germinating seeds in root riot cubes

Hey guys, since my roommate fucked up my last few seeds from my first seed order, I want to make sure that my newest pretties have their best chance at survival.

I have root riot cubes that I use for clones, so I figured I would just use those since they work so well for cuttings. What I've done, is put the seeds in the cubes, and then I put the cubes into an ice tray with holes drilled in the bottom. I then set the tray in a 1 gallon bucket, and poured a mix of 1 part h2o2 and 5 parts h2o, so that the cubes can soak it up. Then I just put it under the light:



The main thing I'm wondering, is what to do with the light. Its on a 16/8 veg photoperiod under the t5's. Should I cover the bucket with a towel? Or will they be fine under the light?

Lemme know if I'm doing anything wrong here. I'm running blue dream (hso) cotton candy (delicious seeds) purple wreck (reservation privada) and desert diesel (hso)

I pop seeds in total darkness with nothing but reverse osmosis water ph'd to 6.0 and a paper towel inside a freezer bag sealed with a little air and have about 98% success. Your way will work to but yea I would cover the bucket until you see sprouts.

Good luck and your other plants look great btw!

I use rapid rooters in a tray with tap water and just mist the rooters (too much water is why most seeds do not germ). I have 100% percent success rate. By the by, why do you use hydrogen peroxide?

Thanks for the replies guys. I use the peroxide BC it dissolves into water and oxygen, which is good for the roots. I read several places to do it with clones so I figured it would probably work for a seed as well.

I was wondering about covering it, my light just went off but I'll cover it up before it turns back on. I'm really looking forward to these strains.

h2o2 can only have negative effect on your seedling at this stage. seedling require only moist and dark to germinate, that's it. they should not be overwatered.let dry your medium. hopefully it didnt harm your seeds

I soak in tap water for a day, then I drop em in a Tupperware container on a moist paper towel folded over a few times and close the lid on 3 corners and leave in the dark for a day. I've never had an issue but I have always wanted to try rapid rooter plugs or something of the sort! I personally see no need to h2o2 but to each his own, as long as they germ and sprout right?

I'd like to see you working with a heat mat and humidity dome. I went from stuggling with the germing process to germing like a pro.

Those cubes are going to dry out without a dome and even with that t5 light you have it's going to be tough to get the root zones to the proper temps without a heat mat unless it's very warm where you live.

Heat mats and humidity domes are worth every penny. You can get both for about the cost of 2 seeds and you'll avoid major headaches since germing can be a bitch without them IMO.

Thanks, and I actually did put a heat pad under the bucket and on a timer for over night. As for the dome, I have one, but I'm not seeing how one could help me germinate better? I guess it would help keep the cubes moist longer. And I also understand clones and seedlings need more humidity but I can put them in the dome after they sprout

Edgar9 said:

I'd like to see you working with a heat mat and humidity dome. I went from stuggling with the germing process to germing like a pro.

Those cubes are going to dry out without a dome and even with that t5 light you have it's going to be tough to get the root zones to the proper temps without a heat mat unless it's very warm where you live.

Heat mats and humidity domes are worth every penny. You can get both for about the cost of 2 seeds and you'll avoid major headaches since germing can be a bitch without them IMO.

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^^^ there ya go...only thing I'd advise is I'm not too keen on leaving seedlings in high humidity (this is from years of experience)...they are less prone to wilting, damping off and whatever else if you give them fresh air as soon as practical. so yeah dome them until they pop, but be prepared to moisten the Rapid rooters 2x a day (IME if you wet them to the point they stay moist for longer than 24hrs then they are too wet, but that's not a absolute, RH being about 50%), basically be prepared to check and moisten your seeds at least once in the a.m and once in the evening

I've also been placing a 23W ":daylight" CFL about 1" from the seedling (using one of those clip on worklights w/reflector) ...some advise against too much light bui the last 5-6 seeds I've popped have responded well: nice strong short and dark green....I see a LOT of seedling pics here and IMO they are too stretchy/spindly

They actually aren't seedlings, they're clones. The one that is a seedling is the one on the Right of the bucket that's about 5 inches off the soil with 6 tops, and trust me it's not stretching. I leave those t5s pretty close when I'm not messing around in there or grsbbing pics.

The paper towel method.Square tupper ware container .Little water in the bottom.Towel folded twice.Seeds put into folds of the paper towel. toward the top of the rim.Towel in the bottom of container wicking up a little water in the bottom of the container to keep the towel moist.
Seeds normally are popped and running within 24 to 48 hours.Lid on the top of the tupper ware container loose.Sit container on top of warm lamp or area.
If the seed is good i have 100% germ rate.Take sprouted seed out of paper towel and put into whatever growing medium you want.

Cool, yeah I always used the paper towel method but did it in a bag. For stealth reasons I'm limited to one room, and the temperatures fluctuate pretty drastically and now that I have certain visitors every once in a while, I'm having to germinate in that room. I just wanna make sure they germ BC one of my seeds was already cracked

I might try the Tupperware and paper towel Method on the next set of seeds. Now that in in my second grow I'm trying a bunch of different methods. First run was soil, hopefully I'm gonna have a nice aero ponic setup soon.

Thanks again for the input

Use to do cip of water then paper towels then medium. To much handling. Straight into riot plugs less that than 72 hours and they pop