Are there any other people who Plant seed directly in their grow medium? One of my grow philosophies is to never transplant. I think grow cubes and peat pots slow down the initial growth because it has the force the roots through, especially bad for a cube because they are tight. But I think the wet paper towel method is the worst of all. If you look at the picture you will see hundreds of microscopic roots coming off the freshly germinated seed. It’s not a pot seed but the root is the same. If you pull a germinated seed out of a wet paper towel you are ripping loose hundreds of microscopic rootlets. Anyway that’s what I believe.
I’ve been thinking about it because of the result I’m getting from directly planting in my medium. This is the stem of my best plant 7 weeks from planting the seed. The rest aren’t much smaller.
Ive done it both ways. Soak then directly to soil and then plant directly in. I sprout quicker when soaked in a 3 to 1 h202 solution for 8 hours then directly to soil. Do you lst, top, or super crop?
I’m not comfortable handling seeds more than I need to, so I plant my autos into their forever homes after I see a tail, or two to three days soaking, whichever comes first. I use a small dash of hydrogen peroxide in the soaking water.
Also, I don’t like boulders (perlite and soil chunks, lol) right next to my seedlings, so I cut off a tiny amount of peat from a peat pellet (last me a long time, lol) that I get moist enough (not soaking wet) and put in and right around the seed’s hole.
Try not to. I remove fan leaves as soon as possible, when there are a couple leaves developed at its base. On the plant in the picture above, the bottom secondaries are nearly as tall as the top so I haven’t cut them off. I remove the lower secondaries if they are short or thin. I don’t believe in torturing a plant into doing what I want, I believe in coaxing it to do what it wants to do as best as it possibly can.
The tall one in the middle is the one with the extra thick stem.
I also soak 24hrs then plant in final home if its an auto.
Photos I start in solos because I start them 3 weeks before the harvest and then put them in the tent to veg another 2 or 3 weeks. Not such a big deal with photos as they have whatever time they need to recover. But I dont use the paper towel either. After soaking it goes in dirt or coco. These were in solo cups to begin and then put in 5 gallon pots. This is at 5 weeks total. The day I flipped to 12/12
I transplant 4 times throughout my grow. Proven root growth is why I do it.
Again, opposite strategies. I use warmish water with hydro perox in a dark cupboard for 12-24 hours until I see the first sign of the tap, then into a wet paper towel to get minimum 1/2" tail then into her frst seedling home. Solo or small pot. I know lotsa folks who go straight into their forever homes before the tap is showing. I only grow photos. If I grew an auto, I would prolly follow a proven growmies style since we are on their time frame.
I tried direct in medium and papertowel this grow and had higher % pop when i drop in direct in soil. I was trying to not transplant but after about 6 or 7 week my soil compacted about 5in below top of fabric so i had to lift the plant and add soil and about 1 top dressed
I have planted over 100 seeds since I started using my method of direct planting, using hydroponics and germinating in a bit of sand with just water and so far every single one has come up. I think this is an important consideration considering how much seeds cost these days.
100 seeds, 100% germination rate, You are batting 1000!!