Welcome to Week 1 of this grow blog.
Today’s post focuses on seed germination. Seeds contain everything a young plant needs to survive, but seeds will not germinate without the right environmental conditions. For this grow we will want to give the seeds the best possible environment, which includes moisture level, humidity, and temperature.
To that end, we are using Root Riot cubes to give the right moisture level and promote faster rooting for the seeds. These rooting blocks are made of sphagnum peat moss and feel like a sponge. The cubes come pre-moistened, which helps take some of the guess work out of germinating seeds. If for some reason the Root Riot cubes are dry, all we need to do is put them into water for a few minutes then give them a good squeeze until water just reaches the outside of the rooting cube. We plant one seed in each rooting block with a little water in a tray that holds the cubes. Then we place a plastic dome over the tray. The dome traps moisture and provides the plants with humidity levels of about 70 percent. High humidity helps soften the shell of the seed and allows the seedling to absorb water through its young leaves before the plant has established roots. The pepper and hemp seeds both need temperatures between 70- and 80-degrees Fahrenheit to germinate. A heat mat is placed under the seedling tray to raise the temperature.
After the seeds germinate, they will start to grow roots. Once you see the roots throughout the rooting block, the plants can be transferred to a larger pot. For this grow, we are going to experiment with transferring the seedlings to a soil mix. This is not usually needed for the plants that grow in a hydroponic system, but since this is the first time growing these seeds, having better root growth should benefit both the soil and hydroponic plants. Each time the plants are transplanted to a new growing container, it gives the roots new soil to explore and promotes strong roots for the plants. The seed packets for these peppers estimate germination between 7 to 21 days after planting. In ideal conditions, the seeds should be ready to transfer to a larger pot by day 21. Hemp seeds can take 5 to 10 days to germinate, but past grows have shown that they can take as little as a day or two to sprout.
