Germination phase - Few questions?

[moonpye420]

Hi all, I am a first-time grower. I am so excited to start this new hobby. My set up thus far: 5x5x5 grow tent-- 1000 W LED -- iPower 6-Inch High CFM Inline Exhausting Fan 1050+ IAV Carbon Air Filter Reversible Flange & 8 Feet Ducting with 2 Clamps, 1-8 inch passive intake, 1-4 in passive intake-- 3- 6inch clip fans.

I received my seeds yesterday; I ordered 10 Mother of all Buds (MOAB), 10 White Widow Fem., and 5 Mangolicious Fem. I put 2 WW seeds and 2 Mango seed, both in their own cups of water and let them soak overnight in the dark tent. I checked on the seeds this morning, and all 4 were still floating. I examined all 4 by taking the seeds out of the water, with clean tweezers and place back in the water. 3 of the 4 seeds sank right away with one still floating. Since they were soaking for 15 1/2 hours I decided to put them on paper towels to finish germination.

My questions I have for all of you: What should the humidity be during germination, vegetation, and flower?

In the grow tent the temp gets to 64 degrees during the night, is that too cold? If it is what should I do to warm it up?

When I transfer the seeds into the Coco grow medium, how full do I fill the solo cups with Coco?

I know this is long a long first post but I just want to make sure I am doing things right!!!!

Can't wait to hear back from all of you.

 

[Floridian]

64 degrees is a bit chilly for germination,I would set the Tupperware or whatever enclosure you are using on a heat mat,better yet I'd just put them somewhere where the temps are 75-80 degrees F.It doesn't have to be totally dark.With any medium you use in a starting container or cup fill to about 1/2 inch from the top.this way when they sprout if they stretch a tad you can fill the cup the rest of the way supporting the stem and decreasing its length.With babies the best fixture to use the first couple weeks is a tube fluorescent keeping it like 1/4 inch above the plant to reduce any stretch,you really want that lamp literally on top of it almost,heat wont be an issue and if it does touch the lamp there is no harm done.I don't think humidity really matters much in germinating although I wouldn't want it below 50% RH.I use a sealed Tupperware container when I germinate,you don't want the paper towels sopping wet tilt the container containing the paper towels to let any standing water that may be there drip out.I like to use the tips of my fingers to press down around the seed almost making a little air pocket around it.Again when you do this tilt the enclosure to let any standing water drip out.I know you can germinate seeds in a cup of water so this might not make sense wanting to get any standing water out of the container,I'm just telling you what has worked best for me.It's a different process using paper towels.As far as RH goes while growing a rule of thumb is you want a higher RH in veg and lower during flower.I like to veg at 60-70% RH in veg and 40-50 during flower.The temperature really makes a difference in choosing RH bacause of the VPD.You can find a vpd chart on the search feature and it will give you the best RH and temperature combinations for each phase

 

[Americangrower]

I agree with Floridian

I put paper towel in ziplock exhale into bag and zip like a balloon. Put on heat mat 78-80 degrees in mostly dark. I used a cedar chest

 

[Americangrower]

Oh don't forget a Lil hydrogen peroxide in water to clean seeds and prevent anything while germinating

 

[moonpye420]

Thank you for your reply. I took your advice and put the paper towels in ziplock baggies and placed them in a Tupperware container. I also hung a heat lamp in the tent for more heat, I did not have a heating mat. I will keep a close eye on the temp to make sure it doesn't get too hot in there. Any other advice that may help me grow healthy plants?

 

[Americangrower]

Thank you for your reply. I took your advice and put the paper towels in ziplock baggies and placed them in a Tupperware container. I also hung a heat lamp in the tent for more heat, I did not have a heating mat. I will keep a close eye on the temp to make sure it doesn't get too hot in there. Any other advice that may help me grow healthy plants?

Do you have a desktop computer? You can just place baggies on top of the tower it works great

 

[Americangrower]

Oh you should get a mat for seedlings. IDK where you are but Walmart sells one for like $10

 

[Gry]

When you plant them in beer cups, fill the cups only about 2/3 the way full.
Should seedlings stretch more than you wish, you will have room to add more coco to support them.

 

[Floridian]

You seem pretty intent on germinating them in that cool tent.Security reasons or something?Like Ag said a desktop computer,on the kitchen table on the floor in a drawer anywhere lol where its a normal temperature.I wouldn't go through the hassle of heating mats or heating lamps unless you really had a good security reason.The underwear drawer kicks ass lol

 

[moonpye420]

Keep it simple is what I am taking away from the comments. Good ideas about the solo cups and keeping the seeds in a drawer. Thanks for all the input I will put it to good use!

 

[moonpye420]

All of your tips helped me get a positive outcome. I checked on the seeds this morning when I woke up and all 4 have popped. Two seeds have .25 root tails coming out while the 2 other have roots just peeking out. I am going to plant these seeds today!!!!

 

[Floridian]

Good growing!

 

[WelderDan]

You're off to a good start. You got good advice, and you got past the first step. Now you just gotta keep 'em alive.

I'll give you some advice you probably won't get. There is a such thing as too much love. People get all panicky, OMG! Relax, it's a weed. It will thrive in less than ideal conditions.

Some of the best advice I got was "leave that shit alone!"

Resist the urge to check them every 5 minutes. Don't over water. Don't over fertilize.

I'm not saying ignore them, but, well, I kinda am. It's a learning curve obviously.

 

[moonpye420]

WelderDan, thank you for that advice. I am so excited about starting this that I let anticipation get the best of me at times, lol. I planted two of the seeds in Coco following the directions to a tee. I also used Great White in the bottled water and put a small amount into each hole I made for seeds. I will plant the other 2 this evening as I want their root tip to grow a tad bit longer before planting. I put my LED in a 18/6 on/off timer which is what I plan to keep it at during the vege phase. I plan to not leave the plants alone and let biology do its thing.

 

[WelderDan]

WelderDan, thank you for that advice. I am so excited about starting this that I let anticipation get the best of me at times, lol. I planted two of the seeds in Coco following the directions to a tee. I also used Great White in the bottled water and put a small amount into each hole I made for seeds. I will plant the other 2 this evening as I want their root tip to grow a tad bit longer before planting. I put my LED in a 18/6 on/off timer which is what I plan to keep it at during the vege phase. I plan to not leave the plants alone and let biology do its thing.

If you are exited now, wait until your first harvest.

It's very satisfying to know that not only did you grow it, it's better than most of the shit floating around.

 

[Floridian]

Depending on how many plants you plan on growing eventually,an R/O filter is really a big plus in your grows,I got sick of buying water and R/o water is better anyway

 

[moonpye420]

Thanks Floridian, I will look into an R/O filter.

 

[moonpye420]

Another question: My humidity is very low between 29%-60% but most of the time in the 30's, is this going to cause a huge problem?

 

[Americangrower]

Yes that's way to low you want to be around 50. Most try and stay just under 50 I like to have my veg room a Lil higher at around 60 but it can cause pm if not enough air movement.
You can just spray them to help with low humidity.

 

[moonpye420]

Thanks Americangrower!