Germinating seeds in rapid rooters & constantly overwatering or underwatering

M

mortyb

Member
I'm having a real tough time germinating seeds. I soak my rapid rooters in RO water overnight, drop the seeds in and place in a humidity dome under a seedling mat. I can always get them to sprout, but can't keep their roots healthy beyond that.

I was told to wait until they had a few roots showing before transplanting to a solo cup, but I'm either constantly overwatering them (brown roots) or underwatering them (rapid rooter gets bone dry and hard).

At what point should you remoisten the rapid rooter? I'm having a difficult time finding that sweet spot
 
G

GreenFingers96

Member
Hmm not too sure about rapid rooters but the paper towel method is awesome! I usually drop em in a cup of water for a bit, after an hour or so I try to push em down so they sink, if they don’t wait a little longer. Once you can push em down leave em for up to 24 hours( too long and they might drown!). When you notice that the shell seems slightly cracked, it’s time to move em. Pour the seeds with the water (drain the excess if you have any) onto the paper towel. Cover it with another paper towel (should also be wet). Try to keep em airtight to maintain the humidity. Once you notice that the taproots are about a quarter of an inch, then you could plant them in damp rock wool or soil. Maintain the humidity here as well. Anytime from a day to a week they should sprout✌
 
JimmiP

JimmiP

Well-Known Member
I use them for clones and understand what you are saying. What I do is put them in a tray and keep a small amount of water in the bottom. I also add a little (and I mean a little, like 1/4-1/3 the recommended dose) root stimulator that contains iba to the water. I've had a much easier time with rapid rooters since doing it this way. It only takes about an 1/8th to a quarter inch of water to keep them moist for a couple days. The plugs will wick the water up into themselves.
I just use them for clones though. Why don't you get the Seeds to crack in wet paper towels and just start in a light soilless mix? It works really well and you're plants wont waist time and energy stretching roots out into empty air instead of growth medium.
 
Last edited:
PagingMrHerman

PagingMrHerman

Well-Known Member
Super easy. Solo cup, soil, water. Use scissors cut holes around bottom. Add soil. 1/4” down drop seed. Cover seed. Moisten soil and check on it each day and re-moisten as needed. 3-4 days later it should break the surface. Each day use a spray bottle and make a circle around the seedling. No need to go crazy with the water. They don’t need much and can dampen off if too wet. Try to widen that circle each time so the roots search for moisture and spread out. In a week or two up pot.

Everyone has their own method. Paper towels, soaking seeds, rapid rooters... Simplify all that and plant direct in medium. The other ways probably work for people but for me totally unnecessary. The previously mentioned process is hard to mess up.

Good luck.
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
mortyb said:
I'm having a real tough time germinating seeds. I soak my rapid rooters in RO water overnight, drop the seeds in and place in a humidity dome under a seedling mat. I can always get them to sprout, but can't keep their roots healthy beyond that.

I was told to wait until they had a few roots showing before transplanting to a solo cup, but I'm either constantly overwatering them (brown roots) or underwatering them (rapid rooter gets bone dry and hard).

At what point should you remoisten the rapid rooter? I'm having a difficult time finding that sweet spot
Click to expand...
Use a spray bottle to keep the rooter damp. Don't let it dry out and don't keep it too wet. I used to use them years ago but realized they were just another unnecessary cost. Now I just use small nursery pots of soil.








PagingMrHerman said:
Super easy. Solo cup, soil, water. Use scissors cut holes around bottom. Add soil. 1/4” down drop seed. Cover seed. Moisten soil and check on it each day and re-moisten as needed. 3-4 days later it should break the surface. Each day use a spray bottle and make a circle around the seedling. No need to go crazy with the water. They don’t need much and can dampen off if too wet. Try to widen that circle each time so the roots search for moisture and spread out. In a week or two up pot.

Everyone has their own method. Paper towels, soaking seeds, rapid rooters... Simplify all that and plant direct in medium. The other ways probably work for people but for me totally unnecessary. The previously mentioned process is hard to mess up.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Seeds won't grow if you just plant them directly in soil. :bigjoint: Or so some people think. It has to be complicated. Cannabis won't grow without a bunch of unnecessary steps. End sarcasm...

In reality cannabis seeds are some of the easiest seeds to sprout. I'm talking from experience as I grow dozens of different types of plants. I currently have trays of vegetable and flower seedlings I've started. I start cannabis the same way. Put the seed in soil, water it in, wait for it to sprout. In fact they are so easy to sprout that I've found seedlings growing in the grass in my backyard. I even stepped on this one. Paper towels and such are a complete waste of time.

 
Just Be

Just Be

Well-Known Member
mortyb said:
I'm having a real tough time germinating seeds. I soak my rapid rooters in RO water overnight, drop the seeds in and place in a humidity dome under a seedling mat. I can always get them to sprout, but can't keep their roots healthy beyond that.

I was told to wait until they had a few roots showing before transplanting to a solo cup, but I'm either constantly overwatering them (brown roots) or underwatering them (rapid rooter gets bone dry and hard).

At what point should you remoisten the rapid rooter? I'm having a difficult time finding that sweet spot
Click to expand...
Here's a fool proof method for you. https://www.autoflower.net/forums/threads/germination-the-ronin-way.33891/
 
PagingMrHerman

PagingMrHerman

Well-Known Member
In reality cannabis seeds are some of the easiest seeds to sprout. [/QUOTE]

It’s true. Back in my high school days we used to smoke in front of a friends house. We’d toss seeds in the mulch. After we had some rain I noticed a good 30+ sprouts without us doing anything.

People can do what they like but I don’t have time to waste doing what I’d consider extra steps that make no noticeable difference. In fact the more people mess around with seedlings the more problems they can run into. I’ve seen this type of post many times. KISS method.
 
JimmiP

JimmiP

Well-Known Member
xtsho said:
Use a spray bottle to keep the rooter damp. Don't let it dry out and don't keep it too wet. I used to use them years ago but realized they were just another unnecessary cost. Now I just use small nursery pots of soil.










Seeds won't grow if you just plant them directly in soil. :bigjoint: Or so some people think. It has to be complicated. Cannabis won't grow without a bunch of unnecessary steps. End sarcasm...

In reality cannabis seeds are some of the easiest seeds to sprout. I'm talking from experience as I grow dozens of different types of plants. I currently have trays of vegetable and flower seedlings I've started. I start cannabis the same way. Put the seed in soil, water it in, wait for it to sprout. In fact they are so easy to sprout that I've found seedlings growing in the grass in my backyard. I even stepped on this one. Paper towels and such are a complete waste of time.

Click to expand...
I agree with most of that. But paper towels are handy when starting several seeds. At least when you are are starting several pots at once. Space can become limited. And it's nice not waisting pot space on a seed that's not ever going to sprout.
When I was in college I did however purposefully go all Johny Potseed across the campus with pretty good results. Lol Just pushing them into the ground a little and then walking away. They were growing everywhere!
 
shiva71

shiva71

Well-Known Member
What ive noticed about RRs is that they hold a LOT of water and i think theres a tendency to soak them and the seeds drown. I use a sprayer, 2 squirts top, 2 bottom, 2 x a day. Any more and i think you risk drowning your seed.
 
L

Larrymc

Member
Help!!! I'm 11 days in... Is it ok to have seedling out of humidity dome now? At least 24 in away from light?
 
JimmiP

JimmiP

Well-Known Member
Larrymc said:
Help!!! I'm 11 days in... Is it ok to have seedling out of humidity dome now? At least 24 in away from light?
Click to expand...
Yes. It should be fine. Humidity domes aren't really necessary for seedlings unless its really dry where you are. I really only use one for clones. They don't hurt or anything but like I stated not really necessary
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top