Germinating with Rapid Rooters

I've been reading on rapid rooters and I recently bought a tray of them yesterday. I'm trying to figure what the best way to go is.
I'm planning to just take my feminized seed from nirvana, soak the rapid rooter plug, squeeze it a little to get some water out, then put the seed in about 1/4 inch and then place it inside a shot glass and fill up about 1/4 of the glass with water.

I have some 23w 6500 CFLs and a small box that I made for vegging one plant.
Should I just hang one CFL from the top of the box, about 2-3 inches from the glass shot?
How long would I do that for? Until it sprouts?
What should I do after that? Just keep raising with 1 CFL at 2-3 inches away?

I'm guessing that I could put this plug into a DWC bucket system with hydroton surrounding it as soon as I see some roots coming out of the plug, or should I wait for a specific amount of leaf growth?

Also about humidity domes and temperature.. the grow box is right next to a sliding door and right now the weather is starting to get really cold. Could that be a problem for starting seeds? I have a little personal heater I can turn on maybe.. or just put a glass cup over the shot glass?

Any tips with any of that would be great.. Thanks guys!!

best advice, if you have to ask how to plant a seed correctly. You should do some reading and watch some videos before you start growing.

also make sure all of your rooms are in order before you start.

Dont use a shot glass, and if you do, don't add water to the shot glass after you already soaked the rapid rooter! I would just use the tray that the rooters came in... I personally use a heat mat with a domed seedling tray...

Oh I see.. I thought the bottom of the tray had to be filled with water.. so I figured if I put it in something else, that should too.
The tray is too big for my box and holds 50 of those cubes, I'm trying to just start 1 seed and save the rest in ziplock bags.
I spent all my money setting up the box.. can't really get a heating mat or a real humidity dome. Are there any cheap/diy alternatives?

A germination station, which consist of a seedling tray, regular tray,dome and a heat mat; cost about 20 bucks... check on ebay, search germination station...

I've been tinkering with rapid rooter plugs recently. And honestly, I don't think they're worth a damn. The medium is kind of hard for the taproot to penetrate, and I think it roots quicker going straight from a paper towel into soil.

Edit: My bad, didn't read carefully. Just saw you were going into hydro.

Damn I really want to get that germ station.. but I only had 100$ saved up and I had no clue they didn't sell the plugs individually, I thought they were going to be like 1-2$ each but it turned out to be 20$ for a tray of 50. And I am one broke mother fucker.. so I really can't. I only ordered 1 seed from nirvana, and then got a free one. I might just try the free seed in a glass shot.. because I really don't have any cash at all.

And thats so weird about the taproot having a hard time to penetrate.. everyone I talked to really suggested rapid rooters for clones and starting seeds.. I'm just gonna have to see how it goes with my free seed. Im currently in my 2nd grow and I'm tired of rockwool clones from the dispensary.. horrible medium for hydro IMO.

Would you guys say that my plan is still okay? Just soak up the plug, drop in the seed pointy end down, place it in a shot glass with no water, put a plastic container over it and then hang a CFL right above it at 24hours for about a week and as soon as the roots show, straight into the DWC bucket.
Am I missing any steps or should I do anything differently? Thanks for all the help guys.

...I throughly moisten my rapid rooters with RO water, then place them in 1"x1" cube trays, into a clone tray w/ dome and a seedling heating pad under....let the rapid rooters warm up (seeds like it warm)....bury 1/4" deep, then plug your hole w/ a piece I tear off of the rr's sides.......works great!

blazeddd said:

Damn I really want to get that germ station.. but I only had 100$ saved up and I had no clue they didn't sell the plugs individually, I thought they were going to be like 1-2$ each but it turned out to be 20$ for a tray of 50. And I am one broke mother fucker.. so I really can't. I only ordered 1 seed from nirvana, and then got a free one. I might just try the free seed in a glass shot.. because I really don't have any cash at all.

And thats so weird about the taproot having a hard time to penetrate.. everyone I talked to really suggested rapid rooters for clones and starting seeds.. I'm just gonna have to see how it goes with my free seed. Im currently in my 2nd grow and I'm tired of rockwool clones from the dispensary.. horrible medium for hydro IMO.

Would you guys say that my plan is still okay? Just soak up the plug, drop in the seed pointy end down, place it in a shot glass with no water, put a plastic container over it and then hang a CFL right above it at 24hours for about a week and as soon as the roots show, straight into the DWC bucket.
Am I missing any steps or should I do anything differently? Thanks for all the help guys.

Click to expand...

Rockwool cubes definitely fuck with pH.

...I leave my seeds in the dark and warm until they sprout....then I put fluros approx. 2" from top, and I'm off.
...also, be careful not to over water..... I like to put an extra rapid rooter in there and treat it just as my seedings....I squeeze the empty RR to check for water retention....I water when I cannot get a drop out of the extra one.

trichlone fiend said:

...I throughly moisten my rapid rooters with RO water, then place them in 1"x1" cube trays, into a clone tray w/ dome and a seedling heating pad under....let the rapid rooters warm up (seeds like it warm)....bury 1/4" deep, then plug your hole w/ a piece I tear off of the rr's sides.......works great!

Click to expand...

Yes that's what I'm talking about! I do it exactly like that! I just put in two seeds on friday morning, one UK cheese and the other an auto bubblelicious, and they have both already sprouted! I've had 100% success germinating, and 90% success rate cloning! It's good to have, and it's cheap... I put them in a rapid rooter that soaked up with like 2ml of thrive alive red, and a drop of root66 (technaflora products). I make my own slit next to the hole(i feel that the hole may sometimes be to wide for seed0, and slide my seed only seed deep and cover it with a small piece off the corner of the rapid rooter. I leave in the dark until sprout, then i start them with a couple flourescents for a regular 18/6 cycle...

Yea, I do the same thing sometimes i even put the clone gel on the seeds, <techna products> And my seeds will be sprouted the next day.... Along with thrive alive and root66. I never seen shit sprout so fast...

Awesome tips guys, thank you very much!
I managed to con my friend to buying one for me at the local garden shop. It was a little big for my veg box, so I had to cut it and duct tape it back up.. but it works and its sealed.
I just put 2 of my rapid rooter plugs in the tray, under the dome and I got the heat pad warming them up right now. I really like the idea of having the second one in there to check when to water.. brilliant idea man.
I put up some pictures if anyone's interested.. I'm gonna be planting the seeds in about an hour or so.. again guys.. really great tips, thanks for the help!

cool beans bro... just dont let the rooters dry up! and keep the dome misted and fogged... theyb also sell bigger domes for clones and keeping seedlings longer, six to eigt inches tall for like 5-8 bucks... Good luck bro, your on your way!

Hey guys, 42 hours in right now. I just moved the little piece that's covering the whole to check on my baby, and I noticed the root had come out from the wrong end.. but it seems like it looped around the seed and is now growing downwards under the seed.
According to what I've read, some people prefer the tip to grow upwards, because it loops around and actually helps by pushing the seed up. I'm guessing that blocking the hole also prevents the root from just growing upwards.

Thanks for all the great tips! and I will definitely be getting a smaller, better quality dome house for my next seed/cuttings. This one really taught me a lot and also provided me with a nice heating pad..

...I wouldn't touch them until they sprout out of your rooter. Once you see growth above the surface, drop the fluros about 2 inches from the tops of the young ones.....if you don't, they will stretch and become hard to manage at its early life stage....bad light distance will stretch the stem long and weak. Close light will keep them short and bushy.... and your off!

Sup guys, 3 days in and I got my baby standing up.

This has been an amazing awesome experience for me.. I love how such small little things can grow into humongous trees and buds.. love growing man.

Just added a 23w CFL hanging right above it.. just one quick question.
Should I keep the dome and tray still around?

Sup guys.. thought you'd want to know your tips were great and my baby is looking so cute.

I'm planning on transplanting her into the DWC bucket tomorrow as I see roots peaking out everywhere on the rapid rooter and the first true 1-finger leaves appeared today after the shell fell off.

Thanks for all the tips and making my seed sprout!

lookin good keep it up