sensisensai
Well-Known Member
Hey man. Sorry about the delay didn't see the post.Quick question about popping seeds in those plugs. How do you know which way the seed is going in, if the tap roots not out. Or do you wait until you see the tap root then insert the seed. Better yet can you just go over your germination process lol. I just put my seeds in my tupperware (doing the paper towel method) after 24 hours in a glass of water.
I personally use the papertowel method combined with an incubator I have for my reptile breeding. His gives me a taproot in 24hrs 98% of the time. After which point I transplant into the plug. However I have had equal success with putting them in a glass of water, dropping a paper towel onto them and letting them sit somewhere dark and warm (on top of my water heater at the old place) any that are floating after 24hrs likely aren't viable and are typically tossed out here. I take all the sinkers and place them tip down in the plug. They should have no problem finding their way up. They land how they land in nature and most still germinate fine so IMO orientation isn't critical but I'm all for giving them an easy life.
My current method has yet to fail me. And as basically stated above goes something like,
Place in damp paper towel and fold over. Set it on a plate (the plate will pool any excess water rather than absorb it.. makes it easier to know when ur wet enough and prevents moisture being wicked away from the paper towel.
Within 24-36 hrs there is usually a taproot. While its yet to take longer in this setup I wouldn't toss any until 6days. Ive seen a few that took as long.
When the taproot is present I prepare my rooting plugs by soaking them in Phd water (compress hem and let them expand a few times while submerged. I then lightly squeeze the plug to rid any excess moisture.. damp not wet is the key. Rambling off is a real threat right now.
Before uncovering the seed I take a pencil and use it to dialate the hope in the plug a bit... u can do without this step but it hurts to see a potential keeper get its taproot stuck on the way in and snap off.. ur stomach will sink and ull never enter the garden without a pencil again lol.
After the holes have all been opened up I carefully place the seed into the plug taproot down (obvious I know) until the seed. Husk is about 1/8 of an inch below the top of the plug. I then rip off a small piece of the edge of the plug to cover the hole now containing the seed. I throw em into the prop tray. Put the tray back in the incubator and kick on the T5 usually in a day or two they're all above ground and ready to go. After that point its a matter of keeping a high humidity without over watering and causing tthem to damp off. They will spend 1 week in the incubator over which I work the humidity down from 85% to 45%
After the first week they go under a 250w mh for another week and start their training. After week 1 they are transplanted into 5 gallon smart pots with 50% super soil and left to recover a week before they are switched over.
Excited to get some keepers weeded out so I don't have to keep playing with seed. I love doing it but I'm switching from breeding to providing medicinally. Perpetual is a bit of a pain when ur having to account for a seedling that still needs to establish and mature.
Anyway I seem to be rambling now so I'll go ahead and cut this off now loo. hope that helps. Lmk if u lhave any questions or want pics or the like