First grow... I've chosen Hydro. Please help.

Hello all! I have started my first grow, and would like your help. I have chosen Hydro for the speed of harvest. I started my seeds in soil, because I was waiting for my hydro setup to get here. I moved them into the hydro, but two died off. I have a feeling I moved them too early. What should the saplings look like when it is time to transplant? I feel like the roots weren't reaching deep enough to get the water. What would be awesome, is if someone could give me a quick guide to starting. Once I get everything going, I feel like I can handle it. Thank you for any and all support.

Two Fingers!! One Love!

They should have been fine if you had some decent roots like the poster above me said.

you guys didn't even bother to ask questions :/
you can't answer his questions based on the fact given, wtf.

nobody even asked what type of system, more than likely some form of dwc with a tote, no water pump or sprayers, weak air pump.

OP, build something like this and it will all be good.what boomer used to say, cool waters, no light or some shit like that.

Lurker9999 said:

How old are the plants being transferred? and what type of hydro system are you using?
As long as they have a decent root structure transplanting should not be a problem.

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I have Emily's Garden system by hydrofarm... Truth be told, I don't think they're developed enough. Will two 6500K Cfl's be enough to start with? I have two more that are 2700K for flowering... If I ever make it lol :/

love the water cooler set up i was gunna do that then i came accross this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/280754818533?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_500wt_1156

5 gal DWC setup


[video=youtube;VjSukG1k7G4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjSukG1k7G4[/video]

when transplanting, my guess is you severed the tap root upon pulling it from the soil. when i transplant from soil i (if the plant is very young) shove my hand deep into the pot and take a chunk of dirt from under the plant, hold the little bastard in my other hand and shake the dirt away little by little until the roots are there unharmed. i would then rinse the roots as best as possible the put in the hydro system. they will be in shock for a while but usually pull out 100% and i have done this with seedlings a few times.

drgreentm said:

when transplanting, my guess is you severed the tap root upon pulling it from the soil. when i transplant from soil i (if the plant is very young) shove my hand deep into the pot and take a chunk of dirt from under the plant, hold the little bastard in my other hand and shake the dirt away little by little until the roots are there unharmed. i would then rinse the roots as best as possible the put in the hydro system. they will be in shock for a while but usually pull out 100% and i have done this with seedlings a few times.

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I actually cut the SOLO cups they were in, and removed the dirt in a similar way to shaking the dirt off the roots. As I said before, I now believe that I needed to wait longer in order to transplant. My one baby that has survived the transplant to the hydro, and back to soil (to keep it from dying like the rest), had only one big tap root... it hadn't yet spread out into a root system. Literally, it is just a sprout, with two leaves. I'm going to wait another week, and then attempt a transplant. I will post pics up once I transplant, and feel like everything is going well. Dr. Green Thumb, if you have any tips on germination with rock wool, and putting that into a clay stone media hydro system, please let me know, because I've never germinated with rock wool before. Thank you.

Minks you are correct that you tried to transplant to fast. The thing about growing is that it takes time, time, time. It is very advanced to transplant from soil to hydro. Let your surviving plant grow into a small bush take some cuttings and then go hydro it will make for a better experiance for you. I know it will talk longer but to save yourself some stress thats what "I" would do! I made the same mistakes and thats why I am offering my opinion. Good luck

sure thing man this is a bit i posted for another guy on here on how i germ and put seeds in RW cubes. it is quite easy and works very well for me.

pre-soak the RW in ph 5.5 water for 24 hours prior to putting seedlings in them (DO NOT PUT NUTES PERIOD) now in the paper towel when the seeds crack open they have a little tail (taproot) on them put them in the cube at that point (tail/taproot down) and under light until they pop up and out the RW. dont water RW again until it is quite dry and light to pick up.

drgreentm said:

sure thing man this is a bit i posted for another guy on here on how i germ and put seeds in RW cubes. it is quite easy and works very well for me.

pre-soak the RW in ph 5.5 water for 24 hours prior to putting seedlings in them (DO NOT PUT NUTES PERIOD) now in the paper towel when the seeds crack open they have a little tail (taproot) on them put them in the cube at that point (tail/taproot down) and under light until they pop up and out the RW. dont water RW again until it is quite dry and light to pick up.

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Thank you! I'm extremely new to hydro, so this will help. I will probably have more questions as I go along. I'm going to grow this first one in soil, and start my tangerine dream, and two different CH9 seeds after.