First timer: How best to germinate

Sounds like you have it figured.

I like to add about two tablespoons of water every day over the planted seeds during the first 2-4 days it's under. I also place a 23w to 27w daylight cfl bulb in a clamp light reflector about 2" from the top of the coco. This is close enough for the heat to matter but not so close that it will hurt the seedling when it hatches.

Root zone temps are important. You want them between 65 and 72 degrees ideally. Sprouting somewhere cold is very difficult to do, and too much warmth can encourage pathogens and anerobic situations. Using just plain tap water and maintaining a room temperature of about 78 degrees should provide a very hospitable spring like environment for hatching a seed without the need for a heating pad or cable box or whatever else people are using.

Early seeds are usually above ground in about 80 hours from planting. By the 100th hour I usually have about 80% above ground. Sometimes there is a seed or two that just had a tough shell and took a little extra time getting situated. A week from planting and everything should be above ground and tossing out leaf sets.

Early life is easy enough. Start with a very mild mixture of grow and water, like 0.6ec, pretty much as soon as the first leaves are filled out and the second set is filling in. Not the first watering, but probably the second. Allow the coco to cycle from wet to almost dry like you would in soil for the first few days. I find this helps encourage lateral root development a little better. What also is important for building roots is a good strong breeze. Feel free to really fling them around with the oscillating fan early on. It will make them strong and sturdy and build a good base to work with.

AskEd has been working exclusively with CNS17 for a while now. I have used it myself but he would be a great resource for you. Hit him up.

 

Your right about starting seeds in coco. I think it is as fast a method if not faster than germing the seed first, then planting.....
I think hydrating your coco with cal/mag plus @ a rate of 1/4tsp to the gallon of water is a good way to get these most important secondary nutrients into the medium at seedling stage...

You want a good brand of coco and Botanicare cocogro has worked well for me.
The cns17 is an excellent 1 part nutrient and highly recommend it.

You only need to plant the seed a 1/4" deep...At 1" it will take longer to sprout.
Your 1 gallon bags should be ok but, find if you use a smaller container to start seeds, like solo cups, is better for root development. Once the roots are established and on their way you can transplant into their final container....

All SCMC says is good and feeding the seedling 1/4 strength when they sprout and loose their helmut is most important for a healthy start.

 

get yourself some starter plugs. something like rapid rooters, root riots, even something cheap like sunleaves super starter plugs work great for starting seeds

ya give em nothing but plain ph'd water, maybe even a little rooting additive like rhizotonic, roots excel, bio-root etc.... at maybe 1-3ml/gallon

the seedlings have enough food and energy stored up to eat just fine for around 2 weeks give or take, so all you really wanna focus on is gettin those roots firing on all cyliners

this is all just my 2cents and the best way for myself to start, and most importantly, keep the delicate seedling happy

scmc & colas advice is great. i just know that even a very small amount of food to a fresh seedling, especially in coco, can have some negative effects that will really slow the process down

pick any one of our 3 recommendations and run with it bro

 

Never tried those starter plug...Guess I will eventually...There suppose to have everything a seedling needs to get going..So I assume they must have hormones and nutrient added.

Ive tried pure coco with and without feeding and the ones without were all runted. I just started using Alaska Fish Ferilizer(5-1-1) for feeding sprouts and is working great and they seem to thrive on the stuff...

 

[quote name='"colafarmer"']
Never tried those starter plug...Guess I will eventually...There suppose to have everything a seedling needs to get going..So I assume they must have hormones and nutrient added.

Ive tried pure coco with and without feeding and the ones without were all runted. I just started using Alaska Fish Ferilizer(5-1-1) for feeding sprouts and is working great and they seem to thrive on the stuff...[/quote]

Interesting, Alaska fish fert. I will have to look for that. Plugs. Love em. Work great. No more rockwool for me. That stuff just seems too thick.

 

Walmart @ $7.44 qt...Just right for seedling stage with no burning....

 

[quote name='"colafarmer"']
Walmart @ $7.44 qt...Just right for seedling stage with no burning....[/quote]

Your the effin man. Thanks

 

What department are we talking about here? I wouldn't know where to start to find that in Walmart...

 

Garden....

 

There a lot of ways to germinate seeds and be successful. I always soak mine overnite(only overnite) and the place them in starter plugs. They always pop. Keep the lights close, very close. I also use a heating pad under the tray with the starter plugs to keep the root zone temperature nice. Seeds like water and warmth, then they will germinate. After they sprout.... get ready a bazillion answers on how to grow the plant.

 

I know most people preach to keep temps <85, and I am also in that camp. However cannabis is not some finicky flower. I have a grow right now that I set up in a gutted motorhome. Unfortunately I have not had the electrician out to wire up an outlet so I can power it up so I am using house outlet power. So am am unable to run an air conditioner, and even with lots of fans, the temps get well over 90 during the day(and maybe over 100 many times). The plants are just fine.

 

Yeah high temperature becomes more of an issue during flowering because it may effect yields to some degree. I have seen many grows that have done fine in high temps all the way through. I think the horror stories we here with temps are those that have a sudden and drastic swing. I have heard growers losing a whole crop because they had an air conditioning system fail. Like you it is getting cooler here in the northwest so I am in now hurry to get an electrician, plus I have a buddy that will do it for "free" in a few months.

 

90 is too hot. Maybe a seedling can handle it with a good deal of humidity... but it's not worth risking.

You should work hard on improving your grow room ventilation. If it is... 74 degrees inside the house then you only need to move more air to reduce the temperature difference from the intake air to right under the lights.

Environment is the King of the Grow indoors. Many people spend too much money on lights and nutrients, forgetting that 80% of the dried final product is Carbon. Carbon they get from good fresh air being passed over the leaves.

High temps will increase the rate of respiration, sometimes above the rate of photosynthesis. The carbohydrates and protein pools utilized by photosynthesis are being used more rapidly than they are being produced as a result of the increased respiration. In order to maintain healthy growth vigor the rate of photosynthesis must be greater than the rate of respiration.

You can hit mid 80's with seedlings no problem. 84, 85, not as big of a deal as long as that is the peak temperature and not the steady temperature (starting at say, 70, and slowing increasing as the day progresses). Do your very best to ensure that the low temperature and the high temperature are no more than 15 degrees apart. This will reduce stress on the plant and result in better growth rates as the grow progresses.

Do not underestimate the need for a controlled indoor environment.