Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have planted some plants from seed directly in GB, I have germinated in wet coffee filter and transferred after seed sprouted, and I have grown seed in potting soil with heated germination station until I got about 2" growth then transplanted. An the conclusion is I am doing something wrong or getting solid growth is a crap shoot.

I just wanted to get some ideas of why there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason why some ways work and some don't. I put some 2" tall from germination in yesterday and they withered up and died, I dug up some good growth (from seed directly in GB) and moved them to another GB and they are dying. The only thing that seems to be working well is what I planted directly from seed in GB but I only had about 4 of 20 come up. I'm getting ready to add a Filter because with everything dying off it won't be long before fish start dying.

I just wonder if anyone has any tips or ideas what may be going on?

CHFT PIST
FT: 250 gallon
GB: 3 12" IBC
Bell Siphon w/ 5 minute cycle
Ph: 7.6
Ammonia: 0-.25 PPM
Nitrite: .25 PPM
Nitrate: 40 PPM
Temp: 84

Within the last few days I added 3ppt Salt.

I wonder if you water level is rising up enough to soak the roots of the seedling. If not just add a joiner to the top of the drain tube to raise the fill level in the growled.

secondly are you washing all the soil off the seedling. I find that of O leave a ball of soil on the plants they tend to rot and die.

2 cents worth

Sometimes not all seeds are good either. I put the ones Im going to plant in a glass of water... the ones that float are no good. You would be surprised how many dud seeds there are in a single packet.

Not a solution to your problem but just some info.

This is what I did.
I went to Lowes and picked up 8 basial, 3 tomatos, 6 green plants that grow real good without direct sunshine. Came home, got a bucket of water. Took each one out, and washed the dirt in the bucket of water, and planted them inside the river rocks. All of them are doing very well. Last weekend enjoyed bunch of Basials with our meal. The green plants are doing real well. I have to post few pictures soon.

Last THursday, I dropped beet seeds between the river rocks. Last night I saw them coming out of the rocks.

sounds like your water level is not getting to the seedlings, check to see if the water reaches them and for how long, it will be no good if the water gets to the roots only for it to drain and to have been in contact for only a few seconds

Roots are getting wet cycle time is about 10 mins. But you bring up a good point that early sprouted roots are only getting wet for maybe a minute then draining out. I guess I should plant a lot deeper?

How long do roots stay in contact with water or do you constant flood.

mines on cf but i wait until my seedlings roots are about 2" long before i transplant them, i wait really till the first set of true leaves are fully out and the second set are showing

might sound weird but before i went to cf i had a syphon set up, the plants were fine with it that way, then i went cf and the plants are fine with that, every morning i drain the bed to refill the whole bed and to get a bit of air into the roots, but about 30 mins later i notice that some of the plants wilt slightly as if they do not like it, except they were fine on the flood drain cycle before.

I concur with many of these points. The thing I love about AP is that I get virtually no transplant shock going from either soil to AP or AP to AP. I think you're not getting enough water on the roots. When I transplant I dig a little hole deep enough that I can see the water surface then make sure the roots touch his before back filling. With a flood and drain set up you will probably have to go deeper.

Maybe u just need to wait for your seedlings to get bigger and have longer root systems. I find it impossible to transplant the tiny ones successfully, and any plants that germinate close to the media surface have a hard time compared to the ones that germinate further down, as their tiny roots don't reach the bulk of water.