Overconfident newbie grower has some questions

[slowandeasy]

germin in paper towelz can, more often than not (cringez), cauze the lil root feeler hairz to grow into the paper towel, and when it comez time to remove the bean...well, can u fill in the blank-? and sorry, but me don't presoak the soil either i jus put the bean in, keep the soil misted 3 timez daily under a dome & uzually get a sprout in 2d ppp

Thanks for the feedback!. When you say that the paper towel method can ruin seeds, do you mean that even seeds that germinate, may be ruined? Because thus far I have a 100% success rate in germinating with the paper towel method. I soak them in a glass of distilled water at 24-25C for about two hours, then between the moist (not wet) paper towels, vertically in a box with temp around 24-25C. I’ve germinated over 20 now, roots neatly growing down vertically. Can they germinate and become weak plants by the paper towel method?


As to your doubts about the instatransplant method. I thought everybody was raving about it. Do roots still get root bound if you make big a** slits like these?

Like I said, if you want help...you have to open your mind. Instatransplant is plain stupid, if you want me to be frank. It will ruin most plants chances of normal growth. Will it work? Sometimes, if you are lucky and time things out right...and have enough room for roots to spread. But a proper transplant or directly planting is far superior. I dont like the paper towel method either. But if you were to pick one or the other to ditch....its the NO TRANSPLANT tech. It is not the "rage". It is Monkey see...Monkey do. People with little to no real experience copying each other. I have been doing this for multiple decades. The instatransplant is your main prob. Ditch that and move on. Or not and keep chuggin along. If you want to move on, let me know. Otherwise, Instatransplant will keep your plants and yourself down. Good luck, slow

 

[slowandeasy]

Thanks man! But why is the paper towel method a bad idea though? If they germinate they germinate, right? Or not? What am I missing? Does the method of germinating effect the eventual overall health of the plant?

You guys do have me seriously doubting though. I may be suffering from tunnel syndrome regarding my paper towels. I might just give the soak in water then straight into final pot method a serious go. How should I prepare the right moisture level in the pot? A full watering with 10-20% run off a day or two prior to the arrival of the seed?

You are doing things to make it harder on yourself. When using Coco and starting in cups, here is what u do. Yes water a full day or 2 ahead of planting. 10-20% runoff is fine...but BEFORE you plant I suggest pushing downward on your cups and push out some of the moisture. We want the roots to SEEK moisture. Your keeping them too wet from day 1 most likely. So once you push the moisture out, poke a hole with a chop stick and plant your seed with a sprikle of Mycos in th hole if you have it. Cover lightly. Keep 80-85f for a week if possible. Now here is the key to NOT overwatering. Bottom dunking. Take another cup and put a little water in the bottom.. let the seedling wick it up. It should wick quickly. Roots will seek moisture downwards. Just keep top barely moist. Do a proper transplant by day 14. It is easy, push UPWARD from th botom of the cup. Think Sandcastle. Turn plant upside down and let the plant come out in, holding it upsidedown while it pops out. Main Stem between your fingers. Make a hole in the Coco ahead of time with the EXACT same cup you planted in. Take sandcastle out and plop in premade hole. Lightly pack. Now water 1/2 Solo cup around the OUTSIDE of the pot. Leave this alone for 2 days. It has enough moisture for days after transplant, because you prepped the Coco in final pots a day ahead. Day 3 transplant, water 1/2 cup around outside edge of pot. We want to keep the outside more moist than the inside. Roots seek moisture. Avoid watering near stems...always. Coco wicks well. Day 4 add 1/2 cup. Now this is where you need to use your head. Your environment is different than mine or anyone elses. Coco loves to be fed MORE often...less amounts. 2 waterings a day at 1/2 cup each is superior to 1 cup 1x per day. Because if you overwater Autos, they can be effected and create slow growing plants and roots as a result. You dont have ro water to runoff in Coco everytime you water. Infact, you rarely should water to runoff in Coco, until Flowering. Keeping coco moist, and avoiding Wet/Dry cycles is superior in Coco. I feed my Coco plants 2-5x per day once going good. But that is pump and timer with drip stakes. I can help you out and actually suggest that you might want to try an Auromated system in Coco. Blumats are a cheap and effective Gravity fed sytem that works excellent in Coco. Or a pump, timer, and drip stakes are an option. If you want to try Soil, I highly suggest trying a SIP container. These are day 15 from seed Sour Cracks in homemade 4 gal SIPs....good luck. Slow

 

[slowandeasy]

As a height-limited grower, thank you for introducing me to this idea!! gunna dig out some solo cups i have....



Instructions say you can "pre-treat growing medium before transplating" (not verbatim) this is what I plan to do for my next grow.

Let's see some pics and welcome to AFN :smoking:

Exactly why this site has people doing things ass backwards. People copying people who are doing things wrong. If yoi have limited height, top your plants and train them. Dont leave them inplastic cups buried. Its plain silly and can cause many negative things to happen. It will most likely stunt your plant, if that is what you really want. That is the only thing it is good for, holding plants back. Good luck, slow

 

[Ruth Bound]

germin in paper towelz can, more often than not (cringez), cauze the lil root feeler hairz to grow into the paper towel, and when it comez time to remove the bean...well, can u fill in the blank-? and sorry, but me don't presoak the soil either i jus put the bean in, keep the soil misted 3 timez daily under a dome & uzually get a sprout in 2d ppp

Thanks! So no pre soak for you and misting it 3 times a day under a dome. A couple of questions on that:
1) Can the dome be a solo cup? Or is that too small?
2) Does the dome need to have a few holes to allow for some airflow?
3) You start with dry soil, just misting it around the planted seed, gradually giving it more water. I know I have to learn how to read the plant, but can you give me an idea at what point (how many days in) you would give it a full watering with 10-20% run off?

 

[Ruth Bound]

Like I said, if you want help...you have to open your mind. Instatransplant is plain stupid, if you want me to be frank. It will ruin most plants chances of normal growth. Will it work? Sometimes, if you are lucky and time things out right...and have enough room for roots to spread. But a proper transplant or directly planting is far superior. I dont like the paper towel method either. But if you were to pick one or the other to ditch....its the NO TRANSPLANT tech. It is not the "rage". It is Monkey see...Monkey do. People with little to no real experience copying each other. I have been doing this for multiple decades. The instatransplant is your main prob. Ditch that and move on. Or not and keep chuggin along. If you want to move on, let me know. Otherwise, Instatransplant will keep your plants and yourself down. Good luck, slow

I think you are under the impression that I’ve been doing instatransplants in my previous grows as well and that I am a firm believer. I am not. I should have clarified that in my first post, but last year and in this year’s first attempt I did a normal transplant, pretty much like you described. It went not too bad, but not great either: sometimes lots of dirt falling between my fingers exposing the roots.

I wanted to do things differently for my second attempt. And for me deciding on a plan is a balancing act between what’s best for the plant, practical constraints and skill level, which is why I have thus far not yet planted any seeds directly in the final pot. It would mean I’d have to deal with lots of big pots in my living room for quite a while. Also, I have two young kids running around the house and keeping seedlings in smaller containers makes it easier to protect them from being killed by flying toys.

I’m using regular soil instead of coco/hydro or some other more advanced medium, since it is more forgiving for an inexperienced grower.

And I don’t have any indoor growing possibilities so I am limited to Dutch summers for growing, which doesn’t leave a lot of room to experiment. My window is short, so I want to avoid experimenting too much and risk being empty handed at the end of summer.

As to opening my mind. I am more than willing to do so, but not simply because someone tells me to. If I hear a good argument I am willing to change my mind. Planting in soil is obviously superior to instatransplant, but considering the balancing act described above I am still not convinced not to try it. With those big slits, roots will still be more constrained than without a cup, but how bad is that considering the other factors in the balancing act (practical constraints, skill level)?

 

[Autobeast]

I think you are under the impression that I’ve been doing instatransplants in my previous grows as well and that I am a firm believer. I am not. I should have clarified that in my first post, but last year and in this year’s first attempt I did a normal transplant, pretty much like you described. It went not too bad, but not great either: sometimes lots of dirt falling between my fingers exposing the roots.

I wanted to do things differently for my second attempt. And for me deciding on a plan is a balancing act between what’s best for the plant, practical constraints and skill level, which is why I have thus far not yet planted any seeds directly in the final pot. It would mean I’d have to deal with lots of big pots in my living room for quite a while. Also, I have two young kids running around the house and keeping seedlings in smaller containers makes it easier to protect them from being killed by flying toys.

I’m using regular soil instead of coco/hydro or some other more advanced medium, since it is more forgiving for an inexperienced grower.

And I don’t have any indoor growing possibilities so I am limited to Dutch summers for growing, which doesn’t leave a lot of room to experiment. My window is short, so I want to avoid experimenting too much and risk being empty handed at the end of summer.

As to opening my mind. I am more than willing to do so, but not simply because someone tells me to. If I hear a good argument I am willing to change my mind. Planting in soil is obviously superior to instatransplant, but considering the balancing act described above I am still not convinced not to try it. With those big slits, roots will still be more constrained than without a cup, but how bad is that considering the other factors in the balancing act (practical constraints, skill level)?

Hope this helps

https://www.autoflower.org/threads/...a-perfect-healthy-auto-start-to-finish.67300/

Happy growing every1

 

[Ruth Bound]

By the way, does anyone have any thought on reusing soil? The previous failed batch had been in there for about a week, the roots barely made it out of the original lump of soil. I may be overthinking things, sorry for that!

 

[wh1t3hat]

Exactly why this site has people doing things ass backwards. People copying people who are doing things wrong. If yoi have limited height, top your plants and train them. Dont leave them inplastic cups buried. Its plain silly and can cause many negative things to happen. It will most likely stunt your plant, if that is what you really want. That is the only thing it is good for, holding plants back. Good luck, slow

Hi mate thanks for the heads up and sorry for furthering the misinformation. I just thought it might be a good idea but this is clearly my inexperience on show!

 

[slowandeasy]

I think you are under the impression that I’ve been doing instatransplants in my previous grows as well and that I am a firm believer. I am not. I should have clarified that in my first post, but last year and in this year’s first attempt I did a normal transplant, pretty much like you described. It went not too bad, but not great either: sometimes lots of dirt falling between my fingers exposing the roots.

I wanted to do things differently for my second attempt. And for me deciding on a plan is a balancing act between what’s best for the plant, practical constraints and skill level, which is why I have thus far not yet planted any seeds directly in the final pot. It would mean I’d have to deal with lots of big pots in my living room for quite a while. Also, I have two young kids running around the house and keeping seedlings in smaller containers makes it easier to protect them from being killed by flying toys.

I’m using regular soil instead of coco/hydro or some other more advanced medium, since it is more forgiving for an inexperienced grower.

And I don’t have any indoor growing possibilities so I am limited to Dutch summers for growing, which doesn’t leave a lot of room to experiment. My window is short, so I want to avoid experimenting too much and risk being empty handed at the end of summer.

As to opening my mind. I am more than willing to do so, but not simply because someone tells me to. If I hear a good argument I am willing to change my mind. Planting in soil is obviously superior to instatransplant, but considering the balancing act described above I am still not convinced not to try it. With those big slits, roots will still be more constrained than without a cup, but how bad is that considering the other factors in the balancing act (practical constraints, skill level)?

Good luck.

 

[420Forever]

Thanks! So no pre soak for you and misting it 3 times a day under a dome. A couple of questions on that:
1) Can the dome be a solo cup? Or is that too small?
2) Does the dome need to have a few holes to allow for some airflow?
3) You start with dry soil, just misting it around the planted seed, gradually giving it more water. I know I have to learn how to read the plant, but can you give me an idea at what point (how many days in) you would give it a full watering with 10-20% run off?

1) a cup, water bottle cut in half, even a 2L bottle...all are fine, as long as they're clear
2) yes...either a few lil holez around the bottom, or set it on lil shimz, just above soil...and be sure to keep underside of dome misted as well, to keep rh up
3) i meself keep em under domez & jus mist until around 10d or so (but my domez fit over whole pot, so...)...at that point, i start givin 1-1.5 oz water a day...remember to alwayz water in a ring, away from the stem, so the lil rootz are forced to find the water on their own, and thus, grow uze widest tipz of leavez as a judge ppp