# What to do after germing? Planting 101 !!



## trillions of atoms (May 4, 2008)

Ok folks',_ Im back agian_ for another easy how to for planting new sprouts!:holysheep: 

Now for anyone whos having trouble getting these weeds going this thread is for you! If your unsure about germing or have questions on how to germinate the easiest, fastest way- check the germ thread here.

Ok, were starting with some regular afghan/juicyfruit beans i think theres around 20 i ended up keeping ( a few were puny so i threw them outside. if they made it thats their destiny).







I let these sit in the cup for about 3 or 4 days... you can see the seeds have grown a nice taproot to ease planting. Be sure to chage water daily and you will incur no problems.

Ive got some jiffy eazy compressed peat pellets. heres what the package looks like with the included "mini greenhouse". This thing was under $5 dollars USD with 12 peat disks






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Now Ive taken the thing apart and started soaking my disks in PHed water that is warm to the touch.






 they will float so i just sit the clear "greenhouse" lid on top upside-down so the disks stay spaced nicely while they fatten up.











Now the disks will fatten up, taking about 10-20 minutes for the pellets to be swollen up nice. If the disks are a lil dry on top then you can flip them upside down (with clean hands) and let them finish swelling. if they suck all the water up in the bottom on the trey and arnt done sucking up water...no biggie just fill the black trey up a lil more. 






Once the pellets start fluffin up you can take the lid off and let them finish doing there thing.








continued:


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## trillions of atoms (May 4, 2008)

they will keep swelling in the 10-20 minutes:






now after they are evenly sized swollen with water pour any excess out of the trey for now. Then get a pen out.






Now gently poke a hole down to the bottom of the pellet...






Notice how moist the pellet is still moist...

Now your ready to plant!!!!!!!!






Now choose the seedling...






Then gently slide it in the hole until the seedling is barely poping out...






see how I squeezed the peat pellet? i do this to each side to close the gap in the medium so the root inside touches the walls of the hole.






I do that to keep the root from drying, this is one mistake anyone can make if they are new to getting young ones going.








Notice this seedling i didnt remove the shell...this seedling was to young and hadnt split yet enough to pry off. all the others were ready to slide the shell and protective casing that holds the two pea leaves together. its important to try to get the shell off if your brave enough. this will help the livelihood of the young seedling. sprouts without this preformed are less likely to survive overall.







Now put the dome on, place on a heating pad on low and wait till roots poke through. watering only when needed roots will be poking out in a matter of days! Feed with 1/4 strength nutrient solution once planted in larger container. until roots get into the medium where they can sustain for a while longer....



ready for the open road!!!!


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## brushybill (May 4, 2008)

trillions of atoms
 thanks for the usefull  post, while i have been getting lots of advise on germinating seeds , as i said in my first post, i germinated 5 out of 5 seeds with no problem, my trouble was what happened (or didn't) after my seeds were put in the rockwool  
      thanks again for all your help


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## Papaya123 (May 5, 2008)

Ok stupid question and i think i already know the answer to this but just in case. Im about to use an ebb n flow with rock wools, after the seeds have germed and showing about a 1 inch root i have to plant the seedling vertically right?


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## HippyInEngland (May 5, 2008)

Papaya123 said:
			
		

> Ok stupid question and i think i already know the answer to this but just in case. Im about to use an ebb n flow with rock wools, after the seeds have germed and showing about a 1 inch root i have to plant the seedling vertically right?


 
Yes Papaya123

Leaf up


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## bombbudpuffa (May 5, 2008)

> sprouts without this preformed are less likely to survive overall.


I germinate everything straight into soil. A way to prevent this is plant the seed upside down so the root tip 1st grows up, then down. I've been very successful planting this way and can't remember losing one plant because of the shell.


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## Hick (May 5, 2008)

..NICE pic' tutorial toa.
  With only one comment. Even useing ph balanced water(6.5 or so), I've found the 'peat pellets' in some instances, to be to acidic for seedlings.
  If you can find them, look into the "Rapid Rooter" plugs. I've found them to be a far better medium for babies..


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## Brouli (May 5, 2008)

thats awesome man , it should be a sticky, but i agree with Hick  personaly there is nothing better than Rapid Rooter out there now.


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## trillions of atoms (May 5, 2008)

well, ive never had a problem with the peat pellets. ive used them for my soil grows for yrs with out issue.

and talking about removing the shell and never loosing seeds to the casing the seedling grows inside of...then your either very lucky or havent grown alot of beans out because it happens quite often and to a novice who might never understand why his/her sprout just died after it came out of the ground but the shell never came off...

thats why that was thrown in there 

If i had ever had a problem with the peat pellets I would have never used them agian. they work great for clones as well and I will still recommend them as well as rapid rooters (which work fine l). if your water isnt right then thats not the peat pellets fault. if you saturate you pellets with ph adjusted water and its to acidic, throw some ph down in the solution.

its really not a big deal to have the ph perfect when they are a sprout, you have plenty of time to get it in the zone before all those new roots start to form.

I would recommend these cheep peat pellets over rockwool to a novice anyday!!!!!!!!!


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## Hick (May 5, 2008)

peat pellets over rock wool.. me too. Peat over rapidrooters.. never.
  Peat is well known to be acidic. Sprouts are pretty sensetive in the embriotic stage. Proper ph is always an issue, seedlings are no exception.
Secondly, IMO and experience, the more times/time spent handling, touching, moving, germinated or germinating seeds, the more likely to damage them in their delicate embryo stage. 
  I would never attempt to, or advise beginners to attempt to remove the seed shell, "unless" it is stuck and becomes an issue.
  ..and I have germinated hundreds of seeds...

  I'm not knocking your method. It works for "you", but I do have, and will share, my thoughts and ideas on improvements..


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## trillions of atoms (May 5, 2008)

i have no problems with anyone contributing to any of my posts hick, you know this 

i love it when you stop by 

i am gentle enough ive never had an issue with this method. i used phed water- seedling grow fast under hid lighting thats far away. roots poke through in a couple days then its on to the transplant!

i remove every shell i can when i put into pellets, for a novice this might be tricky so what i will say to that is like u said hick... 

only if a seedling is having trouble shedding the shell would i husk it and pull the casing off the baby leaves.


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## bombbudpuffa (May 5, 2008)

> I have germinated hundreds of seeds


Me too. It's not that i've never had a shell stick. It's that i've never had one stick after planting them upside down. What happens is the root will grow up then change direction, growing down as natural. It helps pull the shell right off before it breaks soil because the split shell is broken upward and not downward. Not knocking your method, though like Hick, i've never removed the shell with my fingers unless it was a must. As for noobs, I promise they'll have less stuck shells planting the seeds upside down than root tip down...works like a charm.


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## trillions of atoms (May 5, 2008)

i see what yer sayin' bombbud... i have always let the taproot grow to just over an inch and then plant knowing what will be sticking out. 

the reason why i prefer this method over straight planting into dirt then watering to germ and grow in soil is if you dont have the right wetness on the top layer, plant to deep, dont water enough in the middle stages and the root drys up,to much water, medium not warm enough etc... with the warm water in cup they germ fast! and once the taproot is long enough to plant root down the shell has softened enough to fall right off casing skin shell and all. there are to many factors for a novice to easily plan right into dirt them germ in the soil and let grow. overwatering being the biggestb factor in mistakes...

i put this thread up to give an easy foolproof way to get seeds growing without doubt. knowing and seeing what you got will tell you right in the beginning what you did/didnt do...if the seeds dont germ in the warm water- the seeds were no good. very simple to determine mistakes doing it this way...

with this method its hard to mess up and not know what you did/didnt do correctly.


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## bombbudpuffa (May 5, 2008)

> there are to many factors for a novice to easily plan right into dirt


I'd have to disagree. Though paper towels, cups of water, etc do work, I think straight into soil(or peat pellets) works the best. I've had better experiences just putting them in a jiffy and leaving them alone rather than cracking them 1st and putting them in the medium. Oh well, To each his own and different strokes for different folks would apply to this one, I guess. Nice thread, btw.


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## howardstern (Sep 11, 2008)

bombbudpuffa said:
			
		

> I germinate everything straight into soil. A way to prevent this is plant the seed upside down so the root tip 1st grows up, then down. I've been very successful planting this way and can't remember losing one plant because of the shell.


 
Do I plant the root upside down?  It seems TOA is planting right side up.

Which is right?


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## howardstern (Sep 11, 2008)

bombbudpuffa said:
			
		

> Me too. It's not that i've never had a shell stick. It's that i've never had one stick after planting them upside down. What happens is the root will grow up then change direction, growing down as natural. It helps pull the shell right off before it breaks soil because the split shell is broken upward and not downward. Not knocking your method, though like Hick, i've never removed the shell with my fingers unless it was a must. As for noobs, I promise they'll have less stuck shells planting the seeds upside down than root tip down...works like a charm.


 
This makes me nervous to read this.  I don't know what to do.  Usually I stick in soil and let it grow naturally however it does.  I don't want to lose these 2 DP WW seeds that are now in water.


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## howardstern (Sep 11, 2008)

trillions of atoms said:
			
		

> there are to many factors for a novice to easily plan right into dirt them germ in the soil and let grow. overwatering being the biggestb factor in mistakes...


 

...interesting how overwatering can be a bad factor in soil, but the seeds soaking in water is a good factor...seems contradictory.


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## trillions of atoms (Sep 11, 2008)

some plant it opposite way because the taproot will sometimes come back the other way- but by growing out until taproot if str8 ...you have no worries of it twisting or turning....


overwatering in soil is different the plant may not get enough oxygen and can dampen off...in water with the solution changed frequently- you never have to worry about dampening off...thats how hydro is grown- in water 

your worring TO MUCH!


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## andy52 (Sep 11, 2008)

i always put mine into the same medium i am going to grow in.just a small cookie tray with a clear lid for a dome.maybe 1-1.5 ins, of soil in it.keep it pretty damp and put it under my bed.always works for me.when they start touching the top of the dome,i plant them in peat pots.now that i'm trying my hand at hydro,its all different.i am trying the (jump start cocoplugs).never used them before,any hints.


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## howardstern (Sep 13, 2008)

I'm posting this also in propagation thread because no answer yet in the germination section.  It's been a few days, and the roots aren't getting
any longer!  I don't know how you got an inch in the bowl of water.  Have my roots died?  Have I lost these two seeds?  Should I wait and hope they will reach an inch?  Or transplant them immediately?

Please help!


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## Hick (Sep 13, 2008)

..IMO.. once they have cracked and the tap root is visably protruding, they need to be removed from straight water, and placed in some type of medium. 
"Hydro" allows for oxygenation of the water. "I" don't know of or can think of any hydro system that allows plants to set in still water for extended periods.


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## 4u2sm0ke (Sep 13, 2008)

Hey my friend...you can plant them anytime....TOA  said he likes an inch long Tap root..thats not the rule...find what works for you...and run with it...


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## 4u2sm0ke (Sep 13, 2008)

Hick said:
			
		

> ..IMO.. once they have cracked and the tap root is visably protruding, they need to be removed from straight water, and placed in some type of medium.
> "Hydro" allows for oxygenation of the water. "I" don't know of or can think of any hydro system that allows plants to set in still water for extended periods.


 

I agree...if not useing an air stone,  Be sure to change water in glass daily ..as TOA stated in his Germ thread..


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## trillions of atoms (Sep 13, 2008)

yes, change the water daily- even twice is fine. they dont have an extensive root system...this requires ALOT less oxygen and changing the water frequently provides plenty.


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## howardstern (Sep 13, 2008)

trillions of atoms said:
			
		

> yes, change the water daily- even twice is fine. they dont have an extensive root system...this requires ALOT less oxygen and changing the water frequently provides plenty.


 
Thanks!  I replied to you in your germination post.


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