Seeds in the dome question

Can anyone tell me how long I can keep seedlings in the plastic tray/dome/rockwell plug combo.... it is around 71F has a 18" floro plant/aquarium light on top....the dome is 7" tall ....started Dec 29 so far 17 out of 32 have popped up ..... I'm waitin for my cab to get here to put them in but it is delayed at the border for how long I don't know.... not sure when or if i should use a nute in the bottom tray or use some kind of foliar spray while in the dome

thanks in advance for any replies ...BB :)

be very careful that your plants are getting adequate air flow. Seedlings are very vulnerable to a rot called 'damping-off' or pythium wilt, which causes them to get thin rotted stems and fall over, and comes from too much humidity. You should start opening the dome for about a half hour at a time, a few times a day, to get them used to normal air and prevent this. I never put seedlings under a dome personally.
They are ready to feed when they have 4 sets of adult leaves and are working on the 5th.

Thanks to stinkyattic for this advice .... this is my first attempt to grow after 37 years of puffin ..... here is some pics of my new babies :)

Looking good so far but you have the beginning of stretch.
Since you are doing a breakaway sheet, and can't move plants around, you'll want to get some sort of lighting that gives good even coverage over the whole sheet.
I recommend a New Wave T5 24" 4-bulb fixture or equivalent, no more than 3" from the plant tops, or a T12 tube shop light with a pair of 40w 'cool white' tubes no more than 2" from plant tops. Otherwise you will get stretch. CFLs will work too but they will be a little harder to arrange over the plants.

As stinkyattic said, you don't need a dome for seedlings. A dome is used for clones because they don't have roots to suck up moisture. Therefore the humidity must be kept high so the clones don't dry out. A dome isn't necessary for seedlings nor is misting them.

Thats great info .....last night I tossed the dome..... in a pinch the best I could come up with was 3 18" grow bulbs at about a 2" from babies and they seemed to stop stretching:)
BB:)

Good fix. That will work fine. Get ready for the next grow stage. Now is the time to plan your space and lights if you haven't yet.

I'm waitin for this sunlight shed cabinet that has been stuck at the border..... accordin to sunlight sheds it is supost to clear today:) :D
BB

hey beachbum,
it looks like you're using rockwool to germ your seeds. you put the seeds directly in the rockwool? how did you prep the rockwool first (pH)? Also about how wet do you keep it? How long did it take before your seeds popped?

I've never used rockwool so am curious...
How do you seperate the plants when the roots tangle?
I heard no mention of putting a fan on 'em...would that dry-out the rockwool too quickly?
Any new pix?

Roots- Here's my take on it. Rockwool is NOT a beginner medium by any stretch. I assume that by the time you are running RW slab you know the plant well enough to judge when to tear off the individual cells from a breakaway propagation slab like that. Plus, if you turn the prop slab over, the cells are deeply cut from the underside, making them easier to tear off without damaging roots.
Fan- You need a fan but it is a balance between air movement and air drying. A light breeze, almost too faint to notice, just enough to barely move the plants, is sufficient for seedlings.
And no matter what your medium, seedlings require extra care and attention anyway to keep the moisture level appropriate.

TD sorry for the delay...... I soaked the rockwell cube pad down with bottle water then drained the bottom tray off and put the seeds in the holes and put them in a dark cubboard ...seeds started coming up in 3 days and 28 out of 32 bag seeds came up within 5 days...... i took the best lookin ones and put them in my 14 spot hydro setup and so far they are doin nicely
BB:D

so humidity domes/plastic cups over seedlings is a bad idea? ive got them over about half my thai oragano herb garden (im literally growing oragano as well, ive got the lights and nutes for it) and the humid half are about 30% larger now.

i have no weed under them though, since the cup diametre is too small for the leaves

I'm not sure cause I pulled the dome.....I forgot to answer Rusty's cube ? ... I carefully cut the cubes off with a sharp kitchen knife and put them right in the basketweave pots and surrounded them with clay balls ... I had to leave the seedlings in the tray an extra week while waitin for my setup... will try to get some pics l9r
BB

heres some pics after 1 week in the cab.... at this time I am up to 550ppm of nova flora grow and 1 teaspoon of GH florishous plus ...:):thumbsup:
BB

Looks great.
Humidity domes should be used with caution on any plant. If ambient %RH is in the 20s, then you might actually NEED that dome. But always be watchful for signs of damping-off. And never use 'used' soil on seedlings. The pathogens can be sitting there dormant waiting for the right amount of humidity... yuuck.