How to start seeds for Hydorponic garden

14 years ago

We did not have much luck with starting from seeds in the past but want to give it another shot. We used peat pots before in a mini green house plastic dome.

I just read there is a potential mold issue with them on this forum. I am looking for suggestions on how to go about it with the goal to transplant into a hydroponic garden.

We want salads greens and herbs to go into 2" baskets and peppers and tomatoes to go into 3.5" baskets. Our options are a room with a window facing south. A 4' flouresent light fixture we can lower over the seedlings and put on timer. Or a plastic covered container we can put out in the sun each day when it gets warm 60-70 almost every day.

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Comments (4)

scubastan
14 years ago
I'm not sure which hydroponic system you are using, so this might not work.

In the past I have tried rockwool plugs, rapid rooter plugs, peralite, vermiculite, coco coir and seed starting soil.

What I do now is the follow. I make little paper cups out of old newspaper (I use a D battery as a mold.) and fill it seed starting mix. Place the seed and water accordingly. They tend to tip over easily so I keep them in little tupperware containers and cover them in plastic wrap to maintain high humidity. *Important make sure you open the plastic wrap once a day for some fresh air to prevent mold.
Once the seeds sprout you can get rid of the plastic wrap.

I usually let them get the 3-4 inches tall before I transplant them into my Deep Water Culture tub.

When I am ready to transplant them, I take the little cup and GENTLY spray them with water. The newspaper and soil wash off pretty quickly and easily. I then transplant the seedling to a netpot with some hydroton to hold them in place.

You can use rockwool plugs or other starter plugs and transplant them directly into your cups but I find my seeds start 10x better in soil.
digdirt2
14 years ago
If you are going into baskets, especially small baskets, then I'd use rock wool cubes. If you start with 1-2" cubes, once germinated you just pop the cube into the basket. For the larger things, once germinated in the starter cube you put it into a larger cube and that goes into the basket.

Check out the Hydroponic forum here for more details.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Hydroponic forum
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photopilot
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the info,
I have been asking questions on the Hydroponic forum as well. I just figured I need special help as I have had trouble getting plants from seed to fruit.
digdirt2
14 years ago
Well you can increase actual germination rates, especially for tomatoes, with a seedling heat mat or any other source of bottom heat that you can come up with. Works with rock wool too just as with potting mix. Need a soil temp of 75-80 for germination. Then remove from the heat as soon as they germinate.

The leafy greens like lettuce don't really need it but will also benefit from it and germinate faster. But they only need 70 degrees.

Once germinated are you having trouble keeping the seedlings alive?

Dave