Need some help starting a hempy bucket

Hey there Jim, Looks like you've done your homework. I just had to make a little comment here after reading your post. I've had the exact problems in the not to distant past. I decided to go back and germinate seeds the way I did years ago and I've not had any problems since. I use a plastic container that has a lid. I take about 4 paper towels and wet them in tepid water. Squeeze lightly to drain the excess water off. Then I place one paper towel on top on the other and fold them over about 3 times to make a small square about 5 or 6 inches square. Pop the seed in the center with the paper towels folder over them and cover with the containers lid with just a slight opening in it so the air is not trapped in or out. I secure it with a rubber band in case I should drop it. Then I place it in a warm area and check it every so often to make sure it is wet (but not soggy) and if it's beginning to germinate. Once I gave up trying to do things the way it appears others prefer, I haven't had any problems with germinating. When I see the seed sprout the root and it gets to about an inch or more long I found if I'm eventually going to grow using DWC that by placing the seed in coco in a small pot and letting the plant begin growing and allowing the roots to develop nicely, before I transplant the seedling to DWC, my plants respond much better. I lost quite a few seed trying to go straight from a germinated seed to either rockwool or DWC. So I'm having much more luck simply doing this. Before I learned how to transplant the seedling from coco to DWC I also had a few fatalities. I finally found a video that although was filmed poorly still offered some good tips at removing the coco from the roots and then getting the plant into the net pot properly so it will survive. Once you've transplanted it you will no very quickly if there is a problem or not and can take action to either do it over or leave it alone. The leaves will let you know if they are happy if you've given it a bit of time to recover from the stress of having all the coco removed from the roots and simply being out of any medium for the short while it takes to make the transfer. My method is not technical but maybe you'll find something beneficial in how I get it done. I hope so. If not from me there is no shortage of information and techniques out there. The longer I do it the more I'm beginning to see how the age old advice of "less is more" is really the truth at least for me it has and is proving the case over and over and I finally think all my information is beginning to come together and make a lot of sense. But the only way I got here is by doing it. Trial and error no matter how much I tried to read. But it's all good and a great learning experience and every success is thrilling and every problem a challenge to solve. And I love it! Best of Luck Jim and enjoy your grow. From seed to ash!

Many thanks UKChihuahua. My most problematic part is from sprout to the medium. I got some Root Riot plugs for my next attempt. With Rock wool I lost a couple when their roots never left the cube. As they say... "Next time's the charm". Again, thanks for taking the time to post and I will think about your way of germinating the seed.

WildJim,
The GH Farms you spoke of...I use them.
They need to be hand watered for like the first 2 to 3 weeks.
The roots wont come out because they are not getting hit by the drip ring.
I pour a solo cup of water on them probably 3 to 5 times a day.
Hope that helps if you try them again.
I pour right on top of plant and rockwool.

Thanks for your suggestion. I made it through the grow and harvest of NLxBB. Got 3 ozs and made my first oil. Worked great for me and my epilepsy. Hempy with 100% perlite is definitely the way to grow for me.
I am on my third grow, second plant. Plants are Heavyweight Seeds "Fast and Vast Auto" and they were true to the name. First plant, harvested two weeks ago, gave me nearly 4 ozs and 3 of them are going to make oil this weekend. Started spraying Colloidal Silver on second plant. Thanks for the info Toker! Sure hope to make some feminized seeds to save money. Hope to finish a couple outside in the spring.

Grow green!

Thanks to anyone that comes here to offer help.

WJ