Q on germination and jiffy root shooters

Hi everyone!

I have some Jiffy \ advanced nutrients Root Shooters (PIC: http://www.sunsetgrow.com/store/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/0/8/08-sun-jiffy-rootshooters-jiffy-shooters.jpg)

And a couple of seeds of course... Now i am wondering a few things in order to start.

1. Water the jiffy cubes slightly (do i have to water them at start?)

2. Place seed horizontal in jiffy cube

3. 18+hrs of light needed and not more than 50% humidty. Never completely cover propagation tray with humidity dome, and have good air exchange. I'll be using 2x 34w horizontal neon light. Keep the lights closest as possible to avoid stretching. (do they need 24 hours of light? or can i do a 18/6 schedule? does the night period cause stretching for seedlings?)

4. Transplant in 4" pot once roots show to start seedling growth, then transplant into bigger pot, Or should i go from jiffy cube to bigger pot directly?

Do i need to add nutrients? rooting boost? superthrive? Should I keep water in the propagation tray? or should i just manually mist it, and put a bit of water in the cubes when they dry out?

Is there anything else that i am missing?

Thanks!

i have never used root shooters. just follow the directions on them for seeds. (sound like you just fill up the tray to the marked level and keep it topped up)
by neon i assume you are talking about fluorescent lights, 18/6 will do fine.
have a fan blowing on them once they sprout. will strengthen stems.
#4 either way works.
no nutes or anything until they are 2-3weeks or show signs of needing nutes. (depends on strain but no nutes for any young ones)
keep them moist but not wet, don't let them dry out early on or they will die.

awesome thanks for the quick reply!

Actually, on the root shooters package, there are no instructions.. it just says everything is ready to use :\
I dont understand what you mean by "filling up the tray to the marked level and keep it topped up" -- you mean i should keep water in the tray?

it sounded like it has a tray that came with the root shooters. is designed to hold so-much water in the bottom (works like a mini - wick hydro system)

just make sure to keep them moist but not wet - roots need air to live also.

well... it didn't come with a tray that can hold water. Though i have one of those with a meshed grill that i can put on top. The Root Shooters tray looks like a regular sized tray, though it cannot HOLD water... it is individual cups for all the jiffy cubes with a hole in the bottom to allow roots to come out.

That is where my question comes up of the water level... i was under the impression of going to cut out like 3 of the root shooters cubes and put them in my propagation tray, and water when necessary..

You soak the cubes for a few hours first. Then just dampen them every day or so with a mist sprayer. You do not put the cubes in standing water..No instructions?

boneheadbob said:

You soak the cubes for a few hours first. Then just dampen them every day or so with a mist sprayer. You do not put the cubes in standing water..No instructions?

Click to expand...

I should let them soak in water even though they are soil? (or what seems to be soil anyways)... the root shooters are not made out of rockwool

...and yeah, oddly enough there is no instructions on the cover paper of the box! Unless i dropped a paper that would have been inside :\

rz514 said:

I should let them soak in water even though they are soil? (or what seems to be soil anyways)... the root shooters are not made out of rockwool

...and yeah, oddly enough there is no instructions on the cover paper of the box! Unless i dropped a paper that would have been inside :\

Click to expand...

I have the shooters that you're talking about, but have'nt even cracked them. I soaked my beans for 24 hours. You'll see a little crack in the shell and the tap root just breaking through. Some people scarify their seeds first by putting them in a match box lined with fine grit sandpaper and shake them a few times to thin the hard seed shell. I did'nt and no problem. I make a hole in the soil I'm going to use and plant the seed directly into the mix. I use Roots Organics potting soil, which is'nt really soil at all. I use OregonismXL mixed into my soil and feed with a molasses, kelp, quano, etc. catalyst to kick in the soils bennies well before planting my seeds. It starts your soils bacteria and microbes to work breaking down the organic matter in the soil to feed your plants. They'll burn through N while they establish themselves so you want to do that before planting or your girls will be competing with the microbes for N and that'll deprive your plants when they need the N most. If this helps brother throw me a rep. Good luck.