Germinating in Hydro for Dummies

After going through my own experience regarding germination for a hydro setup, I thought it best to have a thread easy enough for fellow blades to find when they utilize the search function. There are countless threads when it comes to germinating in hydro, so I figured why not add some common proven methods. I also made sure to add enough common search terms in the tags for this thread to help better filter this thread. That way, it can be found using terms such as hydro, germinate, how to, and so on.

Btdubz, I encourage all who have germinated for hydro systems to share their input and experience with their methods as well.

So here we go!

Method #1: Papertowel to RW cubes

Materials Required:

• Seeds
• Ziploc Bag or Tuppleware Container w/ Lid
• Good quality H20
• pH Pen
• 1" Rockwool Cubes
• Large tray or container with dome or lid
• pH Up & Down (Brand is irrelevant)
• Eye Dropper or Syringe

Procedure:

1. Fold your papertowel in half (lengthwise) and wet the half that you plan on placing the seeds on. Rememeber not to drench it! Dip your hand in the water and let it drip onto the papertowel. Your goal is to lightly saturate it so that the seeds have a bit of moisture to start out in. Drenching it may lead to the risk of drowning your seeds.

2. Once one side of the folded papertowel is wet enough, lay out your seeds. Then, fold the dry side of the papertowel overtop of the side housing the seeds. Once closed, use the same method that you did in step one to wet the top of the papertowel. Make sure the seeds are in contact with both wet sides of the papertowel. It's ok to press GENTLY around each seed to ensure contact. Don't crush them.

3. Place the papertowel inside the ziploc bag or container and seal it up. Some don't keep it airtight, which is fine. This is the way I did it and it worked for me in aiding to keep humidity within the container high. Seeds like humidity.

4. Store the container in warm, dark place for the next day or so. Warm does not mean hot. Room temperature, as long as it is in the mid-70s is fine. Any lower and you may want to place on either a heating mat or computer tower.

5. Check daily to ensure that the papertowel is moist enough and whether or not taproots have emerged. The papertowel really shouldn't lose much moisture, especially if you keep the top sealed. However in the event it dries out too much, use the method utilized in Step 1 to drip some water on top.

6. After about a day, your seeds most likely have not emerged a taproot yet. This is perfectly normal. They may look a little darker and possibly even cracked. This is also normal. You can't rush nature. However, what you can do is start prepping your Rockwool cubes.

7. Grab a bowl or container big enough to house the amount of RW cubes you plan on using and set it aside for the moment. This is going to be used to soak your RW cubes. The point of soaking RW cubes is to bring down the pH. RW cubes have a naturally high pH reading of ~10. This is too alkaline for your seeds. So to combat this, you need to soak them in pH balanced water that is more acidic.

8. Get some tap or distilled water (distilled is preferred but if unavailable, tap is fine) and fill up your bowl or container. Measure the pH. Your goal is to get it ~5.3. Your water is most likely higher than this (unless using R/O water). Add a few drops of pH down (brand is irrelevant), stir the solution and test again. Repeat this process until the water measures ~5.3.

9. Place your cubes in the water and let them soak for at least 8 hours. Many blades go a full 24 hours. You can choose to let them soak this long if you desire, but try to hit at least the 8 hour mark.

10. Now eventually you will see little white taproots emerging from the seeds. Some seeds may crack and show their TR faster than others and this is perfectly normal. No two seeds are going to grow at exactly the same rate. It's time to transplant them into their new RW homes.

11. Snatch your RW cubes from their container of water. You need to get some of the water out so you don't down your seedlings. I'm a big fan of the baseball pitch method, which goes like this: Enclose the RW cube in your hand like your holding a baseball, but only grip it enough to keep it from falling out of your hand. Once this is done, act like your throwing a baseball while keeping the RW cube in your hand. This will throw just enough water out of the RW cube without having to squeeze the shit out of it. I recommend doing this either over the bathtub, or outside (unless you like water spots all of your furniture).

12. Once all cubes are drained of excess water, it's time to drop in the seeds. Punch a little hole in the top of the RW cubes with a pen cap or similar tool. Be careful when you're dealing with the seeds as they are in their most delicate stage. That taproot is your future of good home grown smoke, so don't be an animal and snatch the seed with anything more than a gently touch. I recommend using the gloves at this stage, because our hands on an average basis contain numerous oils and germs that probably aren't the best for such young seed life. You don't have to use them though. It's just a preference. Try to drop the seed in taproot down - if the taproot ends up at the top, don't panic! This is O.K. A majority of seeds that are spread via wind currents outside planted every which way and still end up doing fine. Additionally, mother nature isn't stupid - the plant knows that it's roots go down and the sprout goes up. Remember that the plant wants to grow and will do whatever necessary to accomplish this.

13. Once the seeds are in the RW cubes, stick them in a tray with some sort of dome to help keep humidity high and decrease the speed at which your cubes dry out. Check on them once to twice daily, allowing the top of for 5-10 minutes to help bring fresh c02 in and prevent too much moisture build up. You can risk early onset of mold and bacteria if you don't get some fresh air in there.

14. If your cubes are drying out too fast, dip the bottom 1/3 of the cube in some of your pH balanced water for a few seconds. Don't get crazy and dunk that shit, though! Remember that they have next to no root system in which to absorb the water, and over-saturating the cubes can cause a lockout of proper o2 access. You want them damp to moist, not soaking wet.

15. After another day or so, they will most likely have sprouted. Once this happens, you want to get them under some light. The type of light at this stage of the plants life is highly debatable amongst growers, but it's best to try and not get wrapped up in it. You can use cfls, fluros or HID. Keep in mind though that if you choose HID, you need to have the ability to keep the heat from the lamp down to a minimum. This means air cooling, or having a great distance between your little sprouts and the bulb. If you don't have this ability, go with cfls or fluros. You don't want to burn you plants before they even get a chance to grow more.

16. After a few more days, your roots will have most likely emerged from the bottom of the cube, and possibly the sides as well. In my opinion, this is the best time to transplant the cubes into your netpots. Fill your net pots with some hydroton (or whatever gravel-type medium you're using), place the cube on top, and fill in the sides around the cube until the cube is secured in place. Your water level in your bucket should be just touching the bottom of the net pot, not higher than the bottom and not lower than the bottom (unless you have a super duper air pump). Too high and you risk over-watering your cube; too low and you risk under-watering your cube. With the water level sitting just touching the bottom of the net pot, in combination with the bubbles from the air pump, will allow plenty of water from the popping bubbles and water vapor to be soaked up by the hydroton, which in turn saturates your cube just enough to allow it to continue growing.

17. Once your roots reach ~1" below the bottom of your net pot, drop your water level down 1" below the bottom and maintain this water level as best you can throughout the rest of the grow.

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Method #2: Straight to RW cubes

This method has just as much success as #1, with my only criticism being that it's harder to tell when the taproot emerges, as well as whether or not the seed actually cracks and germinates. However, if you're uncomfortable with using the paper towel method prior to using the cubes, this method may be best for you.

Materials Required:

• Seeds
• Good Quality, pH balanced h20
• 1" Rockwool Cubes
• pH Pen
• Large tray or container with dome or lid
• pH Up & Down (Brand is irrelevant)
• Eye Dropper or Syringe

Procedure: (not too dissimilar from Method #1)

1. Grab your container (large enough to house the number of cubes you plan on using) and dump in some of that good quality h20. Get out your pH pen and test the water. Your RW cubes are very alkaline (~10) and this is simply no good for your seeds, so you need to soak them in pH balanced water. You're shooting for ~5.3 pH. Your water (unless R/O quality) is more likely than not more alkaline than your goal pH. Grab your eye dropper or syringe, get some pH down, add a few drops and retest the water. Repeat this process until your pen reads ~5.3. You don't have to be right at that number, a few tenths in either direction won't really matter.

2. Submerge your RW cubes in the water and let themsoak for at least 8 hours. You can do more than this, but try to get at least 8 hours. Some people use 24-48 hours and this is perfectly OK.

3. Once the 8 hours or so have elapsed, you need to get some of that water out as your cubes are most likely dripping wet. You can't have them that wet or your seeds will drown before they get a chance to even start, because they have no root system to drink all of that water. Plus, too much water (even with some roots developed) runs the risk of cutting of fresh 02 circulation. I prefer using the "baseball pitch" method: Enclose the RW cube in your hand like your holding a baseball, but only grip it enough to keep it from falling out of your hand. Once this is done, act like your throwing a baseball while keeping the RW cube in your hand. This will throw just enough water out of the RW cube without having to squeeze the shit out of it. I recommend doing this either over the bathtub, or outside (unless you like water spots all of your furniture).

4. Once you've ridded some of that excess water, drop your seeds in and place the cubes into your tray with the top or dome. It doesn't have to be air tight, but the less circulation allowed means greater humidity. Humidity is your best friend and the key to good germination, since the seeds rely on it rather than light during this stage of their life. Stick the tray somewhere warm and dark. Warm does not mean hot, but room temp. If you're ambient temp around your house is anything lower than the low-70s, go ahead and stick them either in a drawer with some of your clothes, or on top of the water heater with a blanket over the top to keep it dark.

5. Check on them once or twice daily for emergence of a taproot. If you don't see once after a day, don't panic! Just make sure your cube is moist, place the lid back over it and put it back where it was. After another day or two, the seeds will most likely have cracked and a taproot emerged. Leave them in the tray for another day or so until they sprout above the surface of the RW cube.

6. Once they sprout, it's time to put them under some light. You can use fluros, cfls or HID. Keep in mind that if choosing to go the HID route, you must have the ability to keep the heat from the light under control. This means air cooling it, or keeping it far, far away from the tray for the next few days. If you can't control the temps, fluros and cfls work just as well and are in fact recommended by many experienced growers all around.

7. After a few more days or so, the roots will have emerged both from the bottom and the side. It's time to get them into your net pots. Fill your net pots up with some hydroton (or whatever gravel-type medium you're using). Place the cube in the middle and fill in the sides with some more hydroton. You've probably come to the conclusion by now that your roots aren't developed enough to reach the water. To remedy this problem, you need to bring your water level up so that it is just touching the bottom of the net pot. Too high and you risk over-saturating the hydroton which will drown the cube; too low and you risk under-saturating the cube. In both instances the symptoms are the same, the plant will begin to droop severely. By maintaining the "just touching" level, the popping bubbles from the air stone and the splashing of water vapor will saturate the hydroton just enough to evenly distribute liquid goodness to your babies.

8. Once your roots reach 1" below the net pot, bring down the water level to 1" below the bottom and try to maintain this level throughout the duration of the grow!

That pretty much covers two widely used methods for germinating seeds for a hydro system. Keep in mind that there are many other ways, including germinating in soil an transplanting into the hydroton. However, I have not used this method and thus, don't believe I am qualified to formulate an opinion on it. However, many fellow blades have used this method with success, and I encourage those individuals to post up this method (in the similar format that the above two methods are posted) to help out growers who don't feel comfortable using Rockwool.

Also keep in mind that you don't necessarily need to use Rockwool. You can use Grodan cubes or plugs as well. But again, as I have not utilized them myself, I believe it's best to let those who have used them with success to chime in as to the materials and procedure required.

Now go grab your materials and get germinating!

 

I will try to add some pictures of each step when I germinate my next seed of seeds. Glad the thread helped though, because that's why I wrote it! In regards to roots reaching the water, definitely raise up the water level. Remember that you don't have to raise it past the bottom of the net pot though. A little water vapor and water from the popping bubbles will go a long way as the hydroton absorbs it and delivers it to the rockwool.

It's all good man, I know how you feel. I'm on my first grow now, but I've grown many vegetables via hydroponics. The fact that the Grodan cubes have pre-made holes is irrelevant to whether or not to cover the seed.

The idea behind it is quite similar to growing in soil, because once the taproot emerges you plant them ~1" down into the soil and cover them. The reason for this is because you don't want the taproot exposed to light (or too much air for that matter). Roots thrive in darkness and don't need the light, since the leaves are the worker's of the plant whom take in the light for photosynthesis.

So the idea with rockwool or grodan cubes is, you brush a bit of it over the hole that you placed the seed so that the taproot is hidden from the light. IN addition, it provides a little extra tension on the young seedling to strengthen up and "push" it's way to the surface.

Hope that helps! Don't apologize for questions. That's why I created this thread.

 

That's awesome!

 

Glad I could help!

Sorry if I'm to late on this response; however, I wouldn't pronounce the seedling dead, necessarily. 90F (32.1C) is definitely hotter than what you want in there. How is your humidity? You want to get those temps down below 29C as best you can, and try to ensure that your humidity hovers in the 45-65% range while in veg (lower during Flower).

I do not recommend watering with a nutrient solution of any strength until the cubes are in the bubblers and the roots are reaching down through the net pot, into the water. Although Rockwool is absent any nutrients for the plant to use, they really aren't necessary at this early stage. The plat has enough nutrients to support itself until its 3rd or 4th node set.

The other reason why it's not a good idea to feed nutrients at this stage is because you most likely burn them. There may be some growers on here whom have fed a light mixture of nutes with little to no problems, but it is rare. Let me illustrate:

Soil: Seedlings grow much faster during their early seed life because the soil has nutrients in it. However, the reason why this is O.K. and a majority of plants handle it is because the roots aren't being bombarded with the nutrients when it delivers moisture to the stem. The roots are forced to grow to search out moisture and nutrients. It's not readily available whenever the plant feeds.

Hydro: On the other hand, when you water Rockwool, all of that water is directly transferred to the roots, because that is all they have to drink. They can't search around and find water that lacks too much nutrients. Thus, watering them with even a weak strength nutrient solution forces them to try and uptake all of it so it can continue to deliver water to the stem.

Things happen much faster in Hydro, and feeding a nutrient solution too young will have adverse effects that can be seen within a day or less.

I'm sure you guys are bummed that your ladies aren't growing as rapidly as some you may see in soil (or those who start from clones), but you have to be patient. Once they are in the buckets with the roots reaching down, and you give the their first round of nutes, you will be surprised how fast growth comes.

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask anymore questions. I just gave a buddy of mine a seedling that I've had in a Rockwool cube for about 2 weeks now. I decided not to transfer it to a bigger cube because I wanted to air prune the roots. Wish I could have taken a picture before I gave it away, because the sheer number of roots that the plant had so far was staggering. I love air pruning.

 

AIR PRUNING 101

Air Pruning is a method used to encourage subsequent root growth. We'll use Rockwool cubes as an example, since it's prevalent in this thread. Once the taproot emerges from the bottom of the cube, it will want to continue to grow. However, it can only grow so far before the air becomes too dry for it to survive. Once the root reaches this point of growth, the dry air literally 'prunes' the root back to where it can survive, which is the moister, humid air immediately surrounding the cube.

So what, right? Well, we're not done. Mother nature wasn't stupid, thus, neither are your plants. It realizes that if it can't grow it's main root further to search for moisture, than it needs to grow alternatives to pull it off. Thus, after the root is pruned, the root brings it's energy back to the core of the stem to encourage secondary and tertiary growth. Once these subsequent roots reach the dry air, they do the same as the tap root and the cycle continues.

This technique encourages a more complex root system to grow at the core of the stem and is especially helpful in hydro systems. Why? Well, think about it for a second, is the plant more efficient at feeding/intaking nutrients through 5 roots, or 25 roots? It's obviously the latter, and this is because each root has a maximum rate at which is can absorb moisture and deliver it to the stem for the leaves. This technique is also great for soil grows, and uses the same moisture principal as in hydro. A more complex root system in the planter's pot means the plant is able to locate and intake moisture & nutes both quicker and more efficiently.

In regards to yield, there are plenty of people whom swear by air pruning. In fact, many growers on here us Smart Pots, which are fabric pots that allow the roots to grow right through before being pruned. Many say this has le to greater increases in yield. However, it's important to remember that the air pruning technique is only more beneficial if all of your other environmental and medium factors are dialed in.

Here's a picture to help best illustrate the description above:



Hope that helps! Happy Tokin!