First time grower, second try. Running into a familiar problem...

cosmicaeli

cosmicaeli

Member
So like the title suggests, this is technically my first time trying to complete a grow/first grow season. I'd been working with some ILGM auto Northern Lights (all popped, only 2 sprouted, I royally f'd it and mismeasured the lights = RIP plants), but now I'm working with some Mendocino Farms Blackberry Kush. I popped both between paper towels in a dimly lit area and they were ready for planting taproot down within 48 hours, but... that was eight days ago. They still haven't sprouted, that is, there aren't any leaves. I can tell a root system was developing, but not much else.

Some context on my setup: as the seeds are young and haven't grown leaves out of their shell, I have both of them under a single full-spectrum LED which hangs about 2.5ft above the pots in an 18/6 schedule. I spray them with moisture every other day, and have watered them properly every fourth day. The soil is a base of coco coir and perlite with Happy Frog soil on top, though the seeds are planted in jiffy pellets in the center (the pellets are dug in to be level with the rest of the soil, protruding only about a third of an inch). The room they're in is a cleared-out, cleaned-out closet with a fan constantly on (low) to provide movement and ventilation. Temp's been 74-90F for the entire month so far.

Any advice on what I should do, if anything?

Thanks!
 
EvilScotsm@n

EvilScotsm@n

Well-Known Member
Coco works best without soil mate.
If you treat it like soil with a wet dry cycle, you get salt build up and nute lockout.
If you water enough to stop that happening you'll get dramas from over watering the soil.
Best to pick one or the other dude for way too many reasons to list.
 
cosmicaeli

cosmicaeli

Member
EvilScotsm@n said:
Coco works best without soil mate.
If you treat it like soil with a wet dry cycle, you get salt build up and nute lockout.
If you water enough to stop that happening you'll get dramas from over watering the soil.
Best to pick one or the other dude for way too many reasons to list.
Click to expand...
BobThe420Builder said:
Pics always help

And why the mix of soil and Coco
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Noted - I had no idea! I only added about an inch's depth of coco to the pots, so the vast majority of the contents are soil. I had one small brick available from a grow kit that was laying around and figured I'd put it to some use, but I still have plenty of soil left for future pots so I'll keep that in mind.

Will reply with pics shortly.
 
EvilScotsm@n

EvilScotsm@n

Well-Known Member
Ah right that'll be sound mate. Thought you'd done the usual and mixed it 50/50. Wouldn't worry about it. In future just use perilite to make it lighter though :)
 
cosmicaeli

cosmicaeli

Member
BobThe420Builder said:
Pics always help

And why the mix of soil and Coco
Click to expand...
Just got home, misted both of them (sprinkled a pinch's worth of soil after misting). One of the two is in a smaller pot as a bit of an experiment: last time I tried, the plant that started taking off was actually in the smallest (0.5G), less full pot of the two, so I took off a bit of soil from the larger pot while giving the 0.5G pot a second go. I'd also tried starting one of them in a jiffy pellet container the last time I tried, but that didn't take off, either. I'm sure I didn't add enough soil to the taller pot, in hindsight, but it's probably too early to repot.

1.jpg

2.jpg
 
Gentlemencorpse

Gentlemencorpse

Well-Known Member
EvilScotsm@n said:
Ah right that'll be sound mate. Thought you'd done the usual and mixed it 50/50. Wouldn't worry about it. In future just use perilite to make it lighter though :)
Click to expand...
I mix coco into my soil mixs all the time and have used up to 50% and its fine ... these days I use about 20% coco in my super soil mix

OP .. how deep did you plant the seeds? If they already had tap roots they should definitely have broken through by now ... Id give them a little more time but id wager they didn't make it

You shouldn't have to miss your soil or anything ... just wet the medium down fully before dropping the seed ... unless it's really dry in your frow area you should have a seedling before you need to water again.
 
cosmicaeli

cosmicaeli

Member
Gentlemencorpse said:
I mix coco into my soil mixs all the time and have used up to 50% and its fine ... these days I use about 20% coco in my super soil mix

OP .. how deep did you plant the seeds? If they already had tap roots they should definitely have broken through by now ... Id give them a little more time but id wager they didn't make it

You shouldn't have to miss your soil or anything ... just wet the medium down fully before dropping the seed ... unless it's really dry in your frow area you should have a seedling before you need to water again.
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Ah heck. When I planted the seeds, they were about 1/5th of an inch covered with loose soil, arranged so that I could see the slightest bit of it peeking through when I checked. The whole pot had been thoroughly watered before they were planted. Spraying them uncovered them about twice, but I would simply sprinkle about the same amount of soil over them again. Also, noted: I'm glad using up to that much coco hasn't posed problems for you, will keep that in mind in case I ever have some I dunno what to do with in the future.
 
Gentlemencorpse

Gentlemencorpse

Well-Known Member
Next time after your seeds crack just plant them .25 to .5 inches deep in premoistened soil and cover with a solo cup ... remove the solo cup as soon as the seedling breaks the surface and your off ... or just plant the seed directly on the soil (again, water before planting) add solo cup and be patient. Make sure you environment is nice and warm or use a heating pad.
 
TomAce

TomAce

Active Member
Gonna chime in here, despite other opinions I'm just gonna tell you what works for me and you can do what you will with it..1. Fill solo cup halfway with soil. 2. Lightly pack, and then make a hole with a ✏ abount 1 inch down. 3. Drop dry seed. 4. Cover with surrounding dirt. 5. Spray thoroughly with spray bottle. 6. Spray once daily to keep soil moist (3-4 sprays). If you're growing in good medium, seeds will sprout every time.
 
Merkn4aSquirtn

Merkn4aSquirtn

Well-Known Member
TomAce said:
Gonna chime in here, despite other opinions I'm just gonna tell you what works for me and you can do what you will with it..1. Fill solo cup halfway with soil. 2. Lightly pack, and then make a hole with a ✏ abount 1 inch down. 3. Drop dry seed. 4. Cover with surrounding dirt. 5. Spray thoroughly with spray bottle. 6. Spray once daily to keep soil moist (3-4 sprays). If you're growing in good medium, seeds will sprout every time.
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What's the idea on filling the solo halfway? You'd get a better established plant and less likely to stress when you have to repot. Don't take half it's home away lol
 
TomAce

TomAce

Active Member
Merkn4aSquirtn said:
What's the idea on filling the solo halfway? You'd get a better established plant and less likely to stress when you have to repot. Don't take half it's home away lol
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From my experience majority of seedlings stretch a few inches in the very beginning regardless of lighting..I add in soil after this happens..all my plants establish very well, besides they go to 1 gal pots a couple weeks after sprouting regardless..then when they're ready they finish in 5 gal pots..
 
Merkn4aSquirtn

Merkn4aSquirtn

Well-Known Member
TomAce said:
From my experience majority of seedlings stretch a few inches in the very beginning regardless of lighting..I add in soil after this happens..all my plants establish very well, besides they go to 1 gal pots a couple weeks after sprouting regardless..then when they're ready they finish in 5 gal pots..
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I'm assuming you run photos. I hardly get any stretching. Seems like wherever her head is when she starts to face the light. Its done lol. I can see where you're coming from with the whole stretching thing. Not trying to argue with you or anything, I love convoing with people on here. Learn something new every day! My only thing with filling it up halfway with your reasoning is, roots definitely want to grow down and with it filled up like that you're only allowing the plants half of what they could get... i know they will grow roots once you fill it up and everything but I feel like that process takes a bit more time to happen per say your normal root growth. I could definitely be mistaking my thinking on this matter. I'd love to see the root system underground after being re-buried. I've never really thought about this :confused:
 
TomAce

TomAce

Active Member
Merkn4aSquirtn said:
I'm assuming you run photos. I hardly get any stretching. Seems like wherever her head is when she starts to face the light. Its done lol. I can see where you're coming from with the whole stretching thing. Not trying to argue with you or anything, I love convoing with people on here. Learn something new every day! My only thing with filling it up halfway with your reasoning is, roots definitely want to grow down and with it filled up like that you're only allowing the plants half of what they could get... i know they will grow roots once you fill it up and everything but I feel like that process takes a bit more time to happen per say your normal root growth. I could definitely be mistaking my thinking on this matter. I'd love to see the root system underground after being re-buried. I've never really thought about this :confused:
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To be honest bro, I tried a handful of other methods and this just works really well for me, since I only water with spray bottle for first couple weeks, the roots actually grow up and sideways as opposed to down..they follow the water..once I begin watering fully when they go to 1 gals the root system establishes itself properly. I've never noticed slowed growth or any ill effects from this process.
 
J

johhnyauburn

New Member
The halfway cup will get the roots growing sideways which has been said is better for healthy plants and better yield. Since he is replanting early enough sounds like a solid plan. His success rate sounds good. After all plants want to live. It might be fun for him to try a full solo cup and then check at the end of the grow and see what the difference is? Good luck and happy harvest.
 
A

Agronut

Well-Known Member
cosmicaeli said:
So like the title suggests, this is technically my first time trying to complete a grow/first grow season. I'd been working with some ILGM auto Northern Lights (all popped, only 2 sprouted, I royally f'd it and mismeasured the lights = RIP plants), but now I'm working with some Mendocino Farms Blackberry Kush. I popped both between paper towels in a dimly lit area and they were ready for planting taproot down within 48 hours, but... that was eight days ago. They still haven't sprouted, that is, there aren't any leaves. I can tell a root system was developing, but not much else.

Some context on my setup: as the seeds are young and haven't grown leaves out of their shell, I have both of them under a single full-spectrum LED which hangs about 2.5ft above the pots in an 18/6 schedule. I spray them with moisture every other day, and have watered them properly every fourth day. The soil is a base of coco coir and perlite with Happy Frog soil on top, though the seeds are planted in jiffy pellets in the center (the pellets are dug in to be level with the rest of the soil, protruding only about a third of an inch). The room they're in is a cleared-out, cleaned-out closet with a fan constantly on (low) to provide movement and ventilation. Temp's been 74-90F for the entire month so far.

Any advice on what I should do, if anything?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
forget paper towels....get some Root Riot cubes, soak them in water, plant seeds in the hole and plant the cube in soil in a small pot or cup but dont cover the top, make it level with the soil. Now gently soak the soil in a circle around the cube, soak the soil but not the cube. Stick the pot/cube in a dark warm place and start waiting...it’ll happen.
 
cosmicaeli

cosmicaeli

Member
Agronut said:
forget paper towels....get some Root Riot cubes, soak them in water, plant seeds in the hole and plant the cube in soil in a small pot or cup but dont cover the top, make it level with the soil. Now gently soak the soil in a circle around the cube, soak the soil but not the cube. Stick the pot/cube in a dark warm place and start waiting...it’ll happen.
Click to expand...
Gentlemencorpse said:
Next time after your seeds crack just plant them .25 to .5 inches deep in premoistened soil and cover with a solo cup ... remove the solo cup as soon as the seedling breaks the surface and your off ... or just plant the seed directly on the soil (again, water before planting) add solo cup and be patient. Make sure you environment is nice and warm or use a heating pad.
Click to expand...
Earlier today I went and checked the plants again and, since they still hadn't broken the surface, I called it and dug the seeds. Sure enough, it didn't look like they made it, so I'm starting to get my last seed ready as all I really want is one plant. To recap, what I should do with this one is:

1) Fill a solo cup with soil and moisten it
2) Place the seed in a Root Riot/Jiffy (already have the latter available)/etc in the center of the soil about 1/2in deep
3) Place the cup in a dark, warm place? (I think this is what I did wrong last time. Last time, for both plants, once they were planted taproot down I placed them under the light. Should I wait until the plant breaks the surface to do this?)

Thanks again for all the advice in the thread! Really hoping this last one takes off.
 
Merkn4aSquirtn

Merkn4aSquirtn

Well-Known Member
Pop it in a cup of water. Let sit for 12-24hrs. Place in a paper towel, sitting on a warm cable box or heating pad for 24-48 hours and wala.. put it in your solo
 
T

Theman5

Active Member
Agronut said:
forget paper towels....get some Root Riot cubes, soak them in water, plant seeds in the hole and plant the cube in soil in a small pot or cup but dont cover the top, make it level with the soil. Now gently soak the soil in a circle around the cube, soak the soil but not the cube. Stick the pot/cube in a dark warm place and start waiting...it’ll happen.
Click to expand...
Good stuff, gonna give it a try
 
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