Please help with superlocker 2.0

[paynet]

Can anyone, someone please help, before I go insane. Please help me germinate , I have tried using the propagation and Rockwool cube method and failed, tried the paper towel and got a few to sprout, but they died when I tried to put them in Rockwool cube.

I just want to get these seeds to sprout, it's becoming so expensive and I keep trashing good seeds!!!

Good karma on anyone who could help, thanks for any help.

 

[Xlr8]

Try rapid rooter plugs instead of rockwool. Rockwool is great but can be tricky to get the hang of keeping the right moisture when starting out. Rapid rooters are filled with micro nutrients that give seedlings a nice start, and can then be inserted into grow rocks or soil, etc.

I have near 100% germination success this way:

Rapid rooter plugs that are pre-soaked in (distilled or RO filtered water) for 24 hours first. I then gently squeeze out excess moisture, but keep it good and damp, just not drenched.

I find that the hole that is pre-made works better if I loosen/widen it slightly first. I stick a sterile tweezers in the hole and wiggle it around, also making it slightly deeper.

I pre-soak my seeds in a glass of water (again i use RO filtered water) for several hours, then put them directly into the rooter, pointy end down, about a half inch deep into the rapid rooter plug.

I cover the hole in the rooter with a small piece of rooter material that I tear off an extra plug (rapid rooter plug).

The moist rooters go into a humidity dome under a t5 flourescent light (CFl's would work nice, too) until they are showing roots through the plug sides/bottom.

I keep temps at seedling level at 75f or as close as I can, and decent humidity in the dome. I mist the inside of the humidity done periodically. Rapid rooters should be kept moist, but not at all waterlogged. I use a hand dripper to add small amounts of moisture. I don't use a heatmat, it's not necessary.

This is what works for me. Almost identical process that seed breeder TGA Subcool (and many others) use as well. Hope this helps.

Oh, if you want to stick with rockwool, same rules apply (moist not soaked or waterlogged) and 75f is ideal temp.

Paper towel method works, but it's an extra step and more stress for the seedling. Planting it directly is less stressful and should reduce complications...

 

[paynet]

Try rapid rooter plugs instead of rockwool. Rockwool is great but can be tricky to get the hang of keeping the right moisture when starting out. Rapid rooters are filled with micro nutrients that give seedlings a nice start, and can then be inserted into grow rocks or soil, etc.

I have near 100% germination success this way:

Rapid rooter plugs that are pre-soaked in (distilled or RO filtered water) for 24 hours first. I then gently squeeze out excess moisture, but keep it good and damp, just not drenched.

I find that the hole that is pre-made works better if I loosen/widen it slightly first. I stick a sterile tweezers in the hole and wiggle it around, also making it slightly deeper.

I pre-soak my seeds in a glass of water (again i use RO filtered water) for several hours, then put them directly into the rooter, pointy end down, about a half inch deep into the rapid rooter plug.

I cover the hole in the rooter with a small piece of rooter material that I tear off an extra plug (rapid rooter plug).

The moist rooters go into a humidity dome under a t5 flourescent light (CFl's would work nice, too) until they are showing roots through the plug sides/bottom.

I keep temps at seedling level at 75f or as close as I can, and decent humidity in the dome. I mist the inside of the humidity done periodically. Rapid rooters should be kept moist, but not at all waterlogged. I use a hand dripper to add small amounts of moisture. I don't use a heatmat, it's not necessary.

This is what works for me. Almost identical process that seed breeder TGA Subcool (and many others) use as well. Hope this helps.

Oh, if you want to stick with rockwool, same rules apply (moist not soaked or waterlogged) and 75f is ideal temp.

Paper towel method works, but it's an extra step and more stress for the seedling. Planting it directly is less stressful and should reduce complications...

Ok another question, once in the humidity dome, do I add water to bottom of the dome or just spray(mist) the cover ?

Another ??? How do I know when to move the rapid plugs into the cloner chamber of my superlocker 2.0? And when it's time to move them , do I put them into just ph adjusted water or nutrients?

And thank, thank, thank you for the advice

 

[420inOregon]

get a shot glass put water in it and drop your seeds in in about a week you will have sprouts keep them in a dry dark and warm place hope this helps in my opinion everyone gets to sufistacated about growing pot you dont have just a whole lota love and time

 

[Xlr8]

Ok another question, once in the humidity dome, do I add water to bottom of the dome or just spray(mist) the cover ?

Another ??? How do I know when to move the rapid plugs into the cloner chamber of my superlocker 2.0? And when it's time to move them , do I put them into just ph adjusted water or nutrients?

And thank, thank, thank you for the advice

Once the seedlings have sprouted roots through the sides/bottom of the rapid rooter plugs, it's time to transplant them. If it were me, I would move the seedling, rapid rooter plug and all, into a netpot with hydroton once roots are showing through the plug. I would then start your hydro system (I'm assuming you have the system that has airstones and the hydrotub) so that the oxygenated water is bubbling under the netpots with the hydroton and seedlings. It will encourage the roots of your seedlings to seek out the moist oxygen rich water below them. Make sure you keep an inch or two of space between your water/nutrients in the hydrotub and the bottom of the netpots.

In the humidity dome, I just make sure it's humid in there. Mostly I just mist the inside of the lid periodically. Sometimes I put a little water in the bottom under the plugs (I don't let the plugs soak in it though) to aid the humidity situation. You just want it to be somewhat humid, and the rapid rooter plugs to stay damp, but not soaked or waterlogged. It's pretty much that simple.

For the first 2 weeks or so, just give them plain pure water with no nutrients, and feed them from the top. Basically, I take a little syringe and water the hydroton close to the plug. After another week or so, roots will show through the netpots, and you can stop feeding from above manually. I'm making some assumptions here about your hydro system, but I believe it's just a little hydrotub with airstones, correct?

Once the plant has it's 3rd set of "true" leaves (the inital cotlydyns don't count), you can give it nutrients at a low dosage. I start at about 25% of the recommended dosage for the vegatative phase, or around 450ppm. They don't need much when they're young, and it's easy to overdo it... so careful and slow to start. Also, watch the seedlings. If they are looking healthy, but the cotlydyns start yellowing that means they are ready for a low dose of nutrients, as the seedling is starting to use them for stored energy. Generally, you don't need anything but water though until you get to about the 3rd set of true leaves.

This is just what works for me, but I have been getting 100% germination this way now. Be careful with putting seeds in a glass of water, it works, but they can be drowned. Also, I like putting the seed in the medium right away. Transplanting and moving seedlings when they are first developing roots will kill them if you aren't careful. I used to germinate in paper towels, but it's not as reliable and you will have periodic issues this way as the roots are exposed and moved at the most critical sensitive time in the plants life.

There are many ways to do this. MANY. But, the methodology I'm sharing has been a culmination of lessons and learning and works flawlessly if done right.

Here are some seedlings of mine from a previous grow. They are in rapid rooter plugs that were moved to netpots with hydroton just as I outlined. Does this look like the set-up with your Superlocker kinda (this is a homemade hydrotub using a rubbermaid style container)?

I hope this helps.

P.S. Consider starting a grow journal in the grow journal's section of the forum. If you journal your efforts, you will find many helpful members that will guide and help troubleshoot. It's a good way to go when starting out...

Let me know how things go!