Okay so end of august I tried my hand at growing some old panama red seeds and later on a couple pandora's box seeds. i probably messed with them too much and had them too cold at night and killed them. So i am changing the way I am doing things this go around and hopefully I will have some better results this time.
One goal of this post is to hopefully help some first time growers by learning from my mistakes. That is if this second round goes well.
Here's a sum up of my first attempt. I attempted to germinate 12 pandora's box seeds that were 25+ years old, not the best seed for a first grow but it was all i had. The seeds were in wet paper towels for a few days and nothing happened. I planted them anyways thinking that even though they may be bad they might sprout. After a few weeks I got 5 pandora's box seeds from Spac in SF and germinated 2 of them in wet paper towels for a couple of days. I saw them start to peak out their tap root and I carefully put them about a half inch under the soil. I was using Miracle grow moister control.
What i think my biggest errors were? Not keeping the seeds warm enough during germination, over watering, and allowing the grow room to get too cold.
During germination it took a while for any tap roots to come out, and I think it was because the seeds were not warm enough. I had them on top of my fridge but in a house with no insulation, a lot of cold came in and the seeds got cold with it.
After I had planted the seeds, the 12 panama red in one pot of moist miracle grow and 2 pandora's box seeds each in their own pot of miracle grow. they were all planted in 1 gallon clay pots and put 4 - 5 feet under a 400 watt HPS light. When the top of the soil started to get dry I would spray it down with a spray bottle. that didn't work well with larger pots. I switched to just pouring water on it until it came out the bottom. There is the over watering I believe.
The closet the pots were in was not insulated and the light went off at night. During the night temps dropped to at least 40F inside.
After a few weeks of all that going on I looked for a couple of the seeds and they looks huge compared to their normal size and green. I think mold got to them. After I found the seeds were like that I threw them out.
Second try.
I got 5 small pots, some Fox Farm Light Warrior, some Fox Farm Happy Frog, and a drainage tray. I filled the 5 small pots up with Light warrior and soaked them through. I used an metal nail file to scuff 3 panama red seeds and planted 2 into their own pots of just Light Warrior, and the last in Light warrior with 1/2 teaspoon of azomite mixed in. I planted 1 pandora's box seed in the Light Warrior, scuffed one Pandora's box seed and planted it in Light warrior, and the last Pandora's box seed I planted in light warrior with 1/2 teaspoon of azomite.
I placed them in a drainage tray, put them about 3 feet under the 400 watt HPS light, and have them on a 18/6 light cycle. The insulation in the grow room helped significantly with temps. they hold steady at about 80F. The humidity in the room is about 45-50% at all times.
When the top of the soil looks like it is getting dry I am just spraying it with some water till it is a little wet.
So far that is all that has happened on this second attempt. One of my big problems I think the first round, was that I was very impatient. What I am finding that helps is i have gotten a few small succulents and have transplanted them and I am keeping them in the grow room. They keep me busy so i don't focus too much on the the seeds, and love them to death. It also helps me with feeling like I am getting somewhere with the grow. Getting to see them bloom, grow, and all that fun stuff.
This is probably the longest post I have ever written on a forum, but I hope that in the end this post will help someone learn a bit. That is if this grow is successful, but I have my hopes high!
When they sprout I will upload some pics!
One goal of this post is to hopefully help some first time growers by learning from my mistakes. That is if this second round goes well.
Here's a sum up of my first attempt. I attempted to germinate 12 pandora's box seeds that were 25+ years old, not the best seed for a first grow but it was all i had. The seeds were in wet paper towels for a few days and nothing happened. I planted them anyways thinking that even though they may be bad they might sprout. After a few weeks I got 5 pandora's box seeds from Spac in SF and germinated 2 of them in wet paper towels for a couple of days. I saw them start to peak out their tap root and I carefully put them about a half inch under the soil. I was using Miracle grow moister control.
What i think my biggest errors were? Not keeping the seeds warm enough during germination, over watering, and allowing the grow room to get too cold.
During germination it took a while for any tap roots to come out, and I think it was because the seeds were not warm enough. I had them on top of my fridge but in a house with no insulation, a lot of cold came in and the seeds got cold with it.
After I had planted the seeds, the 12 panama red in one pot of moist miracle grow and 2 pandora's box seeds each in their own pot of miracle grow. they were all planted in 1 gallon clay pots and put 4 - 5 feet under a 400 watt HPS light. When the top of the soil started to get dry I would spray it down with a spray bottle. that didn't work well with larger pots. I switched to just pouring water on it until it came out the bottom. There is the over watering I believe.
The closet the pots were in was not insulated and the light went off at night. During the night temps dropped to at least 40F inside.
After a few weeks of all that going on I looked for a couple of the seeds and they looks huge compared to their normal size and green. I think mold got to them. After I found the seeds were like that I threw them out.
Second try.
I got 5 small pots, some Fox Farm Light Warrior, some Fox Farm Happy Frog, and a drainage tray. I filled the 5 small pots up with Light warrior and soaked them through. I used an metal nail file to scuff 3 panama red seeds and planted 2 into their own pots of just Light Warrior, and the last in Light warrior with 1/2 teaspoon of azomite mixed in. I planted 1 pandora's box seed in the Light Warrior, scuffed one Pandora's box seed and planted it in Light warrior, and the last Pandora's box seed I planted in light warrior with 1/2 teaspoon of azomite.
I placed them in a drainage tray, put them about 3 feet under the 400 watt HPS light, and have them on a 18/6 light cycle. The insulation in the grow room helped significantly with temps. they hold steady at about 80F. The humidity in the room is about 45-50% at all times.
When the top of the soil looks like it is getting dry I am just spraying it with some water till it is a little wet.
So far that is all that has happened on this second attempt. One of my big problems I think the first round, was that I was very impatient. What I am finding that helps is i have gotten a few small succulents and have transplanted them and I am keeping them in the grow room. They keep me busy so i don't focus too much on the the seeds, and love them to death. It also helps me with feeling like I am getting somewhere with the grow. Getting to see them bloom, grow, and all that fun stuff.
This is probably the longest post I have ever written on a forum, but I hope that in the end this post will help someone learn a bit. That is if this grow is successful, but I have my hopes high!
When they sprout I will upload some pics!
