Germinating auto seeds

Buttknuckle

Buttknuckle

Well-Known Member
Ive always done photos but this time around I'm giving some autos a try. From what i understand its best to start autos where they will finish. I plan on doing a dwc grow and am wondering if it would be best to try and germ the seeds in rockwool cubes (never had the greatest luck with), or to do the soak in water until taproot comes out and then pop into cubes.

Anyone have direct experience with this that could tell me what would work best?

Cubes always give me trouble, too many opinions on how to prep, some say soak 24 hrs, some say 2 hours, some say 5 mins... and the package says 10 seconds!

Could definitely use some insight from a more experienced grower here please
 
Buttknuckle

Buttknuckle

Well-Known Member
I bought some rockwool conditioner, I'm assuming i can mix that up with a gallon of purified water and use that to soak the cubes for 10 second after PHing? Maybe the other times I've tried they were too wet since I'd soaked a few minutes and extremely gently squeezed any runoff out?
 
Thegermling

Thegermling

Well-Known Member
Buttknuckle said:
Ive always done photos but this time around I'm giving some autos a try. From what i understand its best to start autos where they will finish. I plan on doing a dwc grow and am wondering if it would be best to try and germ the seeds in rockwool cubes (never had the greatest luck with), or to do the soak in water until taproot comes out and then pop into cubes.

Anyone have direct experience with this that could tell me what would work best?

Cubes always give me trouble, too many opinions on how to prep, some say soak 24 hrs, some say 2 hours, some say 5 mins... and the package says 10 seconds!

Could definitely use some insight from a more experienced grower here please
Click to expand...
I use rockwool cubes with great success, havent had one die on me yet. I soak the seeds in water and then into paper towel in warm and dark place until taproot show then I plant in rockwool. Ive been having weird looking leaves on some autos and in the future I plan on adding a few drops of h2o2 to water to sanitize the seeds. The tip to rockwool is to not overwater. When you water the cube lift and then wait a day (depending on environment). Lift again the next day, if light (by half) water again if not let it be. I soak seeds for 18-20 hours just to be on the safe side.
 
Thegermling

Thegermling

Well-Known Member
Buttknuckle said:
I bought some rockwool conditioner, I'm assuming i can mix that up with a gallon of purified water and use that to soak the cubes for 10 second after PHing? Maybe the other times I've tried they were too wet since I'd soaked a few minutes and extremely gently squeezed any runoff out?
Click to expand...
Never used rockwool conditioner. I use phed tap water to 5.8 (I use phosporic acid which helps promote root development as a ph down). I fill a bucket and place my rockwool in the solution for about one hour. DONT squeeze rockwool. Grab the cube and imagine throwing a baseball but aim it at the ground. Get rid of excess water like that.
 
Logan Burke

Logan Burke

Well-Known Member
While I always germinate mine in a paper towel soaked with luke warm water, this can be a little troublesome for autos...it is definitely best to start them in the place that they will finish in. As seedlings, especially, they can be incredibly tempermental in regards to almost any disturbance in the root zone. Even picking up the seeds to place them in rockwhool cubes have stunted mine before. If you can start them in rockwhool that'd be best, but I'm sure you could do the paper towel/soak in water method too, although it leaves more room for error. I, too, have never used any kind of 'rockwhool' conditioner...I just PH a batch of RO or tap water to about 5.8 and let the RW soak in it for a few hours or so...while the cube may seem 'too soaked', it actually (is supposed) to retain the right ratio of air to water even when it feels soaking wet. I've never really done anything to rid excess water out of my RW cubes. Be sure not to keep the rockwhool cubes on a cold surface like concrete though, I had a seedling literally stand still for about 1 or two weeks because I let it sit on a concrete floor for the first few days of it's life. Ended up having to trash it. Don't overthink things though, i know its tough not too! Sorry for the rambling post! Lol good luck man.
 
Buttknuckle

Buttknuckle

Well-Known Member
Thank you
Logan Burke said:
While I always germinate mine in a paper towel soaked with luke warm water, this can be a little troublesome for autos...it is definitely best to start them in the place that they will finish in. As seedlings, especially, they can be incredibly tempermental in regards to almost any disturbance in the root zone. Even picking up the seeds to place them in rockwhool cubes have stunted mine before. If you can start them in rockwhool that'd be best, but I'm sure you could do the paper towel/soak in water method too, although it leaves more room for error. I, too, have never used any kind of 'rockwhool' conditioner...I just PH a batch of RO or tap water to about 5.8 and let the RW soak in it for a few hours or so...while the cube may seem 'too soaked', it actually (is supposed) to retain the right ratio of air to water even when it feels soaking wet. I've never really done anything to rid excess water out of my RW cubes. Be sure not to keep the rockwhool cubes on a cold surface like concrete though, I had a seedling literally stand still for about 1 or two weeks because I let it sit on a concrete floor for the first few days of it's life. Ended up having to trash it. Don't overthink things though, i know its tough not too! Sorry for the rambling post! Lol good luck man.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I have a small heat mat for reptile tank i could put under once i get them set, might help. Or just a warm ass closet lol. I was worried about drowning my seed since the package of cubes says to dunk for 10 seconds lol. I put them in just some RO water for a few hours, not even going to do overnight just enough to hopefully wake em up and put em into cubes i think.
 
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