Rapid Rooter Process

[SteveLane1]

I recently bought one of those rapid rooter trays to start some seeds,

I just want to make sure I am doing everything right so I will explain my procedure to you guys.

I opened the tray and the RR plugs seemed to already be somewhat moist, so I inserted the seeds into the hole and then added about half a tablespoon of water to each plug. Some of the seeds floated to the top of the plugs holes and got caught there when I added the water so I decided to gently push all the seeds down into the hole a little.

I then put the dome over the thing and set it on a window sill as to not have it out in the hot sun but still get some light.

Is that pretty much what I'm supposed to do here guys? Any inprovements?

Thanks and Later guys,

-SLane

 

[tequila_sunrise]

yeah, you did it right. I hear bad things about the plugs tho. What kind of setup are you using them in?

 

[WaterFarmFan]

Hey Steve. I have used Rapid Rooters for both seeds and clones and they work great. Did you germinate the seeds before placeing them in the rooters?

I would recomend that you presoak the rooters in ph 6 water and squezze them out until they are almost dry. I then place the germinated seeds tap root down into the top hole. I then place some very small pieces of a rooter on top of the hole to cover it - do not pack the hole tight, but gently place it over to block the light. I keep about 1/2 - 3/4 inch of water in the tray to keep the plugs moist.

Also you do not need to use humidity doom for seeds - only clones. Have a light (I use a 42 watt cfl) directly over the tray so that as they pop out of the rooter, they will not strech for the light.

Hope this helps.

WFF

 

[Haps]

Loose the cover, and next time soak the rrooters first, moisture is key. Observe the dark to light color of the rrooters as you water and then they dry out, this is a good way to know when and how much to water. You do not need to plug the top holes, just germ your seed first and put the top right at the top of the hole so it can take off when it soaks up some light.
H

 

[SteveLane1]

WaterFarmFan- I did not germinate them before, I just put the seeds directly into the RR's. Also, the RR's already had some water content to them, so I only added about half a tablespoon of water to each plug after inserting the ungerminated seeds. Will this slow things down for me? What can I do at this point to better my success rate and speed the proccess up?

Haps- If I lose the dome now should I just add more water to the plugs? I didnt germ the seeds first because I read a post on hear that said inexperienced growers should germ in the plugs as to avoid damage to the tap root. Are you guys saying to germ first because it speeds up the proccess? How do you germ them, in between a wet paper towel?

Thanks guys, I'm learning a lot here. My friend has an aero cloner with some net pots, should I move the plugs into that or something? I'm just looking for a way to speed things up here and at the same time raise my succees rate.

Thanks guys, Take it easy.

-SLane

 

[WhyWaitforit]

I have to say I have never watered the rapid rooters first just used them straight out of the package under a humidity dome until the first leaves would show. No issues at all the rapid rooters already come pre PH watered set.

 

[Chomas]

I put seeds directly into the Rooters, and it wasn't a great method. I would germinate them first if I were you, I am about to do the same thing. The problem is it can be hard for seedlings to get through the material of the rapid rooter, and they can get stuck and die. It hapened to probably 10% of the seeds I did this way. I f I was to put seeds directly into the rooter, I would tear the Rapid Rooter first, so that it looks like a pac man from the top, and put the seed in carefully so that it could produce roots and reach the light in a few days... GL

 

[Haps]

You germ first so you do not waste rrooters, what you did is OK. Just water the plugs and keep them moist, you should be fine, good luck.
H

 

[SteveLane1]

So basically the consensus is to take the dome off and just watered them more often because of the loss of water that will result due to dome no longer containing it.

How much should I water these trays and how often? Or should I water each plug directly into the hole individually?

One more question guys.
What type of area should I keep these in before they sprout out of the plugs? Cold, Warm, Dark, Bright?

Thanks guys, its been abig help so far.

-Slane

 

[WaterFarmFan]

Hey Steve. You are fine keeping the seeds in the rooters. It helps to make sure the tap root grows down.

I keep about a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the tray so the rooters can just touch the solution. I just add water every few days to keep at this level. I also use a dropper and pour 10-15 ml of water per plug every few days as well - especially after they start to grow.

I also keep a light 24/0 close over the tray - so as soon as they pop they start getting light. The area should be 75-80 with decent humidity - a small closet will work fine.

Hope this helps.

WFF

 

[chubbynugs]

I recently bought one of those rapid rooter trays to start some seeds,

I just want to make sure I am doing everything right so I will explain my procedure to you guys.

I opened the tray and the RR plugs seemed to already be somewhat moist, so I inserted the seeds into the hole and then added about half a tablespoon of water to each plug. Some of the seeds floated to the top of the plugs holes and got caught there when I added the water so I decided to gently push all the seeds down into the hole a little.

I then put the dome over the thing and set it on a window sill as to not have it out in the hot sun but still get some light.

Is that pretty much what I'm supposed to do here guys? Any inprovements?

Thanks and Later guys,

-SLane

No you did it wrong by putting water on top of the plugs. I am sure on the wrapper it says the procedure you should use. You need to bottom feed and water with rapid rooters for the best success. If you only water the top of the plugs you will notice the tap root will tangle near the top and not grow down. If you notice the plugs are drying out put a quarter inch of water in the bottom of the tray. You will also have better success if you let them dry out a bit before putting in more water. I usually have sprouts over night in rr's. Good luck hope i helped.
This tray was 30 for 30

Also precracking the pointy end of the seed will help in germination.

 

[SteveLane1]

ChubbyNugs- You said to water with RRooter, is this a solution I need to hit the hydro shop to buy, or were you just refering to watering the RRooter trays themselves with regular water? Sorry if that's a little confusing.
You also refer to cracking the pointy end of the seed, I will have to search the forum for teks that explain how to do this? I don't want to ruin any of my seeds.

So the idea now is...
1. Remove the dome and put in closet.
2. Add enough water or RR solution to the tray to the point where only the very bottom of the plugs are touching the solution

Thanks guys, when I bought the RR tray the guy at the hydro store told me just to insert the seeds and add an extra squirt of water to each plug. He also told me it would be about 3 weeks until they would be ready for transplant, that sounded a litle long to me so I decided to ask about methods with better results here.

Later guys,

-SLane

 

[chubbynugs]

Sorry for the confusion i meant to use just ph'd water. I also soak my rr's for a bit before I use them.You can look up info on precracking seeds in the mdanzig forums. Its a tech us af growers use.The faster you transplant out of the tray the better.

 

[SteveLane1]

Well here is the latest guys...







Are the first one out supposed to be better healthier genetics?

-SLane

 

[rusty_shacklfor]

i love no i hate em no i love em

i love no i hate em no i love em

my 1st experience going rockwool to rr:

i put some og bagseed (fucking gems found 3 in batch from co op it was "rodeo" og if thats sort of thing floats you boat, but it was og for sure) into the rr
straight in no germ. they sprouted like rockets i was impressed

but i made a mistake. these are not like rockwool. my top feeding made the roots only grow at the top and the plant fell over>died. i now know that you bottom feed the rr's. i got the bag not the tray because i only use a few at a time.

ok now i got it. i soak em, pop a seed or cutting in, put in 1/4-1/2" of water mild fert. i use a old margarine tub (the lil one) 3 fit in there perfect.

for a minute there i hated em, but they are ok with me

fuck-a-humidity-dome

 

[WaterFarmFan]

Hey Steve. Looking great man!!! Make sure you have a light over the tray to help keep the strech down.

WFF

 

[Jam Master Jaco]

I use growplugs, I fill up the sink with ph balanced tap water and dunk the rooters in and squeeze them 4-5 times to kind of flush them out with the ph balanced water. If I don't use a whole bag I seal it shut with tape, if I don't use it for more then a month I put it in the fridge.

I tear the top part in half and put seeds in the bottom of the tear, I keep them moist by putting em' in hydroton filled pots in an ebb n flow tray but i've had success in the past keeping em in a tupperware with a thin layer of water at the bottom. I checked on em' twice a day until I saw roots, as soon as you see roots transplant them to a pot, or just start em in pots in an ebb n flow tray like i do now.

 

[SteveLane1]

Hey WaterFarmFan, Im happy you think things are looking alright so far. Right now I just have them sitting in a sunny window sill. Tomorrow Im gonna buy a 250 watt magnetic balast (unfortunatly only thing I have money for right now). They should be good for a day, right?

These plugs are still pretty moist so I only added a little water. My buddies niece had a little squirt gun so I gave each one of those holes between the plugs a pull of the trigger, should be enough for now.

Later guys,

-SLane

 

[WaterFarmFan]

I would recomend that you pick up some 42 watt CFLs - they are cheap and put out plenty of light for veg.

 

[chubbynugs]

Transplant out of the tray as soon as you see the taproot. If you let them root up heavy in the tray you will notice you will need to water more and they also might stretch which isnt good for seelings.