Germinating seeds in perlite?

joeboy92

Member
basically, im doing a 100% perlite hempy bucket method, and rather than pregerminating the seed can i just put the seed in like say a small ball of compost soil and directly in the perlite and just put it under the light like a regular seed would be planted?

i was even thinking maybe, presoak some perlite in some GH and Voodoo root juice formula at 1/4 strength and get the perlite nice and soaked up and possibly just plant it in that perlite because it would be more of a solid block if it soaked together much like rockwool
 

Nullis

Moderator
You can germinate in pretty much any medium; such that the seed stays moist, warm and dark. You do not have to start your seeds in paper towels, or in water. Although it may be beneficial to let your seeds soak for 12 hours or so before putting them into the medium, this is not a requirement.
Go ahead and put your seeds directly into soil or a soil-less medium; sphagnum (Jiffy plugs), coco coir, rock wool, etc. are all fine and I suppose the same goes for perlite. Personally, I would say perlite seems like it would be kind of funky to work with by itself. So I think it would be better to start them in something else or mixed with something, as opposed to straight perlite. Just due to the consistency of the material. It can come in different particle sizes, but using it alone seems like it could be kind of a pain. This is likely why people use it in conjunction with other materials such as vermiculite.

At any rate you don't need to 'pregerminate' them, the less they are handled and exposed to light the better. No matter what you try to germinate them in, put the seed a quarter to half inch below the surface and so the tap root emerges straight down. If you start them in rockwool, sphagnum plugs or a soilless mix they can always be transplanted into something else later.
 

joeboy92

Member
hi nullis, i appreciate your response, but i wasnt really sure how you would transplant rockwool.... just keep the cube on or what? last time i had rockwool it start getting nasty looking so i peeled it off taking some of the root system with it (with a plant a didnt really care about), however it seemed to have perked up after that and its continuing to grow no matter my grim outlook that it was gonna die...

anyhow, so when you transplant rockwool you just put the rockwool into the perlite correct? no need to pregerminate (other than maybe a 12-24 hour soaking) before putting in the rockwool (which i know you presoak in superthrive/voodoo juice/ other nutes w/e
 

Nullis

Moderator
I've never used rockwool for anything, but it is a neutral, stable medium and everything I have read/heard indicates that you can transplant a cube into any other medium including soil just fine.
Rockwool is also loved by algae, apparently, which could have contributed to any nastiness. Algae needs light to grow, so people recommend using opaque containers to help prevent it from forming.
 

dudeoflife

Well-Known Member
+1 for using rockwool to germinate.

Perlite is ok, but you have to plant the seed a little deeper, since the top 1/2" layer of perlite typically dries out so quickly! Your seed should be moist at all times, so keep this in mind.

good luck.
 
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