Babying the Babys!
Yep, get em into the soil cups, take the Dome off, and put your little light as close as possible above the tops. I’d leave it on 24/7 until the new light arrives. Use Photone to see if you can 40+ PPFD to those new leaves. Your local humidity should compensate for removing the dome. They are ready to wake up, look at their sun and breathe.
To transplant them, fill the cup about 2/3 full of soil. Don’t Wet the Soil. Then use something to make a hole in the soil for the rooter cube by really compressing the soil to the sides and down leaving a void. There’s a tool for that called a Dibbler, but any blunt instrument will work.
Insert the rooter cube in the hole and gently tamp the soil around it. The soil level should be just a little higher than the rooter, and maybe an inch below the top of the cup.
You can take them outside for a bit of sunshine to compensate for the lighting, but start slowly on that, early morning sun for an hour, then full sun for a half hour, then an hour, etc. Watch carefully and back off if you see anything but plant pleasure. Once your new light arrives bring them inside and switch to that setup for good.
Once they’ve settled into the cups after a few days, you can add a little more soil to cover the bottom bit of stem. The leaves only need to be a half inch above soil and those little plants are probably going to stretch into the light until your Big Beam LED arrives.
Don’t water them at all for the first day or two, until the cups feel light. (memorize that “Light Cup” feeling!) Then ONLY water lightly around the outer edge of the cup. Overwatering is the first deadly sin of growing seedlings. The roots need to breathe air and they’ll stretch out towards the edges, where the moisture is, and fill the cup. If you see any moss on the top of the soil they are too wet!
This is a critical time in the grow, so check them frequently and “Listen to the Plants.”
-Grouchy
BTW, some folks prefer the clear cups because you can see the root development. To avoid the algae, they put the clear cup inside an opaque outer cup. They’ll be just fine for your project.
(back on mainland)
