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I just put my seeds in and this morning did a bottom watering, filling up the trays about 1/3 of the way. I let them sit for 30 minutes or so and the water never reached the top of the trays. Should I do a little top watering as well or just leave it be? I drained the excess water after this time from the tray bottom as well.
you should have a humidity dome on these until you get to at least 50% germination.
I've found that I almost never have to add water to my moist germination mix unless they go a couple or more weeks without germination. The bottom of the dome will have condensation on it at least that long.
one problem with watering from the top, is the likelihood that you may wash the shallow planted seeds right out of the cells.
I agree you should have a humidity dome on for starters.
If the soil surface is still too dry after bottom watering you could moisten the surface by misting it with a spray bottle, enough to dampen it well but not saturate it. Misting the surface will help to cause bottom water to sponge up to the surface due to capillary action and it won't disturb the seeds.
We took bunch of water bottles and cut them in a half across. Drilled 4mm holes in caps and capped upper halfs. Then we put lengths of yarn through the cap hole, so that it reaches down several inches. Bottom, clylindrical halfs, were filled with water and upper, conical halfs with caps and yarn, set upside down into them, so that yarn is immersed into water.
Then tops were filled with soil and seed placed into each top.
Yarn works as wick and brings water up.
They grow like on yest.
Op, I took close look at your system. Why do I have that feeling that lights are too close to topsoil and dry it out? Also, are those sun spectrum bulbs? Plants need UV.
I say try measuring soil temperature at the top. Entire set up looks like a heat retainer. Might be too much retention.
That fibrous planting medium should have been watered and stirred until all of it was damp, before you spread it out in the trays and before you planted the seeds. If you did not do that, it might be very difficult for the top to soak up water, since it was not pre-treated like this. The best thing to do then, after planting, would be to get a spritzer bottle and spritz the top twice a day until the medium/soil "learned" to accept the water. Eventually it will allow the bottom water to wick up.
We took bunch of water bottles and cut them in a half across. Drilled 4mm holes in caps and capped upper halfs. Then we put lengths of yarn through the cap hole, so that it reaches down several inches. Bottom, clylindrical halfs, were filled with water and upper, conical halfs with caps and yarn, set upside down into them, so that yarn is immersed into water.
Then tops were filled with soil and seed placed into each top.
Yarn works as wick and brings water up.
They grow like on yest.
I wetted the medium before planting the seeds. I also did a little too watering to help and covered the trays with the plastic top. Seems to be doing the trick. I already have sprouts on some plants 2 days in. Raised the lamps slightly as well because they were to close to the lids.
Thanks everyone!
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