Hi gang. First post but as a big believer in DIY I am willing to try anything once. Up until recently I had terrible luck with seed germination, partly because of not keeping my germination area uniformly moist (w/o being too moist) and partly because my disability can make my hands shake and transferring germinated seeds rarely ends well for the root tips. So when a buddy sent me some Uranium 420 seeds he made, I knew I had to come up with a more foolproof method...and this is it. So far (only done a few tests), 100%, fast germination. Cheap too, made it with stuff I had laying around for other grow projects. Without further ado, my seed starter.
Stuff you need:
Items:
1. cheap air pump, hose and airstone
2. Jiffy seed and clone starter (like < 10 bones at KMart)
3. 4 Rapid Rooter plugs
4. About a square foot of capillary mat
1. Take apart the Jiffy starter kit; discard or save the plugs for some future experiment.
2. Poke a hole in the side of the starter bottom about an inch from the lip, 1/4 inch hold for the airhose.
3. Insert airhose, connect airstone, position on bottom between riser pegs:
4. Add the bottom riser tray...
5. Soak the capillary mat in pH balanced water, then hang over side with one end in the bottom of the tray:
6. Lay the rest of the mat over the riser tray, then add the upper plastic tray (has holes for the old Jiffy plugs we are not using). Almost ready...
Aerated seed starter, pt 2.
Prep the plugs and seeds:
1. Cut the Rapid Rooter plugs in half, then cut each half part-way through to make a sort of taco-shell shaped seed bed:
2. Hydrate the plugs in pH balanced water:
3. Fill the bottom reservoir with pH balanced water with a cap full of B-1:
4. Add one seed per seed bed. I am using Uranium 420 from Great Lakes Medical Seeds:
One seed per...
5. Arrange the seed beds in the central 8 positions:
Finally, just put the top on, turn on the pump and leave it in veg:
In 2 days, all 8 had germinated nicely and by simply transplanting the plug to the destination medium avoids handling the root or exposure to light. You will find the capillary mat keeps everything moistened evenly and just enough. The moisture wicks nicely up thru the Rapid Rooter seed beds.
This is what works well for me; as the gas commercials used to say, "Your mileage may vary."
@kbellfoy: Here is a clone rooter idea I had that worked similar only this used a cheap set of test tubes, a small tub, airpump and airstone...could root up to 24 clones at a time although 16 was plenty....
I like trying things a lot of different ways to learn stuff...
Your mind works perfectly then....really talented. Iv got everything for the cloner except test tubes. Ebay here I come. Thank you so much for sharing this :D
Hey don't think all of my ideas are good....behold the Nutrient-enriched Fog-based clone rooter:
Oops. Well you get the idea. Complete idiocy but I had to find out. After 2 weeks it was still working but cutting stagnated. About three days later it met with a violent end when I needed the floorspace for this seed idea I had....
Oops. Well you get the idea. Complete idiocy but I had to find out. After 2 weeks it was still working but cutting stagnated. About three days later it met with a violent end when I needed the floorspace for this seed idea I had....
I am making a slim profile 2-seat aeroponic cloner/sex tester...idea is to be able to put cuttings into this for rooting (yeah I know, so what) but if need be, I can use this unit to test cuttings for sex by adding a simple enclosure, probably with a low-power LED light and timer. Using a plastic ice cream tub for the container.
That begs the question: how many of us DIYers base your grocery list on what kinds of containers you need?