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Post by brownrexx on Mar 21, 2019 7:45:10 GMT -5
If you start seeds indoors, how do you water the seedlings? Water from the top or the bottom?
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Post by september on Mar 21, 2019 9:35:03 GMT -5
From the top normally.
Some exceptions may be tiny flower seeds where the roots may be dislodged and also onion seeds that start out with floppy partially exposed roots. I'll use a spoon to water or spray mist the soil to start until the plants size up. Those are the only things I might have trouble with damping off if I disturb the roots too many times with a forceful top watering.
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Post by paulf on Mar 21, 2019 9:50:22 GMT -5
Mostly bottom, but also top if the soil is dry and the seedlings need a drink. As the seedlings get larger it is all top watering.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 21, 2019 10:27:55 GMT -5
From the top, in the beginning. I use some of those quart sized condiment squeeze containers for watering the individual seedling pots. I water much slower, once they pop up, and eventually, when the plants get larger, it gets almost impossible to water each of them individually, so I water from the bottom. I check for how much they are in need of water by the weight of the trays. And after they have wicked water up to the tops, I tilt the trays, and suck the excess water out with a large baster. After the seedlings get their first set of leaves, I put a few drops of a vegetative growth fertilizer in the water, which I use in my hydroponics, along with some silicate - something used in hydroponcs to help plants develop strong stems.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Mar 21, 2019 10:36:49 GMT -5
From the bottom; it's so much faster to water a tray at once. I have a small plastic watering can with a narrow spout; the tip of the spout will fit between the cell packs to get the water directly into the trays without spilling or splashing.
I drain any excess water afterwards if needed, but with practice I have gotten fairly good at estimating how much water a tray needs depending on how dry the medium is (I lift some cells to check their weight), and a very small amount of water left in the tray evaporates quickly under the lights anyway. Like Dave, I put a bit of soluble fertilizer in the water. I didn't think about using the silicate, Dave - I think I still have some.
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Post by paquebot on Mar 21, 2019 14:03:10 GMT -5
No option for both. When starting, may be both bottom and top. Depends upon if the medium is wet or dry. If already damp, then just bottom is needed. If dry, both needed. Could also depend upon the medium. Most commercial mixes will draw the water up into it. Personally, I see no advantage or disadvantage to either method.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by spacecase0 on Mar 21, 2019 21:19:51 GMT -5
I grow seedlings in the garden, no trays under them, so top watering is all I do
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Mar 21, 2019 21:34:33 GMT -5
Pretty much bottom water seedlings. More of a habit than anything.
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Post by carolyn on Mar 25, 2019 6:14:40 GMT -5
I have the space and place to water from the top.
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reubent
Pro Member
Posts: 389
Joined: May 2011
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Post by reubent on Mar 26, 2019 4:48:31 GMT -5
bottom watering seems to work best for me. And if I grow more I will make larger watering pans. Using grid bottom flats. I just take a piece of plastic, 6 mil poly, lay it on the bench and put a row of 2x2 lumber scraps under the edges to make a water pan. Set the flats in and pour it full of water with soluble fertilizer added. Make the water mix in a 5 gal bucket, I will use a handful of soft rock phosphate and one of calcium nitrate, plus some liquid kelp extract at about 2 Tbs per gallon. It takes a few minutes for the flats to soak up, then move them out and more in and add more water as it disappears.
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