Trouble getting a seedling started

Hey guys, this is my first time posting here. I couldent see a section dedicated to germination etc so im posting in DWC as this is the setup im using.

Ive built myself a DWC tank that holds 30L and fits 4 decent size net pots with 2 air discs, a water heater also a water pump running water up top to the plants and falling through the net pots n clay back down into the water.

I have also bought some white widow seeds off the net. Im having mixed opinions on how to get this all started. I soaked the seeds in bottled water for 2 days and then i put them into the rock wool into the DWC. Im starting to think this is where i went wrong . I have a water pump running water over the expanded clay which i think was keeping the rockwool too moist for the seeds to do anything. They have been in there for 3 days now and they havent done much besides start to open a little.

I have more seeds but not too many so i am hopeing to salvage these seeds that havent done a hell of a lot yet, or do you think they will be spoilt now and i will get better results growing from a fresh seed? What is the best method from getting from a seed to a seedling in a DWC setup?

just leave em there. it sometimes takes up to a week for it to actually start growing. right now they are germinating.

i had 19 seeds.
4 of em popped out of soil in 3 days.
5 popped out in 5 days
2 in 6 days
andd 3 7 days
and the rest were dudzz

Hmm that sounds alot easier than i was expecting this to be, do you think i should turn off the water running over the top that trickles back down in to the reservoir? As the water is warmer at night i thought this might be better for them but perhaps they are too wet? Can rockwool be too wet that seeds wont do anything?

yess you could start to overwater em after the germinated i did that to 2 of mine and they popped out all brown and crispy lol
you should have it on a timer

Soak a paper towel In water, wrap the seed in it. Put it in a zip lock bag. Set on top of cable box for two days. Do not open sooner as much as u want to. The bean should crack and then you can put in a plug.

I usually soak seeds for 12-24 hrs.Then put in damp paper towel.Place folded paper towel in zip lock bag with slits cut in it.You should see a root sprout in a few days.I have an 85-90% germination rate.I heard over-soaking can damage seeds.If they havent fell to the bottom of the water after 24 hrs.,they probably wont germinate.I spray rock wool with water and keep plants in dome under light for about 4 days till 1st set of serrated leaves sprout.Then place them in dwc setup and put your feeding tubes on them.On a side note,if your using hydroton rocks,make sure to also soak them overnight in water ph'd to 4.0.Rinse them and repeat steps agin.This will help stabilize your ph levels.If not,you'll go crazy trying to keep your ph level accurate.

Paper towel method def the easiest I usually have 100% germination using this method. No need to water rockwool for like the first week it holds moisture and I would not top feed it if your doing a DWC just let bubbles splash the net cup once you transplant. No need to transplant until roots pop out I usually start in 1" rockwool and put them in 3" net cups after roots are visible out the bottom. A lot of guys don't like rockwool and use the rapid rooter starter plugs

do you have a humidity dome thats what i needed after my first seed failed

yeah i mean the feeder tubes are suppose to make it so you can just pop the seeds and go....but if it isn't owrking i'd use the papertowel method like everyone was saying, i had 100 percent germination and the damn things started taking over the papertowel with roots!

If I were to germinate a good seed right now I could have the tap root popping out early tomorrow morning and it would be planted at that time in a starter plug. Once it over takes that, that is when I transplant. The paper towel method gives me 100% germination with quality seeds I have never had an issue, check on them every 12 hours in the paper towel because they will shoot a root FAST!

heck yeah those things will go NUTS if you don't keep an eye on them....they'll try and do a "wet papertowel grow" on their own hahah

Weedler said:

If I were to germinate a good seed right now I could have the tap root popping out early tomorrow morning and it would be planted at that time in a starter plug. Once it over takes that, that is when I transplant. The paper towel method gives me 100% germination with quality seeds I have never had an issue, check on them every 12 hours in the paper towel because they will shoot a root FAST!

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I also use the paper towel method its pretty simple I just take a paper towel sheet spray it with water ( DO NOT SOAK IT) just wet it then I do it to a second paper towel sheet and cover the seeds like a blanket, then I put into Tupperware wrap in sweater or bath towel and put away in a dark warm area. If you have good seeds you should get some tap roots fairly quick.. You can youtube this method or any germinating method. Pick one and try it everyone has their own methods and none are wrong it's your plant.

Weedler said:

If I were to germinate a good seed right now I could have the tap root popping out early tomorrow morning and it would be planted at that time in a starter plug. Once it over takes that, that is when I transplant. The paper towel method gives me 100% germination with quality seeds I have never had an issue, check on them every 12 hours in the paper towel because they will shoot a root FAST!

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You are right dude the paper towel method had 5 out of 6 show tap roots in 24 hrs the last bean ( which was the runt ) popped at 48 hours.

Hi guys, thanks for all the replys. 1 of the seeds ended up sprouting in the DWC and i peeked on the other seed and it was in the rockwool upside, when i tried to flip it i broke the tap root. The other 2 i tried to germinate in paper towel didnt seem to like it too much, think the first round in the DWC messed em up.

So im letting that 1 seedling go strong and i just started fresh with 3 new seedlings that i will get going in the paper towel method, im excited to get this going, thanks for all the help guys!