Grow Mediums Preferred ways to germ and start out in autopots?

[lunarman]

My 4pot is at the local hydro store ready for pickup. Starting to think about how to use them and one thing that I'm nervous about is how to start them up. I'm a newb. Waiting for my first grow to finish up so I'm that new. And germinating and the seedling phase was a challenge for me the first time.Pretty sure I stunted my first batch of girls, but managed to pull of what should be an OK harvest for a first grow.

For my first grow I germinated right in to an organic coco based solo cup and then transplanted to the fabric geo pots and had them under a dome with heater mat. That took a while to germinate. I was nervous using the paper towel method and handling a seed with a shoot so I opted for the cup method.

And the autopots need a bit more care so that the roots are trained to go down instead of out before you turn on the water. That much I do know.

Mom mentioned using a bottomless solo cup to start out right in the autopot I think. Not sure if that means germinating in the medium or in a paper towel. But the idea being the plastic will make roots develop down at first.

I also have seen some autopot grows where a cube (rockwool?) sits on the top surface of the pot and I assume is used for germination and no transplant required.

So there are options. And I'm trying to settle on something pretty reliable and recommended. I'd like to have as much going in my favor to start out with as I know the seedling phase is pretty critical to having a good harvest. So would appreciate some guidance from the experienced ones!

Thanks.

 

[lunarman]

Bump.

Come on people, lets see some action and participation on this board. Share your secrets. Don't be shy about your techniques.

 

[bushmasterar15]

Maybe @pop22 @Hansbricks @RamboGarden might be able to help with germination for autopots.

Once I get mine setup. I will probably be doing the 24hr soak till showing tails then planting direct to the coco medium in the autopots.

 

[pop22]

Don't be afraid of handling sprouts, I've handled hundreds and have broke maybe 2. I start in paper towel and transfer to a 1 quart pot to start. In 7 - 10 days from sprout, your leaves should be as wide as the starter pot. Its time to transplant! Water the pot a little the night before transplant, it helps hold the soil together. Now, when I fill my auto pots with soil, I fill a 1 quart with soil so it will hold its shape. I fill the pot enough that standing the 1 qt pot in the middle brings it almost even with the top of the auto pot. tamp the dirt down around that pot firmly. Now pull the 1 qt out. Slip the stem of your seedling between your fingers of one hand, and flip the pot, upside down. Push down on the bottom of the pot, like pushing a button. This will free the soil from the pot. Now lift THE POT off the soil, don't lift the plant out. Place your hand near the hole in the soil of the auto pot, and place the plant in the hole. Pack the soil around the rootball so there are no airspaces. Done! Takes 1 minute.
I do it this way because I've discovered that my plants start growing immediately! within hours of transplant I have measurable growth. Transplanting with the bottom of a cup cut out works, but restricts the growth of your plants roots, they have to force themselves out the bottom of that cup before they can spread out, kinda like trying to shove a golfball through a straw.........

My 4pot is at the local hydro store ready for pickup. Starting to think about how to use them and one thing that I'm nervous about is how to start them up. I'm a newb. Waiting for my first grow to finish up so I'm that new. And germinating and the seedling phase was a challenge for me the first time.Pretty sure I stunted my first batch of girls, but managed to pull of what should be an OK harvest for a first grow.

For my first grow I germinated right in to an organic coco based solo cup and then transplanted to the fabric geo pots and had them under a dome with heater mat. That took a while to germinate. I was nervous using the paper towel method and handling a seed with a shoot so I opted for the cup method.

And the autopots need a bit more care so that the roots are trained to go down instead of out before you turn on the water. That much I do know.

Mom mentioned using a bottomless solo cup to start out right in the autopot I think. Not sure if that means germinating in the medium or in a paper towel. But the idea being the plastic will make roots develop down at first.

I also have seen some autopot grows where a cube (rockwool?) sits on the top surface of the pot and I assume is used for germination and no transplant required.

So there are options. And I'm trying to settle on something pretty reliable and recommended. I'd like to have as much going in my favor to start out with as I know the seedling phase is pretty critical to having a good harvest. So would appreciate some guidance from the experienced ones!

Thanks.

 

[pop22]

These girls are in organic soil, all were transplanted with no issues.

 

[Journey Man]

For me personally i have had a very good success when i have germinate seeds in root-riots . 12 hours soak in a glass then into the root riots and when the roots gets out the bottom i move them to the pot. This is the way i will do as it works very well. I have tried root-riots and rockwool side by side and the girls in root-riots were faster and stronger early on. The rockwool needed to be sprayed with water way more then the root-riots to not dry out, it also took a while to adjust the PH on the rockwools.


I have started my 3 biggest plants in soil-pots then after a week just digging them up and transfer the girls with a fist of soil surrounding their roots into straight coco pots.

I have killed alot of seeds/seedlings and the main-reason has been to much light/heat even before they popped up. Show respect (faaaar away) with the light the first 3-4 days if using Hps, cant say anything about led/cobs as i dont have any personal experience.

If you are a new grower, or i would say experienced aswell i think its a good idea to transplant from a smaller pot to a bigger one if growing in straight soil as it can be difficult to know when to give the seedling water and not risk to underwater or overwater the seedling.

If growing in coco with autopots i would say there is no need for a step-up with pots, start in final pot is my advice, with the help of root-riots. You want the roots down to the source of nutrients asap so there is a constant flow of food for the girl to uptake.

 

[KonopCh]

Guys, it's only seed. Soak 24h in water then put it in substrate. Then wait...
You're making nuclear physic with that...

 

[pop22]

Yes that works fine too. I transplant however, because I believe transplants if done correctly, grow faster than seed planted directly into a large pot. My theory is that when the roots have just filled the starter pots, it signals vegetative growth to begin. Thus, the transplant will grow roots and vegetative mass at the same time. This is only a theory based on my observations, I can tell you however, i see my transplants grow 1/2" - 1" in the first 8-12 hours of being transplanted.

Guys, it's only seed. Soak 24h in water then put it in substrate. Then wait...
You're making nuclear physic with that...

 

[Unique]

Guys, it's only seed. Soak 24h in water then put it in substrate. Then wait...
You're making nuclear physic with that...

I kinda do that...I do soak for first 24ish hrs...then from there goes to paper-towel until tap root approx 1/2" long(just tap root) then from there into coco(in dark) until break ground, once break ground Under Led/MH or whatever light source your using..

 

[Rev. Green Genes]

I start directly in rockwool. I soak a 2x3 inch cube in water, cut a slot, and shove it in about a fingernail or less. At first I kept it in a bowl of water and covered it with a large mug or something to keep RH up, and out of the grow light area. I have gotten more and more lax about though. I just put it straight into my DWC netpots, and hand water it twice a day till it is out of the ground and has first leaves. Once they green up and the stems turn colors I stop watering it so the roots will seek out the water below. So far I have a 100% germ rate this way. 200-300 ppm at pH 6 - 6.3 at the same time I stop watering by hand. about the first week. no transplants. I want it to spend as much energy on roots as it can for the first month, even if it takes longer, I think it fattens up the stems to hold more bud weight.