out of the way.
8. Install exhaust fan and carbon filter in Bud Room. Follow manufacturer’s instructions. If possible, vent to the outdoors.
9. Secure all wires. Minimize risk of wires falling into water. Power bars and timers should sit well clear of your grow area.
10. Install a lock and/or camouflage your grow room. Trust no one!
11. Create a work area outside the grow room if possible. It’s a plus, as is a dedicated drying area.
12. Ensure that cleaning supplies are ready for use. Review how to “clean up” your area: can you sweep the area directly outside your grow rooms clean of all evidence of your hobby in five minutes or less? This should be your goal, in case of an emergency.
Happy cannabis, with buds starting to plump up under the warm embrace of T5 fluorescents.
The only other consideration in terms of room setup is ensuring that floors are warm, at least moderately so. Cold floors, such as concrete floors in a basement, can stunt plant growth. A thin layer of plywood or plastic shelves placed between plant trays and concrete is all that is required. Warming mats and the like are for the most part an unnecessary expense.
The room is built. The materials have been purchased. Setup is complete. Now, we’re ready to start our grow. Onward!
Before you start your grow, take a deep breath, and remember this: moving slowly, deliberately, and with patience will generally serve you well as you cultivate your garden. Hopefully, you won’t often face emergency situations, but if you do, you will want to be as prepared as possible – with supplies for example. Taking decisive, timely action will be necessary of course. However, the best action is often the one you don’t take, or the mistake you don’t make. It is easier to respond slowly to solve problems as they arise rather than undoing something you have done in haste. With that advice in mind, I’m ready to start a new crop in my grow rooms. I will be both cloning Master Kush from my Kush Mother and germinating new plants from seed.
1. Select and obtain seeds for strain(s) that are appropriate to the conditions of your grow room and “bud objectives” (effects when consumed).
2. Germination will take roughly 2-3 days from removing from packaging to being ready to plant in soil. Plan your time accordingly.
3. Best method: moisten (not soak) a paper towel, fold, and place on a plate. Use standard paper towel with no chemicals on it.
4. Place seeds into paper towel. Cover with fold over. Cover plate with Saran Wrap to hold in moisture.
5. Place covered plate somewhere dark and warm, like a desk drawer.
6. Minimize exposure of germinating seeds to light, particularly when they have sprung a root.
7. Check daily.
8. Once seeds have begun to sprout noticeably – a little tail is what you are looking for – transplant into soil. Don’t wait too long or the seeds will die. Once they’ve sprung the shell they need access to the moisture and nutrients that soil provide.
9. Transplant into slightly moistened soil by placing one finger into the soil to the first knuckle then placing the seed into the hole. Be careful not to plant too deep.
10. The “tail” MUST POINT DOWN!
11. Place seedling pods as close to lights as possible so that seedlings will not stretch when they emerge.
12. Check daily until seedlings pop clear of the soil. Water as necessary – soil should be moist but not waterlogged. Soil will dry out quickly when in close proximity to lights.
13. When watering seedlings use only demineralized water, not tap until they are fully formed seedlings, for the first week or two. This minimizes the chance that water used will have an unsuitable pH and stress the fragile seedlings.
14. Seedlings require no nutrients until much later in the growing process. Nutrients should be added to their feed slowly and at very low concentrations at first.
15. Resist the urge to remove seed casings that have not fallen off seedlings. They will fall off on their own as they grow. Taking them off by hand can rip fragile seedlings.
16. It is crucial to label seeds at the time of planting. A bit of masking tape and a Sharpie are all that is required. Record the date planted and the strain, particularly if planting several strains simultaneously and in close proximity. Apply tape to appropriate seed pod. Transfer labels to successively larger pots with each transplant.
17. If one or more seeds don’t germinate, try again with new seeds to hit your desired number. Keep in mind that you will likely have to kill some (males) as even feminized seeds provide no absolute guarantee of female plants.
You may be tempted to skip the step of germinating from seed, possibly due to the fact that the cost can run into the hundreds of dollars depending on the strain you are growing. You might be tempted to obtain a clone if one or more is available. However, germination is quick, dead easy and has one inarguable advantage over importing a clone from another garden: with seed, it is impossible to import problems (such as pests) into your own garden – and this can often happen when importing clones from elsewhere. Unless you are positive about the grow conditions of a sourced clone, don’t go there – cleaning up the mess of a problemladen clone is far more trouble than the few minutes it will take you over a few days to germinate the seeds.
Label plants to avoid mix ups. It is useful to include cloning/germination and expected harvest dates, as well as strain. For cloned plants, you may also wish to indicate sex so that you know which plants must be watched more or less closely during early weeks of budding.
The new strain I’ve selected to grow is Tangerine Dream. I have purchased five feminized seeds and will start by germinating three. I have also been given a single seed from a third strain, Pandora, as a gift. I’ve decided
