New Grower Germinating question..what to do after taproot shows?

[alton956]

Hey guys I had a quick question and was hoping all you out there that have been growing can help me out. Pretty dumb question but I won't learn unless I ask so here it goes. Ive got some seeds germinating at the moment (papertowel method). Once the taproot shows I will be dropping them in some Rapid Rooter plugs that i have and placing them in a seed-starting greenhouse.

My question is should I place them under the lights once i drop them into the greenhouse or do i still leave them in a dark place until they sprout and then move them under the lights?

Any and all help is welcomed and thanks in advace for your help guys!

 

[420Grouch]

Right under the light!

 

[realcarlos]

I usually wait til they pop out of the soil then put them under lights. But it's not recommended to start them off with strong lights otherwise they will die

 

[alton956]

thanks 420Grouch & realcarlos for the quick replies. but both you answers kinda left me stumped and at the same place i was before lol. one said yes and the other said no

 

[Jackal]

No light is needed til they break ground. Unless you just need the heat from the lights, it perfectly fine either way.

 

[L]

Hi alton956 what size light do you have I have a 400 watt hps and I plant straight from paper towel to soil under lamp everytime. I would advise against the rapid rooter if you are growing autos. you already started the seeds by germing them. I would recommend you plant them into their final containers, Autoflowers are pretty touchy and can stunt pretty easy during transplant.

 

[realcarlos]

As Jackal said both would work. But I personally don't turn them on until they break ground

 

[toke]

i think they both said yes to lites and realcarlos said not under a strong lite, and i say yes to lites and not under strong lites.

TOKE OUT

 

[snowgrower]

Heat from the bottom is best, no light needed until you have 60-80% of seeds sprouted.Put one of those little aquarium thermometers on the dome, the plastic sticker type. they range from 60-90*. Shoot for between 80-85* inside your dome until the majority of your seeds break ground.Then remove the dome and bottom heat .Then place them under a weak light for the 1st 24-48hrs. Then you can increase wattage and decrease the distance between the plants and light gradually over a period of 3-4 days.The un-pooped seeds will still likely germinate as well in this period.

As far as the rapid rooters , IMHO they restrict growth in Autos. You need at least 1/2 gal capacity and you need the tallest container possible as well.Any restriction of the tap roots decent into the substrait with autos has a very negative impact on yield.In other words, when the tap root runs out of room to grow by hitting the bottom of a shallow container you lose size and yield.

So I like tall slender containers.I understand you may be looking to pop more seeds in small containers to discard the worst and pick the best for further cultivation from a larger field but the classic dome seed starter kits you can buy in any walmart or garden supply store for $5 are just not what you want to start autos in.Its fine for photos but again it restricts growth and in autos you have 90 days max to get the job done.

Try 2 liter MT Dew bottles for a cheap option with height and a slender build , they make excellent seed starters if you want to tier transplant them into a 2-5 gal pot after sexing.The roots will just be reaching the bottom of the bottle when sexed and an added bonus is you can see em and how root bound they are or are not.

 

[alton956]

thanks to all of you that chimed in, much appreciated. i have a dimmable 600 watt light so i guess i can drop it down to 300 and have it a few feet away just to give off some heat. as far as the Rapid Rooters, im just using them as i had a few left over from a past clone run and i like how they fit nicely into the mini greenhouse. i really wasnt expecting to leave them in there for more than a day or two, just until i saw them break ground. then i was going to move them over into some 3-5 gal bags.