Germinating with plugs and dome

I will be growing Autoflowers.
I have a heat pad, Root Riot plugs, and a starter dome (tall version).

Should I soak the seeds first? How long?

It was suggested that I use the paper towel method and when the root is one inch in length place them root down in the plugs. I checked the plugs and I'm afraid I would damage a new root trying to get it in these plugs.

I was thinking I'd soak the seeds for 12 hours, place them in the plugs pointy end down, mist the inside of the dome real well and keep the vents closed, on the heat mat, and place under my T5.
When they break the surface and start growing I would plant the plug in the final grow 3 gal soil mix.

Does this sound like an okay plan?
My grow area stays a pretty consistent mid to high 70F with RH ranging from the 50's to 80 at the upper end. Mostly RH is in the low to mid 60%.

You're putting too much thought into something nature does well on it's own without human intervention. Put it in the root plug, pour some water over the plug to get it moist. Put than in a warm environment with high humidity and nature will do the rest.

Be very careful with heat pads and domes. Cheap heating pads can fry your seedling and domes invite damping off.

Bugeye said:

Be very careful with heat pads and domes. Cheap heating pads can fry your seedling and domes invite damping off.

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Thanks. I may just place the plugs directly in the final grow pots under the T5 lights and forget the dome and heat mat.

mr2shim said:

You're putting too much thought into something nature does well on it's own without human intervention. Put it in the root plug, pour some water over the plug to get it moist. Put than in a warm environment with high humidity and nature will do the rest.

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I overthink everything...sometimes it works out and sometimes not...lol.

TedeBoy said:

I overthink everything...sometimes it works out and sometimes not...lol.

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I can definitely attest to that, but the less intervention with sprouting the better. They're unbelievably fragile at that stage. The less you touch or move them the better. I grow in a waterfarm and use rockwool to sprout. I just drop the seed in the rockwool, moisten it and set it in a warm, high humidity place and they always sprout.

mr2shim said:

I can definitely attest to that, but the less intervention with sprouting the better. They're unbelievably fragile at that stage. The less you touch or move them the better. I grow in a waterfarm and use rockwool to sprout. I just drop the seed in the rockwool, moisten it and set it in a warm, high humidity place and they always sprout.

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agreed,all this scarring seeds and mucking around is rubbish, this plant has been around longer than mammals lol, I think it knows how to sprout.
Throughout your grow remember this K.I.S.S. keep it simple stupid! or stoner, I prefer stupid cuz I am.
Let nature do her thing and only intervene when you need to, start feeds on low doses and work your way up until you find the right dosage.
a little goes a long long way, a lot can send your gals to their grave.

ive heard checking on them every 5 minutes helps also.