LAST WEEK (09/02):
For the record:
a-pot-for-pot 1/2 gal ($50 less $40)
Germination mix:
Coco base ~50g
Perlite ~30ml
Diatomaceous Earth ~3ml
Powdered Mycorrhizae root booster ~10 ml

THIS WEEK (09/07):
Howdy, since this is my first grow (at least since a poorly executed dumb college idea many years ago) I thought I'd attempt a sort of blog post style journal with this super useful journaling tool! I'm planning to work my way through a number of the ILGM strains and this will dictate my tent layout in fact, as I'm planning to harvest a new strain every 6 weeks! I get bored... sigh. I had a 5 day trip out of town the same day the seeds arrived. Regardless! I poked a single bean directly into my pre-prepared a-pot-for-pot's jiffy pellet core and left the pot directly under a sloooowly dripping reverse-osmosis faucet. And it sprouted just fine. Heck yeah! It turns out nature really does find a way.

Potential problem number one! Bam, straight out of nowhere. Blindsided, you and I both. The soil is reading at a sweltering 7.5 PH right now. I don't think I'm being a doting parent by seriously considering if now's the right time to sprinkle some coffee grinds into the coco. Right? Just breathe, she'll be fine.

Potential problem number two! Pow, there it is again. This seedling will need LED lights soon. My first attempt into the world of Amazon LED grow-lights was, and I'll be honest, a failure. I bought a $15 12-pack of "Full Spectrum LED Grow E26 bulbs" on Amazon with no spectrum or PPDF rating on the listing because I'm an idiot. For my next attempt, I bought not one but two "Santang 130W Full Spectrum Dimmable Plant Light with 588pcs LEDs(Includes UV IR)" lights for $33 a pop each. Now hear me out. I'm a little more optimistic about these, they don't show an "equivalent wattage", i.e. 1000-2000 watts alot of other brands quote. The listing says it uses "SMD3030" diodes which I can't find any info on but it does say it has 130W rated power, which is quite impressive and testable. I'm hoping Santang's mysterious SMD3030 came off the same production line as the mythical Samsung LM281B/H... ehm. I'm not sure that's knowable but in any case, the Amazon listing states 2.2µmol/J PPF(±5 Percent) and 1240µmol/s @ 30cm Height. I have no idea what that means, which is embarrassing given my profession... Anyway moving on, I going to assume "good enough" and give them a shot. Any unbiased input on good bang-for-buck grow LEDs would be appreciated!

I'm waiting on some space but I'll set up my 4ftx8ft tent and VIVOSUN 6" carbon air filtration system soon enough. For now I'm keeping the seedling at 18 hours of light a day, I'm using 3 x 13W CFLs in a DIY jank-tastic rig. Though it is sprayed silver for improved reflectivity and radiative heat rejection I'll have you know. I'm planning to run some experiments with different early life lights and see which (antidotally) does best.