@TommyBahama That temp range you say for germinating a seed isn’t necessarily true. Our AC is set at 70F and my bathroom is the coldest room in the house and my seeds do just fine with 100% success rate.
I will give you 1 guess which room I use. 
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No, what I said still holds true. 77-82°F is ideal. Many people (including myself at much lower and much higher temperatures) have had successful germinations outside of this range, of course.
Nothing is set in stone with growing - people have plants flowering outdoor in 40°F weather, people have successful grows using Miracle Grow, weak CFL bulbs, crazy pH/PPM numbers, etc. Regardless, there are still general ranges and guidelines to aim for, especially for the beginner who typically needs guidance.
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Thanks for the suggestions. What do you use for water? I was using distilled, but I’ve heard some mixed things on that. I have a water softener, so I didn’t want to use tap.
I use plain tap water for my soil grows, but mine comes from a well(You didn’t say if yours was well or city water). It also goes through a softener, but softeners don’t actually leave much sodium in your water.
If your tap water is from the city, it may have chlorine in it, in which case you will want to let it sit for 24-48 hours before using it. If you do have city water, you should be able to get a water quality report that will show you everything in it.
There’s nothing wrong with using distilled water either, but the costs will add up over time. Should you continue to wish to go this route, I would recommend getting an RO Buddie reverse osmosis system to make good clean water right from your tap.
Welcome @TripleB Just be Patient Do some Reading here. If you good with working with your hands You can Build a Bad A$$ Light for A Lot Cheaper.@dbnLot’s of Help therefor that.Ben gone for a bit,Back to growing .My Yoda Is @Budbrother,Grower for a long time Know’s a lot of low budget fix’s for what your plant need’s are Look up Let’s Talk DYI lights @dbm32. Good to met you
Thanks for all the suggestions. Next time I’ll be using different soil, fox farm ocean, although I saw someone say that isn’t good for autos which is just wonderful since that’s what I’m growing. Anyone have experience with autos and fox farm ocean soil?
I’ll also try germinating in smaller containers first. Hopefully that’ll help with watering.
FFOF is a great soil. @blackthumbbetty can help here the most. She’s an auto goddess. Autos don’t like to be transplanted.
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Are autos more prone to shock or does/can transplanting stunt their growth? Maybe on second thought I won’t be doing that…
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Yes to all the above
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Welcome to the community as for your seeds that did not crack I would contact Customer Service through the website that you got the seeds they should replace them if they are from ILGM as for your Foxfarm soil it is hot it’s a great soil to transplant into I recommend starting them in solo cups are use pro mix BX for my soil which has practically nothing in it the only thing that goes in it is what I feed it asked for water Welcome to the community as for your seeds that did not crack I would contact customer service through the website that you got the seeds they should replace them as for your Fox Farm soil it is hot it’s a great soil to transplant into I recommend starting them in solo cups i use promix BX for my soil which has practically nothing in it the only thing that goes in it is what I feed it as for water distilled water can get expensive I personally just use my tap water just make sure you PH if you have any questions please feel free to ask and you can contact people faster by tagging them using @ in front of the name no space like so @TripleB have a great day 
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Fox Farms makes a soil specifically for seedlings. It is called Light Warrior. You can start in this, then transplant into a pot that has mostly Ocean Forest with a bit of Light Warrior layered at the top for it to initially grow into. There’s actually an intermediate soil as well, but let’s keep things simple for you for now.
When you make the divot in the new pot to place the plant into, be sure to spritz the sides of the hole with water so the roots have moisture to immediately seek out.
As far as transplant shock, there’s a simple way around that. First, be sure to let your seedling grow its roots out to the edges of your first container. When your leaves reach the circumference of the cup, you are pretty much there. This will help hold the soil when you transplant.
Next, use a hobby knife to slice the cup in half all the way around. Separate the two halves, lightly tip one over and the plant/soil will go right into your hand. You will be able to easily take the plant and transfer it to its new home without disturbing a thing. The gentle transfer and familiar soil in the new location help ensure the plant won’t skip a beat. It’s much better than pushing/squeezing the bottom of a Solo cup and disturbing everything like I used to do. I’m not sure if a Solo cup will cut as easily as a styrofoam cup, which is all I use now. I don’t have a real-world example to show you at the moment (new seedlings are about a week away from transplant time) but here are a couple of “empty cup” photos to give you an idea:
I don’t use FFOF, myself, because I think it’s too hot. Well, rather, my grows have been literally burned by it. I’m not talking autos, either. 
Autos are more sensitive about things like transplanting. Try not to shock or annoy autos, and they’ll treat you right.
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Welcome to the forum, I am a noob myself so I won’t be much help, but there is an unlimited wealth of information here.
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That is a great method for photos, but autos most likely won’t appreciate the transplant.
If auto growers want to pot up, I recommend starting grows in cowpot/peat pots/etc
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I actually grow lots of autoflowers. Probably 2 to 1 over photoperiod. There’s been no issues at all once I started using that method.
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That’s excellent to hear.
For a beginner seeking help, however, I try to stick with absolute basics. Once they have an auto grow or two under their belt, they can start to push and bend the rules. I’d hate to have a new grower stunt their plants because they transplanted them as if they’re photoperiod plants.
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@blackthumbbetty , to hot? You must have it under some pretty intense lights… what soil do you use?
Also, what do you suggest for a water source? I was using distilled but then heard it doesn’t have beneficial minerals. I was trying to stay away from tap water since I have a water softener and read the added sodium can harm the plants.
Also I’m struggling with how much to water at the seeding stage. The guide says 3-4 spritzes, which is of course vague. I just want the soil damp but is it supposed to be dry 5-10 minutes after the lights come on? I know the soil needs to alternate between wet and dry, it just seems like it’s drying to fast, but I don’t want to over water.
Any experience with fox farm liquid nutrients? I thought I mixed it right but I think it killed one of them plants. I probably did something wrong though since I saw people raving about it. I tried mixing a low mix of big bloom (3 TEAspoons per 1 gallon).
Thank you for your help
In this case, “too hot” refers to soil with lots of nutes.
With Miracle Grow, you probably shouldn’t have been feeding. Miracle Grow is a no no because of its time released nutes. You really won’t need to feed for a while.
Your rh is very low.
Only give water and food when needed, rather than following a set schedule. During germ & seedling, I give about 1tbsp ro water a day, as needed. More or less, depending on what the plant demands. Keep things domed, if possible.
Hi y’all I’m new to this this group and new to growing. Well I think my plants may have stunted. I have some plants and they are bout 4 weeks old heading into their 5th week. They look super small to me but are already growing little white hairs(pistils I believe 
) and have not even grown a foot. The strain is blue mystic… help! .
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Sorry, low rh? ro water?
Already ordered some FFOF so I won’t be using that anymore, does FFOF also have time released nutrients? I was under the impression it didn’t.
Also, I got a tip to cut 20 oz bottles in half to use as domes. So I was planing on trying that next.
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