No luck with seedlings in coco lately. What can I try?

[Jimmypop]

I don't seem to have an issue germinating seeds in a paper towel but once I plant them in coco the last four have all died! The first one grew out about an inch and then fell over and died. The other three never broke through the soil. But I noticed on all of them the top layer of coco got these white spots all over it which I'm guessing is some sort of mold? I'm attaching a picture where I dug up a seed and you can see even the seed was covered in mold.

My process is to take a solo cup, poke holes in the bottom, add coco, pour in tap water and let it drain for 5 minutes, then add the germinated seed in the middle. Then since my grow tent hovers between 73-80*F and 45% humidity I loosely place a zip lock bag over the top of the cup to raise humidity and sit it in the grow tent under a light at around 8k lux. Every time this mold seems to grow probably because of the high humidity in the bag and I don't know what to try next. Luckily these are bag seeds I'm practicing on but I'm still going to run out soon if I can't figure this out.

Thank you for any advice you may have for me to try

 

[tobedetermined]

Try the same process without the bag.

 

[Legalcdn]

excellent info on seedlings.

https://www.cocoforcannabis.com/how-to-grow-cannabis-seedlings-in-coco-coir/

 

[f-e]

That's not coco and it's too wet. The bags are the main problem at the surface, but still it's rather wet. Personally I would fill the cup just an inch. Wet and drain. Lay the seed in, and cover over with just damp coco. My expectation is the damp will wick some from the wet, to get something not as dry as it comes out the bag, but not as wet as just watered. Somewhere in the middle. Slightly to the wet side but with some air over the coco so it can dry enough to need a little water in a few days. That drying draws air in to replace the lost moisture, and then you water a little keeping the coco fresh. It can't sit there going stagnant with enough surface RH for things to grow in it.

I have not used cups. Many do. I would be concerned that a cup half full is lacking airflow. Don't be too concerned about the 45% it's better than 80% and in a wet cup it will be a lot higher. Put your humidity meter on a damp cloth. It's not going to be that 45%.

Fill a cup? It just won't dry. I'm not a cup person I guess. I like 15 cell seed tray.

Pop pet shop and you can buy Kg's of hemp seed. You can practice all you like for next to no outlay.

 

[Jimmypop]

Thank you! So if I use a seed tray, where do I go from there? I have 2 gallon fabric pots that I wanted to be my final pot size but I thought it would be too big to go straight into which is why I wanted to try a cup first.

Also, my medium should be coco. I guess it doesn't look right to you? I bought a dried brick off Amazon called hydrocrunch coco, wet it, and ran through a strainer, then added perlite. I guess I got a bad brand. I'll have to search to see what brand people recommend

 

[Dropped Cat]

I tried coco a few times to pop seeds and failed every time, so I switched to soil and pop 99%.

My goal is to pop seeds, not to bang my head continuously on a method that fails.

Done and done.

 

[Bush Dr]

For anyone new to coco the simplest way to start seeds is in soil, once established they can be moved into coco

 

[Phagoos]

Please check the PPM of you coco. My cheap coco (brick) for example has a ppm > 2000. I need to wash it a few times with plain tap water in a cloth bag first. After removing the excess water I charge the coco with nutrients and it is ready to use.
I use home-made (heat-sealed) fabric pots and I start with a small pot (2.5-3 inch diameter).

 

[jackspratt61]

Please check the PPM of you coco. My cheap coco (brick) for example has a ppm > 2000. I need to wash it a few times with plain tap water in a cloth bag first. After removing the excess water I charge the coco with nutrients and it is ready to use.
I use home-made (heat-sealed) fabric pots and I start with a small pot (2.5-3 inch diameter).

You are correct. Coco should be rinsed well with gypsum to remove Na. The less Na starting out the better.

 

[Jimmypop]

For anyone new to coco the simplest way to start seeds is in soil, once established they can be moved into coco

I've hopefully solved my issues. Just got 2 seeds to grow using the paper towel method and transplanted into jiffy pellets. I know it's not soil but definitely working better than coco. In fact one of the two already had to be transplanted into a solo cup of coco as the root was sticking out the bottom of the jiffy pellet

 

[dlxtpnuo]

I recommend Westland seed & cutting peat for the entire grow. Drainage is very good. Fill your tubs with Westland seed & cutting peat and you can't go wrong. This can be used again and again, and even (oven) heated to get rid of pests. An average roasting tray can contain about 10 litres which heats up to between 70C & 100C in 30 to 45 minutes. It's effortless to recycle, and can be reused many times.https://www.diy.com/departments/west...7859151_BQ.prd

https://www.diy.com/ideas-advice/compost-buying-guide/PROD_npcart_100687.art
Use with Verve Seaweed-fertilizer. https://www.diy.com/departments/verv.../943677_BQ.prd 1 cap per 10 litres. Manufacturers say it can be used on anything, indicating it's gentle. Very effective though, and a great insight into specialist fertilizers.

Like these specialist fertilizers:

 

[Jimmypop]

Thanks everyone. Fixed my problem! I ended up getting some jiffy pellets. One has already been transplanted to coco for almost a week and is doing great. The other two are just sprouting from jiffy pellets now.