Starting seeds in coco?

[Rambro]

Whats the recommended way to start seeds in coco? ive always just started seeds in a wet napkin and put em bout half an inch down in soil when they crack. Should i precharge it or should i wait until the cotyledons start to yellow or what? If my tap ppm is around 50, should i add calmag or anything when i rinse with ph'ed water? Im either gonna use some cns17 (grow,bloom, and ripe) that i bought or try out the house and garden coco sample box that i just recieved Thanks for any replies, i just dont wanna waste any good seeds on an amateur mistake since this is my first real coco grow. Now i just gotta decide which seeds i wanna pop. i should make a choose your adventure thread and let icmag pic for me

 

[BCNeil]

This is my simple as a pimple method.

I use those disk shaped jiffy pellets.
Soak them in room temperature water.
Put the seeds straight in. No soaking the seeds or anything.
Then the jiffy pellet with seed, straight into coco.
In a beer cup or 1 litre airpot. Then about 3 feet away from a 250mh.

33/34 survived this last time. Always get 95%+

I think sometimes people make sprouting seeds or cloning much more complicated than need be.

 

[bmaster]

I find it best to precharge the coco, then let sit for at least a day.
I put the seed in small cup of water for about 24 hours, then put straight into coco 1/4" deep. Lightly cover with coco and keep warm and moist.
I start to feed H & G 1/4 strength nutes after second set of true leaves appear.

 

[IslandGrown]

yeah I don't think there's a more successful method of germination than the cheesecloth/water soak/etc. method

 

[CulturedHeathen]

Hydrate the coco, put seed on surface, poke down with a stick. Have cracked many seeds using this method with equal (or better) results to more time-consuming methods. It's weed, it wants to grow!

 

[watts]

You can pre-charge the coco with a low ppm if you want. I germ in paper towel then put into moist coco with at least 70 degree temps. In a day or two they come up and I put them under T5 lighting inside a dome for a couple of weeks. I usually don't feed until the cotyledons start to yellow.

 

[RetroGrow]

I start in Foxfarms or Miracle Grow seed starting mix after popping in paper towels. They are both sphagnum with mycorrhizae. Start in clear plastic cups, and when roots are prolific, transplant directly to coco. I have found the seed starter mix to give seedlings their best start. And full strength lighting from the start.

 

[stihgnobevoli]

you guys be doing way too much.

take coco and moisten. bury seed 1 inch down. water a few drops over where seed is. place in warm place. wait.

 

[CulturedHeathen]

Agree.

 

[Rambro]

ok I probably wasnt very clear with what I was trying to ask. I know how to germ a seed, ive had a few successful grows so far. what im curious about is precharging the coco for seedlings after I germinate them in a paper towel. or should I wait for a bit before I give them any kinda fertilizer? how many ppm should I precharge with? calmag? thanks everyone

 

[CulturedHeathen]

just water em with ph'd tap at first and feed lightly after a few sets of leaves have appeared. Make sure you use low-ec coco or flush thoroughly before planting yer babies. Next time, just shove the un-germinated seeds straight into wet coco. It works, promise.

 

[CulturedHeathen]

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[Rambro]

thanks brother. yea im sure the seed in wet coco works, but i always start like 2-4 different strain fem seeds at a time, and i like to know which beans have started to germ after a couple days so i know if i should start another seed or not. about how wet do you make the coco that you start the seed in?

 

[noyd666]

times I have started seeds in coco just sprayed out of bottle= light damp, poke heads up bit more,lol not hard.

 

[hereigrow]

Pre charge tge coco 1/4 strength 5.8 ph . Poke a hole place the seed in it pointy side up. Bury and wait , it works all the time 50% of the time lol..i say 5.8 because mag uptake is harder at 5.5 so u might have an issue with seedlings in that way.

Soaking seeds is a great method for older seed stock but take them out as soon as they sink. I don't like jiffy pellets because of the inherit low ph that can retard seedlings growth..rockwool on the otherhand is great to start with and transplants just the same. The paper towel method seems to work but u have to stay on top of them or risk damaging the tap root when u remove them and if that doesnt kill the seesling it will set you back weeks while it recovers.

 

[CulturedHeathen]

Fully saturated. Water till she drips.

 

[nuggiespl]

I've had 100 percent success rate, drop the seed in a small container "1oz shot glass "of R/O water, till seed cracks, I like small containers to start seeds, like the 3oz Dixie kid cups, i use a plastic, then a paper cup over the plastic. I mix 2ml per gallon, h&g coco, .5 ml root exc.ph 6.0 flush the coco with 16 oz , done. I do the exact same for cloning, straight coco. Works every time.
Good luck.

 

[Cep]

I recently did a trial with 4 different treatments, 10 seeds each (0,50,100,150 ppm dutch master gold) and saw 8-9 seeds germ in every treatment. What I expected is germination to go down with increasing ppm. It looks like just straight coco is fine for germinating.

 

[CulturedHeathen]

It's the way to go. I always start with just coco and ph'd water, then start fertilization as needed. I wait for just the beginnings of yellow in the cotyledons.

 

[Pragma]

I just take the coco out of the bag, pack it into pots, and then mist the surface until its wet.
I then push the seed into the coco 2cm or so with my thumb. Just wait a few days and mist the surface if it starts to get dry.
Havn't lost a seed in a long while.
Only lost a seed when i tried to get fancy and germ them in napkins, rapid rooters, rockwool, etc.

Keep it simple