Compacting & pre-watering soil

[Tarek N]

Look, I know these are newbie questions but:
Do you pre-water soil before planting seed so it settles? My soil always drops more than I it want to even though I compact it a bit Also since I now have a regular critical ak instead of auto critical ak, is the bud development any different?

 

[skirk]

I pre-moisten my soil mix but stay away from compaction. I like a light, fluffy, well draining mix with minimum one third perlite that provides plenty of air pockets for the roots to breathe. I get familiar with the dry weight of container, then saturate to a slight run off and get familiar with that wet weight. Then I'll put it in the grow environment for 24hrs. before placing my one/two day old sprout. This works for my auto grows. I know nothing about photos.

 

[013]

Ditto - keep the soil light and fluffy it will compact over time with water sessions anyway. Use a fine spray mist, less water = less compaction