seed/germination problem (soil)...

[Revenger420]

Hi Autoflower!

Newbie grower: My set up:

Temps: 21-23 celsius (71-73 F)
RH: 40-45% in a 4x4
Light: Spyder Farmer SF1000

Growing 2x Mephisto Sour Crack Autos

So I soaked my seeds for 2 hours, then dropped them right into the soil. First time grower so I was impatient....moved the soil around checking to see if the seed will germinate. I stopped worrying when I saw roots come out, that was about 2 days ago. This morning I checked it again, and saw one of the seeds break the soil! Unfortunately theres no cotelydons yet....

The other seed however, the root broke the soil and was growing upwards with the seed being the lowest point....so I decided to dig a hole and transplant it so that the root was deep in the soil and the seed is above the ground....Just wondering if it will affect the seedlings growth or not...

I know I could probably just wait a few hours and find the results but I'm hoping you folks can give me some assurance that my plants will turn out fine haha...
For other first time growers, the seed should be planted with the pointy end facing 45degrees upwards as per picture below (according to another thread)

Bottom pic is the seed that was moved...Thanks for reading!

 

[Kyote]

Welcome to AFN @Revenger420
Patience goes a long ways with these. Different methods are used for seeds. I like to soak them 12 to 16 hours, then onto a paper towel that is damp. I fold it a couple times, then into a ziplock and into a drawer. When there is a 1/2 inch or so of taproot, into the grow medium they go. I don't know what effect moving the young one around will have on it. The root is fragile, so depends on if you stressed it or not.

Your humidity is low for a seedling. They like it in the 70% range. An easy fix for that is a humidity dome over them until they have a couple sets of leaves. Your temperature is ok, just try not to go any lower. From the pic, it appears the grow medium is pretty wet. You don't want to kill them by over watering either. Another good reason for a dome as it helps keep moisture for the baby.
And i've always placed the seed taproot down. Maybe i'm doing it wrong, yet it works for me.

Good luck to you on your grow. There are some very knowledgeable folks on here, way beyond my knowledge base, and I've learned a ton from them about indoor growing, and continue to learn.

Have fun, have patience, and keep r growing

Here's a cake cover I used for a dome - bout anything clear will do

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

@Revenger420 I have done a bit of vegetable and cutting flowers farming with mostly organic methods. I have tried many styles of germination. First to market wins $$$. What I really learned was the best quality most vigorous plants came from the seeds I could just plant right in the ground where they grew. Starting seeds in the "greenhouse" and transplanting got me to market sooner but it is at a price. So my first choice is to plant right in the soil where it will grow. 1/2" inch deep, keep warm 78°F - 80°F and moist but not soggy.Turn your veg light on until all of the seeds have one set of true leaves. Then 18/6. The growing system I am using now requires a transplant. I am not against transplanting but will avoid when I can.

After you plant them be patient, don't be beatin' those poor babies with a stick

About your soil it looks too wet like there is not enough drainage. What is up with that?

 

[Revenger420]

@Kyote

As per your suggestions, im going to cover it with a small glass cup..... when should i take it off? when the first set of leaves sprout / when the seed shell gets knocked off?

@Mañ'O'Green
I'm not sure why my soil was too wet. I watered it till the first sign of run off, left it for 2 days in the same temps then came back and drop the seeds....its been 4-5 days so far and the soil is still damp but not wet at my first knuckle....i've only misted the top so far and haven't watered since....
is my grow tent / environment messing it up maybe?

In australia so its pretty cold atm, outside temps are 14-20 degrees celsius, but my grow tent i can keep at 23 with a heater. Not sure why its not drying though, maybe my air circulation is bad? I have a passive intake cracked slightly open at the bottom of the tent and a exhaust fan at the top running at 20% speed....


- a few hours has passed and i can see a hint of green leaves under the seed shell...not sure if the shell will drop off or if i should help take it off? Probably going to wait another day or two before messing with it more....Let me know if i should provide pics, thanks for the replies!

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Is the exhaust vented in the room or outdoors?

23°C is still too cold You need 26°-27°C.

What you need to learn about watering will come with practice. Here are the basic rules: Never let the soil dry out. Soil and or coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. This means it repels water. This in turn will create dry pockets in the soil and roots there will die. If your soil - coco have accidentally dried out use a surfactant to help re-wet it. I like yucca powder. Don't let soil remain soggy by watering too much too often. Root rot, damping off, molds, fungus gnats and other problems start in soggy soil. When you do water water the entire pot. How to learn when to water starts before you plant the seed. Fill your container with fresh soil/coco and weigh it (heft it) this is the lightest weight and consider it a dry pot. Now slowly water until the soil/coco will no longer absorb the water and run-off begins; weigh the pot (heft it) this is the maximum water, the wettest the pot can get. The difference between wettest and driest is the maximum water weight, for ease of explanation lets just say the water weighs 20 pounds. When the pot loses 10 pounds (half of the water weight) it is time to water again. There is an art to watering.

 

[Kyote]

@Kyote

As per your suggestions, im going to cover it with a small glass cup..... when should i take it off? when the first set of leaves sprout / when the seed shell gets knocked off?

@Mañ'O'Green
I'm not sure why my soil was too wet. I watered it till the first sign of run off, left it for 2 days in the same temps then came back and drop the seeds....its been 4-5 days so far and the soil is still damp but not wet at my first knuckle....i've only misted the top so far and haven't watered since....
is my grow tent / environment messing it up maybe?

In australia so its pretty cold atm, outside temps are 14-20 degrees celsius, but my grow tent i can keep at 23 with a heater. Not sure why its not drying though, maybe my air circulation is bad? I have a passive intake cracked slightly open at the bottom of the tent and a exhaust fan at the top running at 20% speed....


- a few hours has passed and i can see a hint of green leaves under the seed shell...not sure if the shell will drop off or if i should help take it off? Probably going to wait another day or two before messing with it more....Let me know if i should provide pics, thanks for the replies!

Take the humidity dome off after a set or two of leaves. I'd give the helmet a chance to come off on its own before doing anything to it.
About your grow mix. You don't say what medium your are using. Cannabis likes well drained mediums to grow in. A lot of folks add perlite to increase the porosity of the medium. And yep, good to wait a day or so. You may want to add a small humidifier or mister to you tent for once out of the dome and during veg. Around 60% @ 25C. is what i shoot for.

 

[420Forever]

@Kyote

As per your suggestions, im going to cover it with a small glass cup..... when should i take it off? when the first set of leaves sprout / when the seed shell gets knocked off?

@Mañ'O'Green
I'm not sure why my soil was too wet. I watered it till the first sign of run off, left it for 2 days in the same temps then came back and drop the seeds....its been 4-5 days so far and the soil is still damp but not wet at my first knuckle....i've only misted the top so far and haven't watered since....
is my grow tent / environment messing it up maybe?

In australia so its pretty cold atm, outside temps are 14-20 degrees celsius, but my grow tent i can keep at 23 with a heater. Not sure why its not drying though, maybe my air circulation is bad? I have a passive intake cracked slightly open at the bottom of the tent and a exhaust fan at the top running at 20% speed....


- a few hours has passed and i can see a hint of green leaves under the seed shell...not sure if the shell will drop off or if i should help take it off? Probably going to wait another day or two before messing with it more....Let me know if i should provide pics, thanks for the replies!

first & foremost -> p a t i e n c e grasshopper! heya @Revenger420 and to afn! did i mention to have patience-? k, jus checkin long story short, all seedlingz need the first week or so is a light misting of the soil 2-3 timez a day...and yes, domez for the win! mist the underside of the dome as well a couple timez a day & it'll help keep the rh up where seedlingz need it and do u have a fan in ur tent-? u def need one for general air circ & to help the soil from stayin wet/soggy...and yes, if u keep the bebe misted, the helmet will uzually come off on itz own in 2-3d...sometimez it may need a lil help tho, but it'z no real biggie and welp, that'z it for me own 2 ctz, cuz the pillow is callin me name ppp

 

[Revenger420]

@Mañ'O'Green
its exhausted into the same room; i can vent outside the room for maybe half the day (requires leaving a balcony door open).
Yeah my organic soil says to water till a bit of runoff then let it dry before watering till 1% runoff before stopping. I got the feel for the pot fully watered and how it feels when its fairly dry. I PROMISE to not over water from this point onwards, will only mist until I see first set of leaves then water when soil is dry.

As per your suggestions ill crank up my heater to 25 degree C. I also might've gotten too big of a tent....its fluctuating between 40-45% RH at the moment.

@Kyote
my medium is fully soil with maybe 1/4" layer of perlite at the very bottom (lol) i wanted to try a sippy bucket method but for now i have my fabric pots sitting on top of upside-down buckets so they dont sit in standing water...

I will crank my heater up to 25 degree C and ill start misting the walls of the tent and maybe flood the floor with water/ wet towels / another bucket of water....

@420Forever
thanks for chiming in!

I promise to you 3 if these two seeds turn into seedlings ill start my grow journal and see how it goes haha! Been a fun experience so far although slightly anxious....

Only decided to start a grow cause I fractured my ankle and am on crutches / stuck at home.. But I can see this turning into a lifelong hobby. Must be super satisfying taking a seed to harvest haha, hope I'm lucky and am able to on the first round of seeds!

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

@Mañ'O'Green
its exhausted into the same room; i can vent outside the room for maybe half the day (requires leaving a balcony door open).
Yeah my organic soil says to water till a bit of runoff then let it dry before watering till 1% runoff before stopping. I got the feel for the pot fully watered and how it feels when its fairly dry. I PROMISE to not over water from this point onwards, will only mist until I see first set of leaves then water when soil is dry.

As per your suggestions ill crank up my heater to 25 degree C. I also might've gotten too big of a tent....its fluctuating between 40-45% RH at the moment.

@Kyote
my medium is fully soil with maybe 1/4" layer of perlite at the very bottom (lol) i wanted to try a sippy bucket method but for now i have my fabric pots sitting on top of upside-down buckets so they dont sit in standing water...

I will crank my heater up to 25 degree C and ill start misting the walls of the tent and maybe flood the floor with water/ wet towels / another bucket of water....

@420Forever
thanks for chiming in!

I promise to you 3 if these two seeds turn into seedlings ill start my grow journal and see how it goes haha! Been a fun experience so far although slightly anxious....

Only decided to start a grow cause I fractured my ankle and am on crutches / stuck at home.. But I can see this turning into a lifelong hobby. Must be super satisfying taking a seed to harvest haha, hope I'm lucky and am able to on the first round of seeds!

Actually if you are having trouble getting the humidity up. Unless it is wetter outdoors close the exterior door and let the air recirculate. A wet towel hanging with one end in a bucket of water will help. I cannot tell you how many times I have stood on my head flapped my arms like wings spun in a circle to do anything to try to control mother nature . She laughs at my every plan.