possible for an indoor grow. Since I was planning to keep a log anyway, i figured putting it up here was a good idea, to gain input from others on the experience.
I started on Monday 8/11/08 with bag seeds left over from a mixed variety of different batches collected over time. I decided on the "paper towel" method on a plate with 10 seeds. At the same time my son started his own batch of about 40 seeds with a similar method but instead put his in a zip lock baggy. After a day, his ended up on my plate. I guess he figured it would be easier for me to water them all together or he was just being lazy...![Confused :? :?](/styles/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
We soaked the paper towels with filtered water from our refrigerator PUR system. We figured this produced great tasting water so it should be good for the seeds. I did measure the PH balance of the water with a standard pool test kit strips to ensure that it was good. We are on a well so the standard chemicals introduced in commercial drinking water would not be a problem. Here are the estimated measurements of the water:
Free Chlorine < 0
Alkalinity ~ 40ppm
PH ~ 7.5
Calcium Hardness ~ 50ppm
Day 2 - We fed the seeds more water first thing in the morning, giving them enough water to get the paper towels wet but to much. I didn't want it to pool in the plate.
Some seed starter pics. More to come. Hopefully.
![DSCF1175.jpg](/data/attachments/146/146376-fbaaa61ed73ce20844f47542c1043e6c.jpg)
![DSCF1176.jpg](/data/attachments/146/146377-a5c24584e05c434263e1efc1512f198f.jpg)
![DSCF1177.jpg](/data/attachments/146/146378-447908006a663fefee6964e432295813.jpg)
![DSCF1180.jpg](/data/attachments/146/146380-6b54fe4ea0224fcc6d383d72109ca755.jpg)
I started on Monday 8/11/08 with bag seeds left over from a mixed variety of different batches collected over time. I decided on the "paper towel" method on a plate with 10 seeds. At the same time my son started his own batch of about 40 seeds with a similar method but instead put his in a zip lock baggy. After a day, his ended up on my plate. I guess he figured it would be easier for me to water them all together or he was just being lazy...
![Confused :? :?](/styles/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
We soaked the paper towels with filtered water from our refrigerator PUR system. We figured this produced great tasting water so it should be good for the seeds. I did measure the PH balance of the water with a standard pool test kit strips to ensure that it was good. We are on a well so the standard chemicals introduced in commercial drinking water would not be a problem. Here are the estimated measurements of the water:
Free Chlorine < 0
Alkalinity ~ 40ppm
PH ~ 7.5
Calcium Hardness ~ 50ppm
Day 2 - We fed the seeds more water first thing in the morning, giving them enough water to get the paper towels wet but to much. I didn't want it to pool in the plate.
Some seed starter pics. More to come. Hopefully.
![DSCF1175.jpg](/data/attachments/146/146376-fbaaa61ed73ce20844f47542c1043e6c.jpg)
![DSCF1176.jpg](/data/attachments/146/146377-a5c24584e05c434263e1efc1512f198f.jpg)
![DSCF1177.jpg](/data/attachments/146/146378-447908006a663fefee6964e432295813.jpg)
![DSCF1180.jpg](/data/attachments/146/146380-6b54fe4ea0224fcc6d383d72109ca755.jpg)
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