This is driving me nuts and I'm completely frustrated. This would be my 4th hobby grow but damping off has killed all 10 of my seedling. I only germinate 2 at a time and this seed stock should have lasted me for good while. I have 5 new ones on the way. If I lose all of those, I cant justify spenfing the money on any more.
I'm not doing anything differnt than I've always done. In fact, I now have two drawf tomato plants growing in a small E/f that were started the exact same way. No problems at all with them. They're going good.
Soak 1.5" RW starters in 5.5 PH RO for 24hours. Give em a good shake, no squeezing. Then into humidity dome till sprouts start poking through. Off with the dome and under two 75W CFLs timm I see roots(generally 3-5 days). Then into 4" RW cubes conditioned in PH'd RO. All of the cubes get a good shake, till they are just barely damp. Let them dry out, then dip bottom 1/3 of cub into PH'd RO for 3-5 seconds ad needed. Small fan blowing on low across the tops. Temps 75-80F. Small amount of H2O2 in water 24 hours before to sterilize. Have tried sterilizing the water with bleach @ 2ppm 24 hours prior as well. The most recent attempt, I even put the 4" cubes in a 200F oven for an hour to sterilize. Prop tray and dome were wiped down with straight H2O2 prior to germinating.
Roots always show out of the 1.5 cubes. Usually see a small "dent" in the stem within a day or so of planing into the 4" cube. Leaf tips turn yellow and get crispy, then a few days later the seedling is laying on its side, bent over at the "dent" or bottle neck.
As with my other grows, the 4" RW will be planted in a 3 gallon smart pot filled with hydroton, then placed in a small E/F system.
I'm lost...I've heard about RW giving people all kinds of issues, but it's never been this bad for me. I dont know what to do. Is there another hydro medium that's less susceptible to Damping Off?
My plan for my new batch is this: Use only bottled distilled water for germinating and seedlings. Sterilize all RW cubes(1.5 and 4") in oven. Run prop tray and dome through dishwasher hot was onl cycle(no detergent), then spray with bleach to sterilize. Sterilize seeds in H2O2. Cover 1.5" cube in layer of sterile sand and place in sterilized tray/dome. Place tray in small sealed tent thats been completely sterized with bleach. Not worried about air exchange in the tent since heat isnt an issue for me with two small CFL's. Fan on the cubs as soon as they poke their heads up and water very little as needed. I plan on keeping them inthe seale tent till roots emerge from the 4" cubes, then into the smart pots and E/F system. IF(and thats a big IF) I can get some of these going, I plan on attempting to clone since seeds are giving me such a hard time.
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
I'm not doing anything differnt than I've always done. In fact, I now have two drawf tomato plants growing in a small E/f that were started the exact same way. No problems at all with them. They're going good.
Soak 1.5" RW starters in 5.5 PH RO for 24hours. Give em a good shake, no squeezing. Then into humidity dome till sprouts start poking through. Off with the dome and under two 75W CFLs timm I see roots(generally 3-5 days). Then into 4" RW cubes conditioned in PH'd RO. All of the cubes get a good shake, till they are just barely damp. Let them dry out, then dip bottom 1/3 of cub into PH'd RO for 3-5 seconds ad needed. Small fan blowing on low across the tops. Temps 75-80F. Small amount of H2O2 in water 24 hours before to sterilize. Have tried sterilizing the water with bleach @ 2ppm 24 hours prior as well. The most recent attempt, I even put the 4" cubes in a 200F oven for an hour to sterilize. Prop tray and dome were wiped down with straight H2O2 prior to germinating.
Roots always show out of the 1.5 cubes. Usually see a small "dent" in the stem within a day or so of planing into the 4" cube. Leaf tips turn yellow and get crispy, then a few days later the seedling is laying on its side, bent over at the "dent" or bottle neck.
As with my other grows, the 4" RW will be planted in a 3 gallon smart pot filled with hydroton, then placed in a small E/F system.
I'm lost...I've heard about RW giving people all kinds of issues, but it's never been this bad for me. I dont know what to do. Is there another hydro medium that's less susceptible to Damping Off?
My plan for my new batch is this: Use only bottled distilled water for germinating and seedlings. Sterilize all RW cubes(1.5 and 4") in oven. Run prop tray and dome through dishwasher hot was onl cycle(no detergent), then spray with bleach to sterilize. Sterilize seeds in H2O2. Cover 1.5" cube in layer of sterile sand and place in sterilized tray/dome. Place tray in small sealed tent thats been completely sterized with bleach. Not worried about air exchange in the tent since heat isnt an issue for me with two small CFL's. Fan on the cubs as soon as they poke their heads up and water very little as needed. I plan on keeping them inthe seale tent till roots emerge from the 4" cubes, then into the smart pots and E/F system. IF(and thats a big IF) I can get some of these going, I plan on attempting to clone since seeds are giving me such a hard time.
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
