Help with starting seeds
 

This is my first leap into the world of hydroponics. I'm going to be running an indoor ebb and flow system that I have set up and ready to go. I got a 24 pack of the rockwool cubes with the little holes in the top to start some seeds. The cubes are rough 1.5 sq. in. I soaked the cubes in water that I got to the proper PH then mixed in a tiny bit of the nutrient solution. I then placed one seed per cube, a mix of romaine and bibb lettuce, basil, parsley, and spinach.

I then placed the cubes in a jiffy grow tray with the clear plastic lid for the whole greenhouse effect, and then placed it next to a window. All of the lettuce sprouted within a few days. I let two weeks go by and still nothing but lettuce. I took the tray outside to give it more sun, but, I live in FL, and the result of being outside in the direct sun for a couple of hours was all my lettuce being fried.

Is there something I'm doing wrong that none of the other seeds sprouted? Should I just wait longer? I pulled the seeds out of the cubes to start over, and none of them had even started to sprout.

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks.

Well first thing is that not all seeds will sprout at the same time, although 2 weeks seems long enough to wait. You can read the package to see what it says about germination time. I also had the same problem with spinach seeds myself, I went through a whole package of seeds and only one seed ever sprouted but never grew. It's quite possible that you have gotten a bad batch of seeds, or perhaps they were just to old sitting on a shelf before someone bought them. The package should have a sell by date on it. Most seeds should sprout at about 85 degrees as far as I know, so if that is what the temp is inside the little greenhouse that should be fine. if it's cooler it may just take longer, and if it's real cool I'm not really sure. But if it's much over 90 you will probably just be cooking them. From my experiences seeds are very sensitive to temperature.

P.S. the rockwool cubes should be just moist or slightly damp, not soaked. If it is too wet there wont be enough air in the media and the delicate tiny hair like roots can suffocate. The plastic lid will keep them from drying out by keeping the humidity in. You can always give them a quick spray from a spray bottle if it seems like they need it, but the lid should keep them moist.

I went ahead and clean out the blocks and replanted fresh seeds in everything. I think there was too much humidity in the jiffy seed house. It was always dripping wet on the inside. I went ahead and placed it in a dark room this time, until the seeds show some signs of sprouting. We'll see how it goes. Has anyone had good results with spinach hydroponiclly???

Pretty much fool resistant germination....get a zip-lock bag and a coffee filter or a paper towel.

Spread the seeds on paper and fold over the seeds

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...3/IMG_8544.jpg

Put the paper in the zip-lock bag

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...3/IMG_8543.jpg


Wet the paper and seal the bag. Keep baggie at or about 85F until the seeds sprout. You can see/feel if the seeds have sprouted.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...3/IMG_8545.jpg

Place germinated seeds in rockwool with no nutrient

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...3/crop3400.jpg

Spinach seeds germinate best at lower temps. Some people even germ them in the refrigerator. Try to keep the spinach seeds below 60* until they germ.