New Grower seeking soil advicd

Hey All,

I am a newbie to all of this and was looking to just get some good tips from some of y'all experts.

Once I have my seeds germinated and ready to be planted I cant seem to get a consistent answer as to what conditions the soil should be in.

I am using FFOF and am really just wanting to know do I water the soil til I see run off and then push a little knuckle sized divot into the top, drop my germinated seed in with root down and cover, cover over the seed with the soil lightly and give like a light mist spray of distilled water and then put under light?

Or do I just add the soil to the pot , create my divot , add my germinated seed, cover the seed and then mist and put under light? With the exception here being that I dont water the soil initially til I see run off at the bottom?

To water or not water the soil upon initial germinated seed planting is the question....

You'll get as many answers are there are growers on this one. I use the put medium in cup, wet it, put a little divet in with a pen, drop seed, cover the divet lightly and leave it alone for a couple of days. Usually if the seeds are viable you should have what looks like a plant pop up in a matter of 24-48 hours.

Call me old fashioned but i just put soil in a tiny pot make a hole and pop a seec in and water. Let the plant take care of the plant work lol. Otherwise. Soil, diviot, seed with taproot facing down, water, mist then dome

Rollinituptoo said:

Call me old fashioned but i just put soil in a tiny pot make a hole and pop a seec in and water. Let the plant take care of the plant work lol. Otherwise. Soil, diviot, seed with taproot facing down, water, mist then dome

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Haha. Thanks bro.. I appreciate the reply..

Truthhurtsdummies1999 said:

Haha. Thanks bro.. I appreciate the reply..

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Seriously though germination is way over complicated by 99% of growers. Fill a pot like you normally would and yes, soak to run off before planting. Otherwise there could be dry pockets that will kill fresh young roots and trying to water after placing a seed is ridiculous because of how the watering can shift soil and the seed around.

SchmoeJoe said:

Seriously though germination is way over complicated by 99% of growers. Fill a pot like you normally would and yes, soak to run off before planting. Otherwise there could be dry pockets that will kill fresh young roots and trying to water after placing a seed is ridiculous because of how the watering can shift soil and the seed around.

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I really appreciate this tip. I have researched a mill I'll on YouTube videos and tried various searches on Google and seems there a million sites and forums dedicated to germinating and growing after the fact but not one of them gives the tip or any consistent answers on the part of prepping the pot with the soil before putting the seed in. Thank you so much!

Something I like to do when planting and transplanting requires me to plant it dry. Then I quickly weigh and note the weight before watering. Then I know how long I can wait to water again by weighing once a day. For one thing I haven't had any fungus gnats at all for doing this. Otherwise I don't think it matters much if you water first or not.

Isn't FFOF a bit hot for a seed?

raggyb said:

Something I like to do when planting and transplanting requires me to plant it dry. Then I quickly weigh and note the weight before watering. Then I know how long I can wait to water again by weighing once a day. For one thing I haven't had any fungus gnats at all for doing this. Otherwise I don't think it matters much if you water first or not.

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It's not critical if you're planting ungerminated seeds. If they already germinated from a presoak than it really is. One of the reasons I prefer it for starting seeds is that by using the settling action of the water you get a very even and only slightly compressed soil which is perfect a newly sprouted seed.

No offense but going to the extreme of weighing each pot is something that goes into the "way over complicating it" category in my experience.

hotrodharley said:

Isn't FFOF a bit hot for a seed?

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I use Roots B2.

SchmoeJoe said:

I use Roots B2.

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Cheap Black Gold seedling mix is perfect. Find it everywhere . Dixie cup, half gallon, a gallon then I put them in the final. Much faster growth .

hotrodharley said:

Cheap Black Gold seedling mix is perfect. Find it everywhere . Dixie cup, half gallon, a gallon then I put them in the final. Much faster growth .

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I first started with Whitney Farms and Uncle Malcolm's Black Gold. I live in the town that roots is made in so I get much better prices on it. Otherwise I might still use it.

SchmoeJoe said:

I first started with Whitney Farms and Uncle Malcolm's Black Gold. I live in the town that roots is made in so I get much better prices on it. Otherwise I might still use it.

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Mix a little Mykos in with that first Dixie cup full. Roots like a mutha.

hotrodharley said:

Mix a little Mykos in with that first Dixie cup full. Roots like a mutha.

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I haven't tried Mykos. I've always used Roots Organism and later Down To Earth BioLive.

SchmoeJoe said:

I haven't tried Mykos. I've always used Roots Organism and later Down To Earth BioLive.

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The pro growers here really like Great White . I'm retired. I can't afford that stuff. Mykos works great and a lot cheaper.

hotrodharley said:

The pro growers here really like Great White . I'm retired. I can't afford that stuff. Mykos works great and a lot cheaper.

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I had a similar conversation about this not far back. I'm wondering if that might have been you. Using the Orgenism I get huge patches of mycelium even in pots. I do need a side by side before I can honestly claim a preference but I'm impressed with the results I get. I use a TeaLab Bubblesnake in a 55 gallon drum.

Sprout your seeds in a small nursery bag with some topsoil or seedling mix...

Put some of your mykos in your seed pot or bag so it can get into the seed even before it germinates.

ANC said:

Sprout your seeds in a small nursery bag with some topsoil or seedling mix...

Put some of your mykos in your seed pot or bag so it can get into the seed even before it germinates.

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It's not going to penetrate a seed hull but I mix the powder in my seedling mix. Then add it when I'm transplanting. Just sprinkle on the roots.

SchmoeJoe said:

I had a similar conversation about this not far back. I'm wondering if that might have been you. Using the Orgenism I get huge patches of mycelium even in pots. I do need a side by side before I can honestly claim a preference but I'm impressed with the results I get. I use a TeaLab Bubblesnake in a 55 gallon drum.

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Wasn't me but I'm always interested in beneficial biologicals. Insects, probiotics, teas.

I don't like handling seedlings that I paid a fucking fortune for. I can. And I'll spend the extra time to make sure they survive. But I don't recommend it. Its labor intensive.
Better to plant the seeds into the pot you want them to grow...which for me is a 4" pot then when they're ready they go into 1gal pots and finally into 5gal pots.
Lastly it's not good to put a seedling into dry soil. I don't and for a few reasons. Its just good horticultural practice.