How do I start seeds in coco?

heating pads help the sprout process too. depends where you are. but, its winter. and ive had to use mine this year.

Chimney said:

LOL I saw someone say using tap water with chlorine in it is ok. No offense, but that is pretty bad advice because chlorine kills bacteria/fungi, or in other words, the stuff that makes nutrients available to your plant. Never use chlorinated water. Anyway, coco is just as simple as soil, just make sure you get enough cal/mag in there, I see lots of coco growers with deficiencies.

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Hey Chimney, you're actually the one giving bad advice.
The amount of chlorine in tap water is minimal. Less than 5ppm. This will not sterilize your growing medium.
Chlorine is also an element, it occurs naturally. Plants actually need some chlorine.

coconaut said:

Hey Chimney, you're actually the one giving bad advice.
The amount of chlorine in tap water is minimal. Less than 5ppm. This will not sterilize your growing medium.
Chlorine is also an element, it occurs naturally. Plants actually need some chlorine.

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except that most municipalities use CHLORAMINE now, not chlorine.

I personally use bottled water in my setup, 5 gals costs .80 cents, so I think spending MAYBE $20 during the grow is a good investment

the effects of either type of chlorine product will build up after time, and you WILL kill bacteria/microbes/beneficial lil critters in your soil, so I wouldn't go and call that BAD advice,...maybe a little OVERKILL,...but not bad advice.

I can taste the difference INSTANTLY between tap water grown, and filtered/RO'd grown, which is one of the reasons I use filtered/ro'd/filtered/screened/UV-A'd water in my setup.

Lets see your question was............................ How do I start seeds in coco?

I will stick to that topic.LOL

Scurred, Place your seeds in a small container w/ distilled water.Wait 24 hours very gently remove them and place them in fresh,moist, room temperature coco at about 1/2" in party cups. (The coco I use for starting seedlings has been rinsed w hot water three times and finally rinsed with cool ro water I dont take any chances with residual salts seeds are too expensive).I use a mister to wet top of coco until seedlings appear,dont water the seeds by pouring on them you will drive the seed down into the coco.I let them get pretty dry between waterings after they are established this helps get the roots really going.Use this cup until your ready to move to 1/2 gal or 1 gal. containers.Start the nute regimen after actual leaves appear at a maximum of 1/4 strength.I actually go a little lighter that this for first couple of waterings 200-250 ppm.This method has served me well even with older seeds.Good luck.

Idiot.

Idiot.

sfdfg

reckon said:

except that most municipalities use CHLORAMINE now, not chlorine.

the effects of either type of chlorine product will build up after time, and you WILL kill bacteria/microbes/beneficial lil critters in your soil, so I wouldn't go and call that BAD advice,...maybe a little OVERKILL,...but not bad advice.

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No, most municipalities use chloramine as a secondary disinfectant, in combination with chlorine.
Neither chloramine, or chlorine will build up in the media over time.

Household bleach contains 4 - 6% hypochlorite. Which is essentially 10% chlorine when mixed in solution with water.
For sterilization purposes, a 30% bleach solution requires a minimum contact time of 10 minutes to be effective.

Sterilizing solution = 3% chlorine.
Tap water = 0.000005% chlorine.


Bad advice is uninformed advice. Telling people not to use tap water because it kills the soil microbes is simply not true, therefor it's bad advise.

Chimney said:

LOL, you gave me a thumbs down for that? You're an asshole.

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I gave your post a thumbs down because the question was "[did I find your post helpful]", which I did not.
I don't think calling me profanities is very helpful either.

BEST method in the world, simplicity is the key to life:
http://icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=10876
wet your soil, place seed on top, cover and let the seed do it's thing. Seems to work for me in about 48 to 72 hours of being covered.

dfgdfgdfg

coconaut said:

I gave your post a thumbs down because the question was "[did I find your post helpful]", which I did not.
I don't think calling me profanities is very helpful either.

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Going from one post to another and giving 4 consecutive thimbs down is abusing what it's for. Understand? I wouldn't do it again....

Move along and quit the stalking....

I do not understand.

coconaut said:

No, most municipalities use chloramine as a secondary disinfectant, in combination with chlorine.
Neither chloramine, or chlorine will build up in the media over time.

Household bleach contains 4 - 6% hypochlorite. Which is essentially 10% chlorine when mixed in solution with water.
For sterilization purposes, a 30% bleach solution requires a minimum contact time of 10 minutes to be effective.

Sterilizing solution = 3% chlorine.
Tap water = 0.000005% chlorine.


Bad advice is uninformed advice. Telling people not to use tap water because it kills the soil microbes is simply not true, therefor it's bad advise.

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You should probably do a little reading before being rude to people.

Landscapes are irrigated from a variety of water sources depending on the site. Some homeowners have a well; others are on municipal water. Some people collect rainwater and use it for watering gardens and potted plants. Below are various types of water used to irrigate plant material:

Rainwater that is unpolluted is one of the best choices for irrigation because it contains few contaminants. However, collecting rainwater and methods of utilization can be difficult. Acid rain is caused by contaminants such as nitric oxide and sulfuric acid that are industry pollutants. These pollutants are carried into the atmosphere by the wind where they are mixed with water vapor in clouds. The result is acid rain. Acid rain lowers the pH in bodies of water and can affect the pH of soils. At this time, acid rain not a concern for Minnesota except in the Northeastern part of the state.

Municipal water and well water. Municipal water is often treated with salts and chemicals such as chlorine and fluoride that can result in excess salts in the soil, resulting in injuries to plant tissue and changes in the levels of available nutrients. Hard water contains high levels of calcium and magnesium, two elements which, when combined with soap, reduce the suds and can leave a residue on fixtures. When water is "softened", sodium replaces the calcium and magnesium, allowing soap to suds up and clean better.

While calcium and magnesium are necessary plant nutrients, only a small amount of sodium is required by plants. Occasional leaching with rainwater or unsoftened water helps lower sodium concentration in soil. Providing good drainage for plants will also prevent sodium from building up in soil. Plants in containers may be re-potted to eliminate sodium build-up as well.

Chlorine is found naturally in small amounts and plants will benefit from trace amounts of this element in water. Chlorine is also added to water systems as a disinfectant and has proven to be toxic to plant life when used in excess. Chlorine can be removed from water by gentle heating, or by allowing treated water to stand in an open container overnight. The chlorine changes to a gas and is released from the water.

Many municipalities now use chlorimine because of it's slowness in dissipating, compared to chlorine. In outdoor applications, chlorimine should not alter a plant due to rainwater dillution and the vastness of soil. But in indoor potting plants it can cause browning and loss of leaves. It can also result in stunting of plants.

Fluorine may be found naturally in water sources or introduced via fertilizers and industrial pollutants. It is also added to municipal water sources to prevent tooth decay. In plants, excess fluoride may cause burning of plant tissue, especially the leaf tips. The fluoride moves through the leaf tissue where it becomes concentrated in the leaf tips, causing necrosis. This condition is most noticeable in plants with parallel venation that are regularly watered with tap water such as the dragon tree (Dracaena marginata) and spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum). A solution is to incorporate limestone in the soil at a rate of 2 teaspoons per six-inch pot. This will raise the pH of the soil enough to convert the fluoride to a form that is unavailable to plants.

Distilled water is creating by vaporizing water to steam and cooling it. It is relatively contaminant and salt free, but is expensive to use for large areas such as landscapes. Distilled water has also been shown to be damaging to some plants.

Reverse osmosis (R.O.) is a process that removes chemicals from water by running it through a series of filters. Once the equipment is in purchased, R.O. water is inexpensive and a good water source for plant irrigation.

For additional information about water quality, visit On Gardening/Water Quality And Indoor Plants In The Winter by Dr. Robert Nuss, Penn State.

Soluble salts and pH levels are two ways in which water quality is measured. Understanding the effects of excess salt and the importance of water pH on soil quality enables gardeners and homeowners to make good decisions about water sources and the use of fertilizers, de-icing salts, and managing run-off.

Salt or sodium (Na+) is one of the most detrimental elements to plants. Water that is high in sodium is toxic to plant tissue. It can alter the structure of soil and reduce its water-absorption capabilities. For example, when clay particles absorb sodium, the result is a "slick" soil that when moistened will seal the surface of the soil.

The pH level measures the acidity and alkalinity of a water sample by measuring the hydrogen ion (H+) concentration. Pure water has a pH of 7.0. Water with a pH below 7.0 is considered acidic; water with a pH above 7.0 is considered alkaline. Soil pH is affected by the type of soil parent materials, rainfall, irrigation, leaching, organic matter content, and fertilizers. Soil pH affects the availability of various compounds found in soils including nutrients. In some cases, these concentrations can become toxic to plant life. In addition, the effective and safe use of certain herbicides can be affected by soil pH levels. Acidic soils can display such problems as toxicity of various elements, deficiency of calcium and magnesium, poor bacterial growth, reduced nitrogen transformed into available nitrate sources, and reduced available phosphorus. Alkaline soils can feature deficiencies of elements such as iron, manganese, and zinc, an excessive level of salts, and reduced available phosphorus. For more information on altering soil pH,

Like I said, whatever. You do what you think is best for you, and I'll do my thing.
Goodluck to ya.

bump...

i wouldnt use rapid rooters, i tried them and though seeds germed quick, i found they really fucked up growth in my coco, i eventually pulled them out , picked all the rooter away from the roots and my plants responded, they dont dry off, and suck up water from coco like a sponge, no good for the stem to be around wet mush all the time. yet some people like them. just germ in a washcloth washed in castile soap(no animal fat) or really rinsed and squeezed out if u use tide or some crap like that, use filtered water and put the wet cloth in a ziplock left open when u get tails, put em in your coco and dont over water. sprouting is easy, i use this method so when i put em in dirt, it only takes like 2 days to pop

Soak Coco jiffy 7s in 1/4 strength A+B then plant seeds. Wait for first roots and add rhizotonic at 4ml per litre still with 1/4 strength A+B. When decent amount of roots show plant into 10cm pot with coco. You can buy coco from many shops. I get mine from http://www.theinnergarden.co.uk/

Good luck.

Sn@tcher420 said:

Was using the 3 part Gh, but was to much work and got much better results with the Floranova.

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I just picked up a sunleaves piececoir block of coco and floranova grow & bloom. did you dilute your flora nova in a bigger container so it was easier to mix up? I have been trying to read up on it and it seems that it is so thick that its hard to mix good in the small bottles. just getting back into growing after a few years off. this will be my first time in coco. last grows were all dwc