Ok, one might ask how often do I water and how much do I water as seedlings in hydro. Opinions are everywhere on this. So, I don’t know if this is the best way or not but it’s been working for me and this is my 4th hydro so again, knock on wood…lol.
I would like to hear how others germinate in hydro.
I hydrate my pete pellet 24 hrs. before I put the seeds in.
Be sure to stir and fluff up those pete pellets after they hydrate. They seem too compact after hydration. Or, use rapid rooters.
After gemination and the seed has broken ground through the pete pellet, I’ll place that in a pete pellet trey, and set that trey down inside of a germination kit with dome. I’ll also keep water inside the germination trey to keep the humidity up.
I’ll wait to water when I see the pellet start to dry up some, usually about 12-24 hrs. later.
I’ll then squirt 3-6 ml of water under the pellet and let it absorb through the bottom of the pellet, twice a day.
Nutes are not necessary during the first 2-3 weeks or until the cotyledon leaves start dying off.
Contrary to what I just said, I started adding nutes on day 4 because the cotyledon leaves seem to be in bad shape. They broke ground on the 6th and started feeding full strength Jack’s on the 10th. Still feeding 3 ml twice a day.
Water sparingly till you start to see roots coming out of the bottom of the pellet.
Then I place the pellet inside the netpot. Fill with hydroton. I’ll leave the pellet right at the top of the hydroton so I can see how wet they’re getting. After a week or two I’ll cover the pellets with more hydroton.
I’ll make a batch of Jack’s full strength and dunk the netpot down into the water just enough to get the pellet wet and back in the trey and dome for a day or two to make sure she’s adjusting ok. I’ll then mix up 22 gal worth of nutes and place the girls into their totes and then set them to auto…lol.
1-15-22
Day 9 since breaking ground.
So, today I made a batch of nutes and did the dunking thing. They’re one step closer to going into their forever home…lol
Here they are, ready to grow.
For those that don’t know what I’m working with, here you go.
The pictures are from before my last grow. I think the only thing that’s changed is the poles for my fans and air pump. I think pretty much everything else is the same. It’s small but is grows us some big plants! At least big enough for us!
Little side note. I had a vivisun 6" exhaust fan and replaced it with an AC infinity. They are both just as loud on high setting. However, on medium to low, there is no comparison, the AC Infinity is not near as loud.