New Grow - Best Method for Germinating Seeds

Rickety Rocket

Rickety Rocket

Well-Known Member
There's a lot of info out there on seed germination. I have went through a lot of it, but just needed some reassurance. If I'm germinating seeds for hydro, should I soak them for up to 24 hours, or less/more? Most people use rockwool plugs then transfer that into a bigger piece of rockwool. I've read a lot of bad reviews on rockwool so I'm going to use rapid rooter. After the seeds have sprouted and grown from a light source what do i do with them next? Do i transfer the plugs into a bigger piece of rockwool then into my hydro pots with medium or just transfer the plugs into the pots with the medium?
 
DeeTee

DeeTee

Well-Known Member
Not sure what bad reviews you've read abt rockwool, but I use it all the time to germinate my seeds and never had any problems, asside from having to soak them in 6.0ph water for a half hr or so before using it it seems to work fine for me. I've also grew my babies in rockwool for years without problems.
 
Rickety Rocket

Rickety Rocket

Well-Known Member
i've read some forums about people drowning them, but even if thats not the case i've read some posts where rockwool has suffocated the seeds resulting in short stems and slow to no growth. i figured i'd go with the rapid rooter since its ph adjusted already and filled with micro organisms. i've read in some cases fungi have sprouted along with the seeds. I was also thinking about using hydroton as well. So how long does everybody soak their seeds before putting the seeds into the plugs, or is it best to skip that step and just plant them in the rapid rooter.
 
superstoner1

superstoner1

Well-Known Member
soak til popper, then into rapid rooter, then into net pot. instead of a meadia use a foam collar after seedling gets a few inches tall.
 
Rickety Rocket

Rickety Rocket

Well-Known Member
so i'm testing out the freebie seeds first so i don't screw up the good ones. i put the seeds in plastic cups, but i used store bought spring water at room temp and forgot to warm the water up before adding the seeds. I placed the cups on a heat mat and covered them up with a plastic dome and placed a book on top to block the light. They are sitting in the dark right now. Do you think the temperature of the water will affect the seeds germinating?
 
P

problemsolver

Active Member
Peat pellets are the easiest things I have ever worked with for starting seeds and they have given me the best results. I have soft water from the tap, just for the record. Coco pellets are a close second and rockwool in hydroton third and rockwool in a tray fourth. Rockwool requires a little more attention to keep properly moist than peat or coco. If you have the time, rockwool could work just fine, but regardless of moisture I always get better results with a peat pellet. Is that what a rapid rooter is?
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
I'm haveing near 100% palnting them about 1" deep in coarse vermiculite.
 
Rickety Rocket

Rickety Rocket

Well-Known Member
Just checked on the seeds after 10 hrs and pushed most of the floaters down. Still too soon. Will check back on them in another 10. Has anybody left seeds in water for more than 24 hrs and had good results?
 
Rickety Rocket

Rickety Rocket

Well-Known Member
thanks guys. just checked the seeds 19 hours in. 100% germination it looks like. They all have tiny tap roots but none sticking out. I can just barely make out the white of the roots. Should I leave them in there until i can see bigger roots or should i transfer them over to the rapid rooters?
 
Rickety Rocket

Rickety Rocket

Well-Known Member
Its been about 40 hrs. Not much more has progressed. Still see tiny taps. I don't wanna keep them in water in case they start rotting so i put them in rapid rooters. Should I wait for the seeds to break the surface before I put them under lights or is it ok to put them under the fluorescents now?
 
Dontcough

Dontcough

Member
Fluorescents should be ok due to the temp being real low, I've heard mixed things on putting them under a light mainly heat issues. 18/6 for veg. Make sure you don't mess with them too much as it causes stress to the plant, I know with my first germination I couldn't stop pulling the seeds out and looking at them which eventually contributed to their death. I believe and I hope someone corrects me if Im wrong but you should put them under the main light when the germinated seeds actually break the surface and the two light leaves (cotelydons) appear.
 
Rickety Rocket

Rickety Rocket

Well-Known Member
thanks DC. that's exactly what i wanted to hear. I still have them in the dark right now, and i plan on keeping them there until i see a couple poke out of the ground.
 
D

.Da1&only.

Member
I normaly only leave them submerged in water for a max of 24hrs, after that i place them between 2 litely moist sheets of absorbent paper towl wether they have cracked or not. once they crack and get a 1/2inch root they go into Rockwool. If seeds are old i normaly scratch them up with a bit of sand paper before putting in water.
 
Rickety Rocket

Rickety Rocket

Well-Known Member
just checked on the seeds. Not much happening. Had to pull the plugs out and squeeze all the water out. If the directions are followed properly on the package it says to put 1/4" water in the tray. The plugs absorb a lot of water, so much it looked like the seeds would drown. Anybody else have successful germinations with rapid rooter? If so did you leave the tray dry or follow the directions?
 
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