Rookie smoker loses virginity

Hey guys, I've been in and around the forums for a little bit and I'm finally losing my virginity; I haven't grown anything before. I didn't even participate in the maintenance of the lawn as a kid. With that said, I'm hoping I can find some guidance from the many helpful and knowledgeable souls here on the forums.

Ok, so to start I'll be using a portion of my closet. I've already taken all of the original seeds out of the little pods that originally came with the AG. My first question though is do I really need to germinate the seeds in the paper towel or can I just put them into the AG right away? I'm scared that I'm going to f*ck up and ruin the seeds. I mean it sounds simple, but I don't know... all I do is put the seeds in between some pretty wet paper towels, cover them with something to shut-out the light, and put them on top of my cable box?

As far as nutrients, do I or do I not add them immediately? And distilled water is a must right?

--- I know this stuff has been covered, but some answers have been conflicting, so I just want to make sure I got it straight (or correct rather, I don't want to offend anybody). ---

Well, it's almost 420, so I'm going to enjoy some purple and come back in a bit...

well... i would suggest germinating but its not nessisary.... you seem to know exactly what to do to germinate so i wont explain it... just go that and in 1-3 days you will see a white tail... put it in the...whatever... tail down( i dont know anything about the ag) i wouldent add nutes off the start... especially if you dont know what your doing... first work on getting the seeds to live befor you kill them with nutes.... as for the AG.... have you done any modifications to it?

DOT5262 said:

well... i would suggest germinating but its not nessisary.... you seem to know exactly what to do to germinate so i wont explain it... just go that and in 1-3 days you will see a white tail... put it in the...whatever... tail down( i dont know anything about the ag) i wouldent add nutes off the start... especially if you dont know what your doing... first work on getting the seeds to live befor you kill them with nutes.... as for the AG.... have you done any modifications to it?

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Thanks DOT. No, I haven't mod'd at all yet. The only thing I was considering was adding a couple additional lights on the side and MAYBE figuring out a way to suspend the main light higher than factory settings so I can get a taller plant. I'm hoping to get at least three to four plants to yield me a couple pounds; that's only 900 grams a between 3 - 4 plants, don't plants typically give between 250 - 400 per harvest?... and I have some high quality purple...

Thanks again for the help, I'm going to get one seed going right now and upload some pics for you guys... Oh, that's the other thing, when this is all said and done, I'll upload some pics from the digital magnifier so you can see the THC content and how the aerogarden performs in terms of maximizing our little white and orange fuzzy friends. I know it sounds eh, but this is so fun, i'm excited.

Ok, so here are some pics of my initial germination set-up and what I'll be growing. This bit of bud is pushing two months old (I'm not a big smoker), it was very snowy when I first got it.

i think the paper towels are supposed to be damp, but not soaking, or sitting in standing water... does it matter?

hold that plate up sideways and let all the water drip out, then your wetnap is perfect.

wafflehouselover said:

hold that plate up sideways and let all the water drip out, then your wetnap is perfect.

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Sweet thanks... Is this good?

that should do the trick!

yes, and don't cover it just put it somewhere dark like under your bed or in with one of cabinets that your house have.

you relize that with a non modded aero garden you wont get very far.... and nowere near 900 grams .... what type of space do you have ? if you have a decent space i would consider dumping the AG compleatly its much easier and more effective to use a home setup.. of either hydro or soil if your lucky then 3-4 plants @ 3-4 feet will get you in the double didjets (oz wise) but nowhere near 900 the lights in the ag most likly wont be enough to grow one plant... i have no idea whats in there but i cant imagine its alot lmk your size constraints and i will recomend a setup

DOT5262 said:

you relize that with a non modded aero garden you wont get very far.... and nowere near 900 grams .... what type of space do you have ? if you have a decent space i would consider dumping the AG compleatly its much easier and more effective to use a home setup.. of either hydro or soil if your lucky then 3-4 plants @ 3-4 feet will get you in the double didjets (oz wise) but nowhere near 900 the lights in the ag most likly wont be enough to grow one plant... i have no idea whats in there but i cant imagine its alot lmk your size constraints and i will recomend a setup

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For a first time grower with no experience growing anything? Doubtful. The Aerogarden is simplicity squared. It's virtually impossible to screw up. Just be sure not to use the Aerogarden nutrients. If you absolutely must, use 1/4 strength, and only sparingly. I would strongly suggest you invest in quality hydroponic nutrients, such as the FoxFarm line.

But DOTS is right. I'm convinced it's a great way for beginning growers to learn the basics, but you won't be able to take any more than three plants all of the way, due to size restraints, topside and in the reservoir. This is unless you decide to do Screen of Green. In that case, you can utilise all of the growing sites.

It is absolutely perfect for the early vegetative stage, but it will need to be modified slightly, as it is inadequate beyond this stage. The primary concern is lighting; you'll need to supplement the hood with additional lights as your grow progresses. I've outlined all of this a couple of times before; check out the other Aerogarden grows on the website for a how-to.

~Ethno

Ok, so first, I've been a believer in the AG since day one. I mean, sure it's not the ultimate grow system, BUT it most definitely seems to be the most complete, turn-key operation that's truly perfect for a novice. The only real mod that's absolutely necessary if you want a plant of any kind of size is the lights, but the base seems like it should be able to support a decent sized plant.

Anyway, I'm sure you experienced growers know more than I do for the most part, so I'm not going to argue, but I do want to try it and give it the best care all the way through while in the stock base and see what happens. I mean, the other systems have way more parts that require manual configuration; that's why people love the aerogarden, not because is so damn powerful and high-tech, but because you don't have to put together s#!t really.

All of that isn't the reason I posted though... ok, so are you ready?

Frickin' Aerogarden is making their system more viable for growing... They've upgraded the stock lights AND added 24in to the lighting arm.... BOOO-F*CKIN-YAH! That's a step in the right direction boys... we're now looking at accomodating 3-footers stock. This is going to get absolutely ridiculous. Soon, they're going to have a floor-standing unit that has a 5ft light arm and side lights, you wait.... oh, this is soooo exciting, I can see the nationwide legalization of marisol on the horizon already.

...oh, and in case anyone is wondering what the heck that has to do with my journal... needless to say, I'll be ordering mine in time to transplant honey-baby to the s-class of ag's.

honestly your wasting time and money ....the only useable part of the AG is the bottom.... which is small... you could prolly get a better setup pre-made online for the same price.... how much you gonna spend on the AG ? and how much space you have to grow?

Yes, AG is a waste in my opinion. Nothing beats a custom setup or even better SOIL.

Hydro grows have a distinguishable taste in my experience, and not a pleasant one always.

DOT5262 said:

honestly your wasting time and money ....the only useable part of the AG is the bottom.... which is small... you could prolly get a better setup pre-made online for the same price.... how much you gonna spend on the AG ? and how much space you have to grow?

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...but it's so cool looking lol. No, but seriously I want to try to make it work; and you're right if I want any kind of real plant I'll be replacing the lights in a few weeks. The most space that I could dedicate to it would be like 4' x 8'. That's why I was so stoked about the ag. It was $150. The beginning of next year I may dedicate a room to it, but i don't know. Really I want to see if I can even do it, which I'm sure I can... once I'm confident that I can handle this, then I might start looking at the more complex stuff. I just dont want a super complicated system that if something goes wrong I can't fix.

Here's a couple of pics of honey baby before I moved her...







Oh, so just in case there's any other newbies out there who are trying to figure out which of these routes to use when germinating: I did nothing more than get a paper towel, folded it in half twice, then wet it (but not really sooaked it, basically it shouldn't drip), put my baby near the middle, then folded the other side over the side my baby was on. After that I took a country crock container, put my baby on the lid (still in the paper towel), and ultimately laying it to rest on top of my laptop power cord box thing. I did that because I read that it should stay warm, so I figured if I left it on there and just took it when it started to get too hot, that would be good. I think the most cable boxes would be good, but mine isn't warm on top.

im not saying you need a complicated system... there is several choices... as cheap or cheaper then the AG which will give you 10x better results...

A. put soil in a pot and put lights around it...( really cheap and simple)
B. buy a hydroponics/ebb n flow system of ebay(same as ag and more effective)
C. make a hydroponics/ ebb n flow system ( cheap)

C might be alittle harder... but all it is is buckets withtubes going to them with a pump at the end... or just a big container full with water and a pump to keep it airated... its not exactly brain surgery. youve herd what people have to say and none say AG is a smart decision. so why be an idiot?

DOT5262 said:

im not saying you need a complicated system... there is several choices... as cheap or cheaper then the AG which will give you 10x better results...

A. put soil in a pot and put lights around it...( really cheap and simple)
B. buy a hydroponics/ebb n flow system of ebay(same as ag and more effective)
C. make a hydroponics/ ebb n flow system ( cheap)

C might be alittle harder... but all it is is buckets withtubes going to them with a pump at the end... or just a big container full with water and a pump to keep it airated... its not exactly brain surgery. youve herd what people have to say and none say AG is a smart decision. so why be an idiot?

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Not to go too deep because I know my diesel is still hitting me... but successful people don't allow other people's failures to stifle their vision of what's possible; while still observing other people's success and experience as a guide to avoid those mistakes and realizing those possibilities.

That said, I do think though, that it would be helpful if you or maybe one of the other more experienced growers could give a guestimate of what is the most that you could get out of an aerogarden base, aftermarket lights, and a max clearance of say 6'ish.

See, I think where I still find such a strong urge to give it a go, is because those who have bad things to say about it, have just that, bad things to say about it. How about trying to give it the benefit of the doubt and say "Well, if you absolutely were dead set on using the AG (which "I"-me being you, you being me- think is stupid), then you're going to be looking at a max of ---this many--- plants, having to flower them at ---this many weeks---, and that's going to yeild you about ---this much--- bud at the end of the day; which I personally don't think is worth it."

A post like that is a lot easier to accept if you're a person who so badly wants the ag to work. Because the thing is, the ag can grow bud, it's just a matter of how good and how much; but when those who are in opposition to it say "don't use it at all because it's no good," that's not 100% true, thus making it hard to accept that opinion/advice.

i kinda skimmed throu that... and your an idiot.... but i'd say... if you blocked out every other spot to give the plants room... i'd say you could get around 3 plants in that thing... im not sure how tall you could get them growing out of that little tub... but assuming you got them to around 4 ft... in your 6 ft space.. i'd say you could yeild a good pound if done right... but i would aim for more of like... a few oz's a plant.. atleast 1-2

beachdeeler said:

Not to go too deep because I know my diesel is still hitting me... but successful people don't allow other people's failures to stifle their vision of what's possible; while still observing other people's success and experience as a guide to avoid those mistakes and realizing those possibilities.

That said, I do think though, that it would be helpful if you or maybe one of the other more experienced growers could give a guestimate of what is the most that you could get out of an aerogarden base, aftermarket lights, and a max clearance of say 6'ish.

See, I think where I still find such a strong urge to give it a go, is because those who have bad things to say about it, have just that, bad things to say about it. How about trying to give it the benefit of the doubt and say "Well, if you absolutely were dead set on using the AG (which "I"-me being you, you being me- think is stupid), then you're going to be looking at a max of ---this many--- plants, having to flower them at ---this many weeks---, and that's going to yeild you about ---this much--- bud at the end of the day; which I personally don't think is worth it."

A post like that is a lot easier to accept if you're a person who so badly wants the ag to work. Because the thing is, the ag can grow bud, it's just a matter of how good and how much; but when those who are in opposition to it say "don't use it at all because it's no good," that's not 100% true, thus making it hard to accept that opinion/advice.

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I would say, for about three plants, probably about a quarter pound or so.
If you get yourself an HPS, use CFL sidelighting, and use all six feet of clearance space, perhaps more.

~Ethno