New Grower First Autoflower grow and first time DWC - HELP PLEASE!

[BigMac3000]

It's been a week guys, they've still not sprouted :/

Think i might have to try again
Confidence in myself has dropped after this lol, if i can't even get the little buggers to sprout how am i going cope if/when they're in the buckets?!

 

[UpInSmoke]

Don't worry man if the seeds won't germ you can always try again most people use the cup and paper method I only soak mine in kitchen roll but putting then in a cup on water for a day before is probably the way to go, I would be worried about doing a dwc, I've never done one myself but they seem very technical and complex I'd probably stick with soil and airpots till you can harvest some prime bud before trying that stuff hope this helps and that your on your way to a grow soon peace

 

[BigMac3000]

Does it matter what the PH of the water that the seeds are soaking in is?

The reason im worried is because the house i live in im currently renting with mates and the contract ends on 30th June and so we have to be moved out by then so i need to get this grow up and running ASAP in order to have it done in time.

I have grew weed once before this and i germinated them sees by just chucking them in a wet paper towel and it worked fine so i assummed this time it would be similiar but i guess not lol.

 

[BigMac3000]

Yo guys, if you've read the posts before this you'll be aware that i had a bad start trying to get these seeds going but i haven't given up and i've started again.

I soaked the 2 seeds in separate glasses of bottled water for about 20 hours and they both sank, (i only soaked for this long because i left them in overnight). The 'Think Different' seed had cracked and had a tap root of about 2mm just from soaking and so i put that into the rockwool cubes as soon as i could. The power flower had only cracked but sank with a helping tap down about 12 hours into soaking.

I put the power flower seed in wet paper towels and inside a zip lock bag which i blew air into and closed last night. This morning i checked the seed and the tap root had shown so into the rockwool it went!

I soaked my rockwool cubes in PH adjusted water of about 5.4/5.5 with added root stim.

Here's the power flower in the paper towels.



Here's a pic of the power flower with its tap root.



and a nice family picture in the prop tank lol



As usual i welcome and urge you all to give me any advice or help and i will answer any questions as best i can


Happy Smoking and Growing!

 

[UpInSmoke]

glad your up and running again :thumbs: just a little tip might be for you might not but i wait until the root is a 1/4 inch minimum before i plant it, you should be fine though i just like it this way as i can keep track of it till its pretty much ready to break soil and open its leafs. you wait mate another week and you'll have a nice little family of autos happy growing man peace

 

[BigMac3000]

Thanks man!

Yeah with my previous grow i waited till they were a similiar size before i planted them but then i read on a few websites that you shouldn't let the root get more than a few mm long so i put them in the rockwool out of harms way, the harm being me lol! Got me excited now haha, i can't wait for the rapid growth of these plants. It sounds so interesting and exciting!

Btw i don't have a heating mat at the moment so ive got 2 average light bulbs on 20/4 and ive just been switching an electric heater on and off to keep the temp in my cupboard around the mid twenties (24-26c). Does anyone know if this will this be sufficient enough for my seeds to sprout?

 

[UpInSmoke]

It is enough to get the sprouts going but could be better do you have any tv boxes that go unused ? i use an old one to put my germing seeds on and keep a nice warm temp then before i goto bed i turn it off to simulate the night time better, i have only had one seed not germ on me doing this and i have done around 25-30 now so its a good method you could try the same with the cubes there in, just make sure there seal or moistened often because i find if i leave mine like this for about 12 hours without a seal they start to dry out

 

[BigMac3000]

i dont think i do, closest thing to that that would get fairly warm would be an old xbox or something? ive not had any problems with the rockwool drying out on me yet, but maybe that's because it ain't warm enough? i dont know lol.

do you think having the hid light on would help out or will that just cause the plants to stretch once they sprout?

 

[BigMac3000]

Heat mat came a few days early. All is well know haha, just a matter of waiting and hoping for these seeds sprout!

 

[nben]

Another quick question here though.. is anybody clued up on handling the reservoir? Like how often do you change the water in your hydro tub and how do you do it? I feel like a pest asking little questions like this but im new to this and everyone starts somewhere init..

Hey Bigmac! I'm happy to see that you've found your way into DWC. It's a great way to grow and your first is truly shocking when your plant hits the fast veg stage! Prepare to be amazed.

I change my res weekly after the first couple of weeks. I start off on no nutes, then after the plant becomes a seedling the next week I do a 1/4 strength feed in the same water. Then everything sits for another week. By now the plant will be growing faster and I change the res weekly. At first it may be a waste of nutes but, for me at least, it helps keeping up the same schedule.

I just dump the bucket out in the bathtub and reload from water that I have stored in gallon jugs. I also use this solution to water my houseplants if they are dry when I am doing the weekly change. They really like this.

EDIT- Remember you will have to put the plants in something while you are doing your weekly maintenance! I just put the lid in a small bucket that is deep enough to house bubbler and root mass. You don't want to just set it on the ground.