problem starting seeds in dwc

I got a little to impatient after germinating my beans I didn't have a starter tray for my stg (sure to grow) inserts. So I set up the whole dwc and placed the seeds in the inserts, water level at bottom half inch of net pot. They started to sprout but poorly, the ones that developed serated leaves were very dark green ( probably nit overdose because I used the fox farm feeding schedule and gave them big boom and grow big. Well someone on here said that just pure ph balanced waTer for the first 5-10 days so about 3 days ago I changed the rez and put pure ph balance water in 5.9 and rinsed the inserts with pure ph balanced water, and a day later read that a Tbsp of sugar per gallon help with N toxicity so I added that to rez as well its been about 8 days since sprout should they be taking off by now or did I give them poor start at life? Any ideas or suggestions

Anyone? I know threes plenty of dwc growers

Water temps? You most likely stressed them right from the get go by giving them nutes. Give them time to recover and grow some roots!

Air temp is 75-85 so I'm guessing 70-80 f. How long do the seedlings take to recover from the nutes and start taking off.

I'am pretty new to DWC and I haven't used those sure-to-grow cubes, they look legit though.
You def dont want to give seedlings nuts. If anything maybe a tiny bit of thrive a live or superthrive.
I like Olivias cloning solution.
http://www.oliviassolutions.com

Ok, this is just my experiences and not everybody has the space but I prefer to make or buy clones in rock wool.
I've used bare root clones, sprouted seeds in a variety of mediums/methods and made or bought clone in a varrity of mediums. This work best for me.

I use a white propagation tray (http://www.hydroheadquarters.com/standard-flat-white-w-o-holes/) with humidity dome (http://www.hhydro.com/Nursery-Dome-Tall.), and depending on if they are for soil or hydro I use the 50 count oasis cube sheet or the 102 count oasis tray with wedges.
I like the 1 1/2 50 count cubes for hydro because they are easy to just set on the medium and pour more medium around them by yourself.
Rootcubes 5015 Medium 1.5 Inch (not a link)

I like the 102 count tray for soil bc the root can pop out fast with the small size of the cubes and they are easy to separate from each other.
http://www.amazon.com/Oasis-OASIS-TRAY-102-WEDGE/dp/B004FVLHDE

When using the 50 count sheet in a prop tray i place the sheet of cubes in a tray with "holes" or "slits" in it like this
(http://www.growsmarthydroponics.com/propagation_trays_10_x_20_-_with_holes.html?utm_source=Google&gdftrk=gdfV22646_a_7c984_a_7c4625_a_7c726167) .
I then place that tray into another prop tray of the same size with a layer of perlite in between them.
This helps regulate humidity and prevents over saturation.

When using the 102 count tray with wedges I place a small layer of perlite in the prop tray under the plastic which houses the wedges.

Always use a seedling heat mat to speed things up.

For me 100% of cuttings/seadlings survive 100% of the time and when they hit the dirt or water they have decent roots to take off with.
Most strains root (and i mean sticking out if the cubes all over) in 10 days

Yeah, as already mentioned you don't need to give seedlings nutes. There is enough energy contained within the seed itself to start the plants life. That is the whole point of a seed, it's also why we should all be eating more sunflower, pumpkin seeds and the like... lots of easily obtained energy!

In terms of propagation, I would always begin around 10 days before I harvest the current crop. You can invest in a warming mat if you like but I found just using a small cupboard with a nice heat emitting (SMALL) light does the job pretty well. I would have around 10% more seeds than needed for my bubbleponic set up in case some didn't crack... I would normally have 3 or 4 left over once I moved them into the hydro setup, these can just be put into a quickly set up soil grow for some bonus plants. I just put them near my hydro setup in the grow cupboard and treated them like ginger step children... I still used to get a few bonus ounces out of them though. Bear in mind that if you live in a bug infested climate (i.e. Not the UK!) you may not want to be putting warm moist soil that could be full of bug larvae near your precious hydro crop.

Good luck mate, any questions... just ask. We're here to help.

Yamabushi said:

You can invest in a warming mat if you like but I found just using a small cupboard with a nice heat emitting (SMALL) light does the job pretty well.

Click to expand...

For me since I always have a light above the seed or clones the heat mat is more out of the way and allows heat come from underneath so the root zone can be warmer than the ambient temp.
Plus they are cheap!

No voodoo no magic.. Just patience.