Ok i got 5 gsc girls running right now that a friend gave to me so I wouldn’t have to wait for seed. Well now its time to start some seeds. Last time i grew I no issues starting seeds in the cubes but 15 years has killed my memory on how I did it. First attempt i didn’t want to leave standing water in the propagation tray so they ended up getting dried out and died. Next attempt left water in bottom of tray and ended up with 3 seedlings that all look deformed lol yes i soaked cubes in 5.5 solution that was only 300ppm and used that in the tray. These were bag seeds because I don’t want to waste seeds i paid $10 each for. Really don’t want to have to wash roots again to go from soil start to dwc
I have good luck using damp paper towel in a ziplock till they shoot tails then into rock wool cubes , need to check on them twice a day till they move up to bigger blocks or into pots !
Your ph should be fine for rockwool and ppm of 300 is also ok I’d say get them into bigger containers quicker less chance of a screw up !
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The first ones dried out before roots showed out of the cubes. I work 12 hr shifts at night so the twice ac day thing is hard to do. I always sprout in a paper towel before going to the cube. Think it’s time to start some gorilla glue#4 and blue dream suppose to get some mazar beans as well so we’ll see which ones i start lol so little room so many things to grow lol
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Humidity dome might help with evaporation when your gone! They will need 2 watering a day if not covered and left to dry ,I’m not sure they could be overwatered if you were to soak them and pour out the excess that doesn’t get sucked up ,I prefer to get them into a bigger container within a few days of being in the starter blocks .
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Just re-wet the cubes every other day. I just dunk them in veg nutrient solution. How fast are yours drying out?
Takes like 3 days just sitting on the floor of my grow tent before the rockwool cubes are noticeably lighter.
I use regular strength veg nutrient solution from the very beginning. I’ve never burned a seedling with normal strength veg nutes. 6mL DynaGro/gallon, I’d estimate it’s about 900ppm with my insanely hard tap water, but I don’t check ppm/EC.
Soak the rockwool cubes overnight in normal strength veg nutrients, keep them wet and give them fairly strong light from the beginning. I get near 100% germination in rockwool cubes this way, and strong seedlings that don’t fall over. No humidity domes, nothing fancy. I also pre-soak my seeds in plain tap water for 24 hours, while the cubes soak, before I sow the seeds.
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Hell it only took 24 hours for my cubes to dry out and the plants dead lol i do have a ton of airflow through the room though. If i weren’t for the painfully slow growth I’d start em in dirt ave cut clones but Damn that’s slow lol
I don’t even bother with that anymore you know, not knocking the method as it does work but that sink or float shit is exactly that, shit. I found just putting them in proper paper towelettes in trace fed PHd water works just fine, 3-4 days sprout time just like the float method so IMO just as good but you’re bang on about a propagator it’s a common thing that rock wool cubes dry so fast that’s why I’ve never used them for shit I find it a PITA to keep moist. So get a damn prop and don’t be scared of leaving like 1CM of water on the bottom of the tray @Daytripr69 it won’t harm them if anything will promote the root trying to go down for water 
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I’ve got a propagation tray with a clear top to keep humidity up. So basically what you’re saying is it’s impossible to "drown"the plants in a cube in just a half inch of water then
I wouldn’t say impossible to drown but deffo will not hurt to have a CM in bottom so like partially dipped. If they were submerged in the water then they’d drown but not a puddle 
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I don’t do it for the sinking, it’s just a quick 24 hour soak to get the germination process started. Paper towels work just fine but I’ve killed too many seedlings transferring the delicate taproot. I sow all my seeds before they crack and throw roots. Soak and sow directly, I never lose a one.
I use the 2x2 cubes, are you guys using smaller ones for germination and that’s why they dry out so quick?
@vernal do you leave the cubes in water or on a dry surface
Dry surface. I’m sure you could leave a little water for larger plants.