best way to start seeds???

Ive done the rockcubes and I honestly can say I dont think I'm going to do that anymore....

Since I am a hydro kinda guy would you think it be easier if I did it in soil to start then transplanted the plant from soil to DWC?

rockcubes are perfectly fine.. wet it every few days, and leave it alone in the dark.

seed straight in soil is good too... transporting into hydro my kill it due to stress...

...just make sure pointy part of seed is pointing upward when you plant and don't pry the medium open to check the seed out...

My issue has been with hydro is the roots arent long enough to reach the water so I either use the top feed and get the cubes fully soaked and constantly wet or not, what should I do?

I use rock wool cubes to germinate mine. Ive done it two different ways. One way is in a small plastic greenhouse looking thing I got from Amazon for $30.00 that sits on a heating pad. The other way, and it worked just as good, was to put the seed in rock wool then go ahead and put it in the bubble bucket. I turned the lights on like normal to keep my cab warm but put coffee cups over the net pots that had a seed in it. I started them off in the Four Banger Bucket I got from HTG supply. I put water in the bucket just like normal and ran the air pumps as normal. Everyday I'd look under the coffee cups. Once the seeds popped and the seedling was visible I removed the cups. After they were in those small net pots for a few days I transplanted them each into their own bucket with a 6 inch net pot and hydroton. I actually think my root mass has gotten larger faster than I can remember in the past. I will probably do it this way from here on out.

I'm on my first dwc and I germed in a cup of water. Once it cracked I put it in the rock wool that was soaking during germ. Tear off a small corner of the cube to cover the seed with. Put the cube directly into hydroton. I watered mine every few days and it was reaching the reservoir water within a week or so.

RedzoneFL said:

My issue has been with hydro is the roots arent long enough to reach the water so I either use the top feed and get the cubes fully soaked and constantly wet or not, what should I do?

Click to expand...

I put my water level up the net cup where I estimated the bottom of the rock wool to be. This along with the hydroton kept the rock wool moist. The first root will grow out fast towards the water or at least mine do.

Thanks guys! You guys rock!

Would top feed water hurt my plants or should I just keep it off?

I don't use the top feed. I got the pump and stuff but never hooked it up. I've put my my water level up high on the net pot and a few inches below the net pot after the plants developed a root mass. I never really noticed a difference in plant growth. The only thing I did notice is the PH would fluctuate quite a bit when the water level was high on the net pot. I attributed that to the hydroton being the cause but it stabilizes after a few days. Nothing really to worry about if you check your PH a couple times a day. I take alot of trips and am gone for 2-4 days at a whack so I will fill my buckets almost completely up to give me a cushion.

I had one plant get destroyed due to Stem Rot and that was caused by the water being fully up to the net pots with the rock wool cubes so now I am being very cautious