Start seeds in Jiffy pellets then into hydro?

I have been around enough I should know this, but I don't because I never done it. I usually start my seeds off in rock wool and them put them into ebb & flow with hydroton. Well, I got distracted (or lazy) and forgot to check on my rock wool seedlings and they dried out and died.

If I were start in jiffy pellets (I don't think they dry out as fast as 1 inch rock wool) and then put them into the ebb & flow, will that small amount of soil cause any root problems?

i'd have thought that the peat pellet would just "dislove" into the flow. i know that every time i gently dunked mine in water for the clones, the thing would let lots and lots of particles out into the bowl of water. i imagine the direct issues of this aside, the peat would crap out your pump

You should not put peat plugs or Jiffy Pellets into a hydro unit but you can put them into a net pot (I use the 2"); I've done that several grows and it works fine.

I thought jiffy pellets was a soiless medium.

The bits from the peat pot will loosen and clog up your system, unless you can find a way to avoid it. Maybe cutting the netting loose, and rinsing it under running water. Even if the roots are through the netting, you can rinse all the loose stuff away and just leave the netting on the roots.

potpimp said:

You should not put peat plugs or Jiffy Pellets into a hydro unit but you can put them into a net pot (I use the 2"); I've done that several grows and it works fine.

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So you mean don't put them directly into ebb&flow but put them into a net pot and then put that into the ebb&flow?

I just set some newly cracked seeds into larger 2" rock wool cubes. They should not dry as fast.

I just figured the pellets would not dry as fast and since it has some soil, it would have something the roots could feed on.

Miss MeanWeed said:

The bits from the peat pot will loosen and clog up your system, unless you can find a way to avoid it. Maybe cutting the netting loose, and rinsing it under running water. Even if the roots are through the netting, you can rinse all the loose stuff away and just leave the netting on the roots.

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I was thinking about that, but using PH'd room temp RO water to rinse away the soil. I'll have to experiment that with a few seeds.
My pump has a pre-filter, but I don't want to have to worry about it.

Dirty Harry said:

So you mean don't put them directly into ebb&flow but put them into a net pot and then put that into the ebb&flow?

I just set some newly cracked seeds into larger 2" rock wool cubes. They should not dry as fast.

I just figured the pellets would not dry as fast and since it has some soil, it would have something the roots could feed on.

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I would put them in a net pot if it were me. I forgot to mention one thing: get a paint strainer and put the pump in it to keep out any particles from the Jiffy pots.

Dirty Harry said:

I have been around enough I should know this, but I don't because I never done it. I usually start my seeds off in rock wool and them put them into ebb & flow with hydroton. Well, I got distracted (or lazy) and forgot to check on my rock wool seedlings and they dried out and died.

If I were start in jiffy pellets (I don't think they dry out as fast as 1 inch rock wool) and then put them into the ebb & flow, will that small amount of soil cause any root problems?

Click to expand...

i just did this last week. i should have taken them out a couple days earlier, but i just carefully removed as much dirt or peat as possible with my hands and then i washed off all the rest with a spray bottle of dist water. then i put them into the round stlye rockwool that has a slice down one side. just opened up the slice and put the roots in at the same depth, had about 2 inches hanging out the bottom that i just covered in the hydroton. they all look good today execpt for the one i put too much fert on i germed in the jiffy plug because i suck at the paper towel method. good luck

sixstring2112 said:

... i germed in the jiffy plug because i suck at the paper towel method. good luck

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I got the paper town method down good, and always expecting some seeds will be duds. In fact I paper towel my seeds and then put them into the jiffy plugs this time around.
My problem is I don't have a T5 light for my seedlings, and use standard shop floro lights. They stretched so much I put them in the grow area under 400W MH lights... The problem was I was to stupid to realize the heat difference and didn't tend to the babies until it was too late and they were dried and fried.

As soon as I get my tax money back, I am getting a T5 spouter light setup and will put it into a plastic sealed cupboard and have a more stable environment to give them a good start.

Dirty Harry said:

I am getting a T5 spouter light setup and will put it into a plastic sealed cupboard and have a more stable environment to give them a good start.

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Check out fleabay for T5's; I just won the bidding on one and one more to go. Just make sure you get the HO.

I just started my seeds in jiffy pots. Because they don't dry out as fast they are about 2 inches tall when should I remove the dirt and switch to dwc?

Johnl024 said:

I just started my seeds in jiffy pots. Because they don't dry out as fast they are about 2 inches tall when should I remove the dirt and switch to dwc?

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Hi John and welcome to RIU. I would wait til they are about 3-4" tall. The roots should be out about that same distance, so avoid the temptation to "pick" the dirt off; wash it off in the sink and *gently* help the water remove the dirt. Have your hydro setup with netpots and neoprene cap ready to go when you do this.

potpimp said:

Hi John and welcome to RIU. I would wait til they are about 3-4" tall. The roots should be out about that same distance, so avoid the temptation to "pick" the dirt off; wash it off in the sink and *gently* help the water remove the dirt. Have your hydro setup with netpots and neoprene cap ready to go when you do this.

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Welcome to RIU John.

As potpimp mentioned, transplanting at about 3 or 4 inches is what most people do. By that time, you'll have a few inches of roots. I personally prefer aero-cloners and rapid rooters. I don't run with seeds since I have my mother bank on lock, so I usually transplant from aero-cloner to veg system when my roots are at about 5-6 inches long and good and healthy.

The thing about washing dirt out of your roots is you can never get all of it completely out. You'll end up with that crap in your water eventually. So, personally, I don't transplant to soil. I will go from aero-cloner to my system of choice. That soil doesn't belong in hydro.

I have used the jiffy pellets to start my seeds. Before I put them into hydroton (dwc), I put the little girl in the sink and wash away all the jiffy pellet stuff and get down to bare roots.

Dirty Harry said:

Well, I got distracted (or lazy) and forgot to check on my rock wool seedlings and they dried out and died.

If I were start in jiffy pellets (I don't think they dry out as fast as 1 inch rock wool) and then put them into the ebb & flow, will that small amount of soil cause any root problems?

Click to expand...

I dont mind is good to put jiffy in a ebb & flow system because of the soil that can cause some problem to the pump and maybe u can have some ph problem if some soil start to rot.

When i start with rockwool i put them (after stabilized in ph 5.5 ro water ~200-300ec and drip but some water but not squeeze the cube) in a little closed plastic box. Then i try to keep temp to 22-24C and humidity to 95% cause to the closed and hot box. If u have problem with umidity at this stage inside the box u can put some wet hydrotons.


Bye

Good advice from others on this. IMHO, I would use a bucket of room temperature water that has been bubbled to remove chlorine and that is PH adjusted so you don't shock the roots anymore than necessary.
I do ebb&flow in hydroten pellets and I just put the jiffy pellets in as is. The roots just grow through, but that obviously will not work for a DWC.

i just leave the jiffy and put them in my system. it stresses the plants pretty good to wash the dirt off and i have found that if left alone they hardly lose any soil to the system.

superstoner1 said:

i just leave the jiffy and put them in my system. it stresses the plants pretty good to wash the dirt off and i have found that if left alone they hardly lose any soil to the system.

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I can agree with that, if using the pellets that are wrapped with a netting. It acts like a filter. I have heard there are some pellets that are not net wrapped, but never seen one other than root starter type of plugs and cheap jiffy starter kits that use those small pellets. Those would make a mess of things if using small spray/drip emitters. When I pull out the plant base after harvest, I would say 99% of the peat is still intact in the netting even with the root mass growing through. Again, I do ebb & flow.

Also, I've used a piece of nylon stocking secured in place with a rubber band over the pump intake to keep crap out. I much prefer Rapid Rooters to Jiffy Pellets too.