In general, self waterers are not good for cannabis as it is best to really let the soil dry out between waterings. I personally always germ using the paper towel method.
Having googled it, that's a nice bit of kit, you may be ok with it until the plants are out of the soil with their leaves open, good luck.
As of now I have some lil guys growing in a burpee tray so any tips would be appreciated... I popped 24 seeds in a paper towel with plates and put them in a burpee tray. I'm not happy with the results. 0nly 10 sprouted and 2 of the 10 died, probs from damping off, the burpee seems to have too much moisture. I've had much better luck with seed trays from the dollar store, they contain soil and seem to be easier to manage.
Newbie Experience Germinating and Growing to Harvest: Still a Newbie: Last year was my first ever attempt to cultivate cannabis. Requirements in Choice of Seeds for Successful Germination to Harvest: (a) Easiest Strains for Beginner (many lists of top 5 or top 10 online info. (b) Suitability for my climate (northern latitude (c) Balanced THC:CBD ratio for pain management (no couch lock strains), (d) short maturation period from seed start to harvest. (e) Disease resistance + ability to handle adverse growing conditions Sourcing My Seeds: I ordered both auto-flowering feminized strains and regular feminized strains from a reputable international seed bank which (a) sends seeds in stealth packaging and (b) accepts credit cards, and (c) also gives freebie seeds with each order. Note about using BitCoin: Several seed banks encourage the use of BitCoin purchases for better deals (freebie seeds & discounts) but I saw too many negative customer reports about BitCoin use). Germination Advice for Starting from Seeds: Before handling my seeds (which arrived in 10 days and carefully stealth-packaged in underwear), I had researched gardening info about seed germination. Most online info was about tomatoes and chilli peppers, which share the same unique cultivation requirements as cannabis. Pre-Germination Handling of Seeds: To avoid contamination & over-handling of seeds and, to also avoid transplant shock, I decided to use rooting plugs (Root Riot type but from another manufacturer....50 count for $15.99) in which to germinate seeds. Before placing any seeds in these rooting plugs, I pre-soaked these the rooting plugs in a Pre-Soak Sprouting Solution Recipe for Pre-Soak Sprouting Solution to moisten Rooting Plugs and Pre-Germination Soak for Seeds: 30 ml liquid seaweed + 30 ml liquid humic acid in 1 gallon distilled water. I used 60 ml calibrated plastic syringes (13 count for $13.99) to measure. For smaller, more exact quantities, I also got 3ml calibrated, with blunt tip needle, syringes (12 count for $8.39). Pre-Germination Seed Soak: Before placing each seed in its own pre-soaked rooting plug, I did a Pre-Germination Seed Soak. I soaked seeds in the same solution (described above) which I'd used to moisten the rooting plugs. I used clear glass shot glasses in which to soak the seeds. I labeled each shot glass with the name of the strain of the seed because I had seeds of several different strains. I ordered three seeds of each strain to insurance against possible loss during cultivation. I wanted to avoid contamination of the seeds while manually handling them. I took each seed from its shipping envelope with a pair of good quality crafter's/beader's plastic craft tweezers (plastic is much more forgiving than metal; plastic tweezers are less likely to crush the seed). You can order good quality soft plastic, fine-point tip, anti-static tweezers, 4.7 inch length, online or buy them at a brick & mortar crafts store for about $5.00 each. There are cheaper plastic tweezers available. However, the better quality $5.00 tweezers will not break (causing you to react by squeezing hard and likely crushing the seed). The better quality tweezers will last much longer than the much cheaper versions which can be bought 42 count for $6.99. 12 hours to pre-soak the seeds until the seeds sank to the bottom of their shot glasses. Once the seeds sank, I used my good quality plastic tweezers to place each seed into its own pre-moistened rooting plug. I placed the rooting plugs into the cells of a pre-formed plastic seedling starter tray and waited for sprouts to show. 100% Germination! Happily, every seed germinated and sprouted in its rooting plug. I was ignorant about preventing the dreadful ubiquitous killer of seedings commonly called "Damping Off" which attacks the roots and bottom stems of a vulnerable seedling. My ignorance of this fungal killer resulted in loss of 3 seedlings Lesson learned: Be sure to study how to prevent damping off before you start your seeds. Avoiding Transplant Shock with the "Pot Within A Pot" Transplant Method. When the little sprouts with their Cotyledon leaves started showing signs of their second set of leaves "true leaves, I took each rooting plug containing its sprout and placed the rooting plug into the center of a 5-inch diameter hydroponic net pot (24 count for $22.31) which I had pre-filled with lightly moistened seedling starter potting mix. I placed all the rooting-plug-in-a-net pot into inexpensive, disposable/re-usable, heavy duty aluminum, rectangular, approx 3-inch deep, chafing/steaming/baking pans. Each 21-inch x 13-inch x 3-inch pan held eight 5-inch net pots. I waited for the sprouts to develop an adequate root system (white roots showing through the bottom of the net pot, and at least 3 sets of true leaves (almost 4 nodes) before putting each plant into its final maturation-to-harvest big grow pot. Watering developing seedlings from the bottom to avoid over-watering: I used a greatly watered down same Soaking Solution (described above) to water the developing seedlings growing in their net pots. Using my calibrated, 3 ml blunt point needle syringe, I measured 12 ml of Soaking Solution into 1 quart bottle of spring/distilled water. I poured about 1/2 inch of water level into each aluminum pan for each watering. To measure moistness of the potting soil, initially, I used an inexpensive moisture prong meter ($7.00 - $10.00) to measure whether the potting mix (about three inches deep) needed to be re-moistened. I decided against simply using my finger as a test for whether the pot needed watering because wetness-by-feel-with-my-finger was, IMHO, too subjective and subject to too many variables. I followed online advice in the forums to learn how to measure wetness by the "lift-a-pot-to-test-need-for-watering". Ugh....Fungus Gnats: I saw a couple of flying thingy things that looked like fungus gnats flying around in my plastic greenhouse. These thingys looked like the photos of fungus gnats I saw online. I used Mosquito Bits (spendy but worth it) to deal with the issue. I made a larvae eliminating drench to soak the potting mix to kill any larvae which might have hatched in the root zone. Mosquito Bits Fungus Gnat Drench Recipe: 2 heaping Tablespoons of Mosquito Bits mixed/stirred into 1/2 gallon Distilled Water and left soaking/infusing for at least 10-30 minutes (or better, left to soak for longer, or overnight). Drench each net pot thoroughly until water runs out bottom. Drain off excess run-off of drench liquid. After drench, cover the top of potting mix around the seedling with complete layer of dry Mosquito Bits. Take spray bottle and moisten this layer of Mosquito Bits to prevent adult Fungus Gnats from laying eggs. Also prevents larvae from emerging from potting mix. For additional protection, spread a thin layer of Diatomaceous Earth Powder directly touching the bottom of each seedling stem which prevents crawling insects from climbing up your plants. If you water from the top, water in a circle slightly away from where you have sprinkled the Diatomaceous Earth Powder because wetting the Diatomaceous Earth Powder will render it mostly useless (because I do not know why....I just kept reading this online in forums) at protecting the seedling stem. Cheaper version of Mosquito Bits drench would be to use Mosquito Dunks (which do not dissolve as quickly and should be ground into a dustlike consistency using mortar and pestle). Using Mosquito Dunks for the anti fungus gnat drench has several recipes available online. I decided to use Mosquito Bits according to the manufacturer's instructions (for more money) and less guessing about how much and how. The Final Grow Pot....Maturation-to-Harvest: While I waited for the seedlings to grow their four nodes of "real leaves", I prepared and filled their final maturation-to-harvest grow pots. I prepared pots sized 5 gallons, 7 gallons and 12.5 gallons, depending on my chosen strains' expected height at maturity.). Best Size & Type Pot for Maturation-to-Harvest of Plant: The General Advice (from breeders-sellers) is to allow 1 gallon for every expected foot of growth in height of the plant. For Example, if your plant is going to reach 5 ft in height, you can use a 5 gallon pot (or 5 gallon bucket). The "bigger the better" opinion. I decided to allow more room for root growth by allowing about 2 gallons for every expected foot of growth in height because I had the room in my outdoors growing arrangement, in plein aire. I grow my plants in two separate, lockable-with-chain-and-padlock, metal-bars-and-wire dog kennels (6' wide x 8' long x 6' high). Choice of What Type of Pot...Root Pruning vs. Solid Sided: I chose the air-rooting plastic pot model instead of the fabric Smart Pots because the plastic pots were rigid and more easily moved. The sides of the one fabric pot I tried tended to wrinkle and collapse when I moved it. Initially, I invested in the pricey pots that have a pimply looking plastic sides held together with colorful screw-pegs. I kept searching for cheaper air rooting pots. Finally, I found a much, much cheaper alternative to commercially available air-rooting plastic pots that worked just as well (perhaps even better). DIY Air Rooting Pot....Youtube Instructional Video: "Cheap & Easy DIY Air Pots" uploaded April 30, 2017, by Bob Andris, using Dollar Store laundry baskets and landscape weed block fabric. $1 per 7 gallon laundry basket! How cheap is that? I could have used those normal black solid sided nursery pots or 5-gallon buckets, but I didn't have a drill and I wanted something super quick and super easy for really, really cheap. I made several of the kDIY Dollar Store laundry basket pots (about 7-8 gallon size). To make these laundry basket air rooting pots more durable and easier to handle, I used Zip Ties to hold the double basket pot together. The Dollar Store sells smaller sized laundry baskets if you want a smaller pot. However, if you want a larger basket than what is available at the Dollar Store, you may have to spend a lot more. Laundry hampers are spendy. Better to get/borrow a drill and drill large holes in regular nursery pots or other containers that are bigger than 5 gallon buckets. I have seen nursery pots in the 30 gallon size but they are not commonly available and cost much more. Unless you plant to move your big potted plants around frequently, it would probably best to buy felt-fabric Smart Pots in larger than 10 gallons size to save money. Note: I used the black diamond patterned landscape weedblock fabric available at Home De(s)pot that sells for $12.99 + tax, for a 50 ft x 48 inch roll. Hope this reply to post helps a little bit.