Hi All
I have been asked a few times how I germinate directly into Coco.
So, I thought I would knock together my method of germination.
1) Fill a glass with tap water and drop seed in. Check on the seed every 12 hours. A little flick will do. If it sinks, proceed to Step 2.
2) Gather your bits. You will need
- scales
- plastic pot
- 3 part coco 1 part perlite mix
- small biodegradable pot
- 10ml syringe
3) The pot should weigh around 37g when full.
4) Add 30ml of premixed nutrients at an EC 0.2 @ ph 5.8.
5) Make a hole 3.5 cm deep. I like to use a chop stick.
6) Drop seed into hole and cover. I prefer to place the seed sideways if possible. Generally, this seem to stop them from growing the wrong way IME. Now place the pot in a plastic bag and leave to germinate in a propagator or on the back of a Sky box.
- Now wait till the seed pops up. If it take longer than 3 days, reweigh the pot and top up to 67g with your nutrient mix.
- Sorry no photo of her poking her head up. It was a nasty germination with her first going the wrong way, then getting the seed shell stuck and then her cotyledons were sealed shut! I had to take a blade to her!
6.5) Right, for me, final pot time. I only grow autos, so I prefer to not stress the plant again in her life.
- So I grab my Mykos, which I think does wonders, along with an empty airpot and more 3 part coco to 1 part perlite mix.
7) Fill the airpot (I use 3lt) 3/4 full and then sprinkle the Mykos.
8) Fill the airpot, and tap down several times to remove air pockets, fill again. Pre-charge the coco with 800ml of nutrient solution.
9) Grab the seedling out. (Runty little seedling this one!)
10) Now this step is important. More so for Auto Flowering strains.
Remove the base. This will stop the plant stalling as the tap root grows down and hits, the still to degrade, pot.
11) Make a hole to accommodate the bio-degradable pot.
Add the seedling, and gently fill over. Drizzle 20ml of nute mix inside the biodegradable cup.
- I always feed inside the degradable cup until it degrades. This ensure the roots get the nutrients until the root system is better developed.
Well there you have it. I use this method every time and get rock solid germination results. IMO, many beginners drown the poor seedling before she gets a chance to pop her head above dirt.
I hope this helps some of you :-)
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