VERY simple question about germination process

[ksefan36]

i have two seeds that emerged from their soil.
both of them i kept plastic wrap around them to keep the moisture. now that they have both popped up should i keep the wrap over them until they break their shell? because both of them still have their husk?
haha like i said, very simple.
thanks ahead of time

 

[dannyboy602]

keeping the wrap on will soften the shell and it will fall off in time. then take the plastic off. I never wrapped my seeds. the husk falls off anyway.

 

[ksefan36]

forsure.
thanks for the verrification!

 

[GrowinDad]

I used a baggie and put a slit in it. You may not be able to go straight from having it to being off . I recommend easing her in, opening it up for a few hours one day, and few more the next, and then removing completely.

 

[ksefan36]

hmmm.
i think ill try this. because my soil seems to dry out very easy too!
thanks man

 

[ksefan36]

hahaha no joke..
one of the shells fell off already..
love how fast its kickin up!!!
need to get my 400 watt hps sooon!!!

 

[longarms90]

I take the wrap off right when it pops out. The hust will always shed. Worst case, it will be stuck to one of the water leaves. What kind of lights do you have? They can go straight to CFL now if you want, but a big HID would probably be a little harsh if its too close

 

[ksefan36]

i currently have one 42 watt cfl. yes 6500 k haha
im in the noob forum but i sure as hell know what lights to use! haha
but im thinking of using the cfl for the first two weeks , and then get my 400 watt hps on them from then til harvest.
well, ill have to do that because i dont even have my 400 watt yet. ill be expecting it in about 2 weeks or so.
and my light should be how far away from these seedlings?

 

[longarms90]

I've grown with a 400 HPS one time, I am a CFL grower really. You want the light just a couple inches away from the tops. Just far enough that they don't stretch for the light. I'm always able to keep my babies around 3" tall when they start to get their side growths comin in. But two weeks should be fine. Give them enough time to establish a good root system. By the time you get them under the HPS, they should explode!

 

[little butch]

3" might be on the edge of too close for the babies. At that height, you should watch for heat stress. I use about 350 actual watts above and another 350 on each side, for over an actual 1000 watts. Don't let anyone tell you CFl's don't work. My yields and bud quality is excellent, and I'm just an old fart who pays attention to what the babies tell me everyday. Anyone smarter than a brick can do this with patience, perseverance, and listening to the people that have done this many times before. When the second set of true leaves are doing well, drop the lights to about an inch and a half to 2 inches, and again check them daily or they grow so fast you will burn them if they touch the plant. Pisses you off to burn a newly started cola. Peace & be kind.

 

[GrowinDad]

Don't put the lights close until she has some true leaves. You can very easily fry the cots and she is done. Don't worry about a little stretch early on.

 

[ksefan36]

3" might be on the edge of too close for the babies. At that height, you should watch for heat stress. I use about 350 actual watts above and another 350 on each side, for over an actual 1000 watts. Don't let anyone tell you CFl's don't work. My yields and bud quality is excellent, and I'm just an old fart who pays attention to what the babies tell me everyday. Anyone smarter than a brick can do this with patience, perseverance, and listening to the people that have done this many times before. When the second set of true leaves are doing well, drop the lights to about an inch and a half to 2 inches, and again check them daily or they grow so fast you will burn them if they touch the plant. Pisses you off to burn a newly started cola. Peace & be kind.

That is just fucking awesome... 1000 watts off cfl? I know cfls are quite cool compared to other lights.. but do all of those cfls in one bunch let off a ton of heat? Nd if so howd u take care of that?
And could u send me a link of the type of cfls u are using?
Thanks for the info too!

 

[scarelet]

id still play with hps and mh lights.

 

[longarms90]

CFL is easy to keep cool. Just blow a fan at them like with a HID. I mean 1k watts is a lot of CFL, but still wouldn't be as hot as a 1000w HPS IMO

 

[GrowinDad]

I got out of CFL because of the ongoing challenge of raising lights and adjusting plants to keep the bulbs right on the tops. No doubt you can grow great bud with them. But running so much is still using a lot of juice, same as HID, though I believe watt for watt more effective in that more if the energy comes in light vs heat.

I decided to invest in LED to get the best of both worlds. The light stays well above the canopy and there is even less power draw. I have read people say it takes a while to learn to use LED but so far it seems no diff than CFL in how I treat the plants. I currently have three plants being LST to shit. They each have about 10 tops that are only about 3" tall.

I did 12-12 from seed (clone actually) in it in flower when i first got the light. Can't compare to my old 400w (14x23w) CFL hood for yield, but the bud did seem more dense than with CFL.

 

[Nullis]

3" might be on the edge of too close for the babies. At that height, you should watch for heat stress. I use about 350 actual watts above and another 350 on each side, for over an actual 1000 watts. Don't let anyone tell you CFl's don't work. My yields and bud quality is excellent, and I'm just an old fart who pays attention to what the babies tell me everyday. Anyone smarter than a brick can do this with patience, perseverance, and listening to the people that have done this many times before. When the second set of true leaves are doing well, drop the lights to about an inch and a half to 2 inches, and again check them daily or they grow so fast you will burn them if they touch the plant. Pisses you off to burn a newly started cola. Peace & be kind.

It isn't that CFL's 'don't work', it is that they just are not as efficient as an HID lamp (or LED). You can use a bunch of CFL bulbs which eat a total 1,000 watts, but you're not actually going to get the light output of a 1,000 watt HID lamp. It comes down to luminous efficacy, and an HPS lamp will provide 2-3x the lumen per watt over a CFL (90-150 lumens per watt). Halides produce somewhat less per watt than HPS, but more of it is photosynthetically active.

Okay so they produce quite a bit more heat; whether or not you really have to run AC and the cost per kWh is going to determine otherwise, but HID lamps could actually save you money on electric compared to a number of CFL bulbs as you need much less energy to produce the same relative amount/quality of light.


In relation to the OPs question, I don't use saran wrap or any kind of humidity dome when starting seeds. I use a potting mix with coco coir and castings which holds moisture very well. RH can get low here in Winter, maybe not too low but dry. If the air is dry the media does dry out faster, but I opt to water it more frequently if necessary. If I did have to use a dome I would ensure it is partially vented.

It is said that if you plant the seed with the tap root end facing up, (or just throw it in sideways, as I prefer it's going to settle anyways) the tap-root is supposed to emerge and orient itself such as to flip itself over and shed the casing naturally.