NSNYGC - First time! Two autos in soil!

[weedabix]

Hi Growroom!
The long wait has an end and I finally got started. I was away seeing my folks and friends so I'm quite late and the year is not so new anymore - but I'll tag along anyways.
So late last night after arriving back home I dropped the seeds in some water and they're now wrapped in wet paper towels, hopefully as keen to get started as I am. This is my very first grow and after some considerations I will start them in BioBizz light before moving them to BioBizz all-mix. The strains are

Pineapple Express Auto by Fastbuds
and
Blue Dream Auto by Humboldt Seeds

I have an 80x80x160 tent, a blurple LED light from amazon, a starter pack of biobizz nutes.
My growtent should be in full working condition with filter and fan working but switched off atm.
I feel like I have read a ton and know roughly how I want to do it in theory but I am aware the it's going to be very different in reality. I hope to get something out of it - at least a good experience.
My motivation is that I am sick of the black market with all the bad weed full of chemicals, the exploitation of people and the crime it brings along - all for something that should be legal in the first place. I also find it utterly fascinating how a plant grows using only light, air, and some grams of nutrients. I also want to try out different strains and find the right strain for the right moment. I actually don't smoke much, but when I smoke I want to smoke something nice. I remember the time when I started to smoke and the weed was mellow and made me giggle, creative, philosophical, and happy. 3 out of 4 times when I bought weed on the black market in the last years, it would just knock me out and I would feel dumb and tired afterwards. Then I went to the US and went to a dispensary and it blew my mind: people who sold me weed that was delicious and had exactly the effect I wanted of it and a buying experience free of the awkwardness of either dealing with criminals or putting your friends at risk to be treated as dealers by the law. So long story short - I'm out there to get the best quality and have a good time gardening. I want to find the strains that make me feel good and learn as much as possible about plants along the way. Waiting to get ready I found this forum and was overwhelmed by the welcoming atmosphere here! So instead of just getting my grow organised I started entering all sorts of competitions (and even won some woot woot) and found this super nice community of people (you!) who are not only awesome at growing this plant but also genuinely super nice people who put a lot of effort into creating a supporting community around a topic that you can't talk about in public. Thank you for that!
I will try to update this as regularly as possible whenever I feel like there is enough change worth reporting. Feel free to comment when you can spot issues or just enjoy watching a newbie.
I will surely have a ton of questions along the way!
All the best and wish me luck,
Weedabix

[Mini-G-Star]

Best of luck , the guys here are all great and will be there with you each step of the way. Will be following your grow and wishing you success :)

[Smokey]

Awesome stuff Weedabix you just ticked a hell of a lot of boxes my friend indeed! but i must say its as much as a pleasure to have you come join us. Best of luck on this new journey and trust that you are in very safe hands.

ATB

Smokes

[weedabix]

Both seeds have a root now! I initially had them both in a shot glass of water and after about 5h the Blue dream had sunk and the PE was about to sink. I then put them in a paper towel and put them into my growtent onto a seedling mat... I decided it was a bit too warm so I put a towel underneath but I was worried it had damaged the seeds already but apparently not.
After about 45 h in the towel I have now some roots! They are about 15mm long and I introduced them to their future home - some seedling bags with biobizz light mix soil. I planted them with tweezers, about 1.5 cm below the surface and gave them water up to pretty much saturation of the soil.
They are in a propagator on a seedling mat under a 13.4 LED light bulb from Wilko's which apparently produces light at about 6500K.
I also planted two different types of basil and some rocket so the missus can benefit from my growing frenzy as well!

Any thoughts on the lighting situation anyone?

It's all very exciting!
Grower's love,
Weedabix



PS: I am also documenting this grow on cocoforcannabis - a really nice crowd who have also been giving me a very warm welcome and have a ton of free information! I hope you don't mind!

[kbag]

Nice one Weedabix nothing better than growing your own and smoking it.

[weedabix]

Update!
Both plants have now their heads out! The Pineapple express was super quick and after a day of the Blue dream still not showing up, I lightly searched for it... maybe it was jammed behind a chunk in the soil but it quickly got to the surface after that. Now they are both out, PE is way taller - maybe because I switched on the blurple light after it was already out but BD was still buried. I consulted the forum and I believe GMO (sorry if I don't remember right) helped me out so I turned on the light but still have it roughly about a metre above the seedlings. I underestimated how much heat it produces so I already turned off the seedling mat and turned on the fan so it get's fresh (colder) air. Now I am at about 26C. You can see my setup below. If you're wondering, there is also two types of basil and a tray of rocket in there all of which have also sprouted. I am really glad the Blue Dream made its way to the top... I really have to learn to be patient now! I still haven't watered them since I planted them. But because they're in the propagator, they still seem quite moist.
Two questions:
How do I know whether I can/should lower the lights?
Should I open the air vents a bit more? I only opened them a slid.

Cheers,
Weedabix

[kbag]

If they stretch ie leggy your light will be to far away. I like to see my leaves just pray to light slightly but its hard to judge when so young. I guess as they say less is best Weedabix. You can unfold the pots and bury the stems in some more soil if they stretch to much. then lower your light slowly down.

[weedabix]

Thanks kbag! I like the idea of unfolding the bags... I might do that for the Pineapple express, but looking at it this morning, it seems maybe the stretching happened before I turned on the blurple LED as it doesn't seem to stretch much anymore. So for now I'll just leave everything as is and see how they're doing tonight!

[Smokey]

moving along nicely in here pal, what lighting schedule are you running atm may i ask. Stretch could of happened in any lights out period. great advice from Kbag as always though.

Looking good.

Smokes

[weedabix]

Hi Smokey,
good question! I am at 20 on 4 off. Although I am turning off the led when I am looking after them for stealth and health reasons.
1. Should I stick to 24h for now?
2. Is it an issue to turn off the lights for a couple of minutes twice a day?

Not sure they’re stretching much anymore but I will see when I get back from work. Which is also after their 4h of darkness during the day.

Thanks for your guidance everyone!
Cheers,
Weedabix