Tiny Grow, MrSparkle inspired

[firehead]

I’ve been reading up on @Mr.Sparkle micro grows, and they are very inspiring! So, decided to try my first auto grow in the same style.

Currently waiting for my 2x2 tent to open up (being used as a seed drying chamber for next week or so), but here is the grow plan in the coming weeks:

PLANTS:
Ultraviolet x Lowryder autoflower from @_randomguyinthewoods (@ReikoX genetics)

TENT:
24" x 24" x 56"

LIGHT:
Roleadro 2ndGen 600w full spectrum

MEDIUM:
Coco Coir + perlite

RESERVOIR:
Ikea Kuggis 21" x 14" x 8" storage bin

The flower-pots are a bit larger than I expected. I think they will work fine, but I don’t want the plants growing too large or they will crowd each other out.

The plan is to use the flower-pot drip trays flipped upside down, so they can hold aquarium filter material. I’m hoping this will catch a lot of the dirt and debris from draining back into the reservoir.

Also, irrigation pump will be controlled by a raspberry pi and some custom software I wrote.

More to follow in the next week or so…

[Joker]

Very interesting!! Pulling up a chair and along for the ride!!

[ReikoX]

Nice got the @Mr.Sparkle @ReikoX combo going on here.

[misterbee]

Man…with that double-barrel influence, you’ll do well. @ReikoX and @Mr.Sparkle, Master Chefs in the "Cannabis Kitchen!!! Following their instructions will guarantee an award-winning dish. Stay safe/be well.

[Gpaw]

Yeah, I’m parking myself front and center for this!
You are tapping a dynamic duo there… There’s going to be lots to learn here!

Cheers
G

[Old-Ron]

I am attending this one. Should be an interesting grow.

[Funciona1971]

Many moods. You have two good teachers to ensure your success.
I sit.

[pufferfishfiend]

Love me a good cab grow

[firehead]

Beans are in the pool!

[JBow918]

Oh hell yes!!! I love this. Pulling up the lazy boy to watch this unfold.

[firehead]

Bean update:
11 beans went into the water for ~24hours. Only 8 sunk to the bottom, so the 3 floaters got tossed.

Reservoir update:
I’ve decided to only run 4 pots on top of the reservoir. 6 pots seemed too crowded.

I do have 2 of these bins, so I’m going to set the second one up the same. As male plants start to show, some mating pairs will be move to the secondary tent for making seeds.

Today’s Project:

• Drilling holes in the drip trays.
• Cutting pink aquarium filter material to fit the trays.

[Bob13]

Nice grow, question… Why do you toss the floaters?

[firehead]

Good question. I’m not 100% sure, honestly.
Someone told me (or, I read it somewhere) that any seeds that don’t sink within 24 hours are probably not viable.
I’ve just always done that. But, I may be throwing away good seeds… I’ll need to experiment someday and see if I’ve been blindly following an invalid old tale.

[Joboo]

I’ll hop in and take a cruise with ya on this one. This seems real interesting!! Good luck bud

[Mr.Sparkle]

@firehead

Someone told me (or, I read it somewhere) that any seeds that don’t sink within 24 hours are probably not viable.

depending on the dissolved air content in the water i consistently can float seeds for 2-3+ days, cold water in a container when put on a warm surface typically forces out the excess saturation now that its warmer.

But actually found its better for me to not force the seeds to sink and just let them float as long as they need, something to be said about dud seeds that will float regardless though.

[pufferfishfiend]

I’ve read there’s a philosophy that if you need to put a lot of effort into germinating seeds, then you’re propagating potentially weak genetics and we should be tossing seeds that aren’t easy to germinate.

Not sure how I feel about that.

[Mr.Sparkle]

Should also say alot of the res backwash particles i get are usually caused by over flowing the top, but on the start usually takes about a week to a week and half before you stop getting stuff coming out the bottom of your pots

[ReikoX]

I have routinely had seeds crack while still floating.

[firehead]

TODAYS PROJECT

• Check capacity of reservoir (holds 5 gallons!)
• Adjust PH and add initial nutrients
• Install irrigation pump
• Drill drain holes in lid

WATER
I adjusted PH to 5.9/6.0 (bouncing between the two)
I added the nutrients shown below, but I went a bit light. In the end I got 315ppm.
This seems much too low. But I’m new to Cocoa and Hydro. What do the experienced folks think about those numbers? Should I add more nutes? Lower the PH even more?

Please excuse the blurple lighting. I was setting this one up in my 20"x36" tent. It has an annoying blurple light.

[ReikoX]

@firehead

What do the experienced folks think about those numbers? Should I add more nutes? Lower the PH even more?

That sounds pretty good for a young seedling. Remember when you’re feeding multiple times a day, you want the PPM to be lower in general. Do you know if that is a 500 or 700 scale for the PPM? pH is fine, but I like to shoot for 5.8 in hydro and let the rest drift upwards toward 6.1 of a week or so. But what’s 0.1 pH between friends?