Skunk Auto - FastBuds

1/11: -Placed 3 seeds into a cup of dechlorinated tap water. 1/12: -After seeds sank and soaked for around 20 hours, I planted them directly into the substrate, moving any larger pieces of soil/perlite away from the seed locations. Watered generously with dechlorinated tap water. 1/13: -Watered again with Great White added into the water to help speed up the tap-rooting process. 1/14: -Dug up all the seeds to check the progress with doubts of things going well, to find I was correct. Re-adjusted the seeds on top of the soil, taproot side down. Will simply use the spray bottle to avoid moving the seed until the taproot is more developed in the soil. -Would NOT recommend planting directly into the substrate if your soil isn't good quality like my FoxFarm soil seems to be. A lot of big pieces like wood or twig in it. Had much better results germinating the taproots in a paper towel. Seeds do seem to be slowly progressing, but I will continue to keep a steady eye on them and will probably never germinate directly in soil in particular again, unless the medium/soil is very fine. -Misted the inside of cups with a couple air holes, and placed them on top of the seeds to increase the relative humidity. 1/15: -Immediate noticeable improvement from the seeds after the changes. All 3 have taproots within the soil and have successfully germinated. Sprinkled some Great White directly on to the taproots and misted the seeds directly. 1/17: -All 3 seeds are starting to erect and all 3 also have their seed coats on. 1/18: -2 of the 3 seeds showed sudden signs of damping off (dying). The stems on both are turning a black color, while the 3rd seed seems completely healthy. This is probably due to some kind of fungi in the soil being present and overwhelming the seedlings due to high humidity. I DEFINITELY will avoid placing seeds directly into substrate like Fox Farm soil in the future. -Germinating my other two Fast Buds Skunk Auto seeds to make up for the probable two seeds I will lose due to damping off. If/when they successfully germinate, I will place a decent layer of coco-coir on top to help the seed avoid direct soil early on. 1/19: -After showing signs of damping off, both seedlings have died off completely, while Seedling #1 has survived and is still thriving. 1/20: -Both the replacement seeds have successfully germinated inside the damp paper towel. Will give them another 8 - 12 hours to develop a larger taproot before transplanting them into the same pots that failed my other two seeds previously, except I'm going to add a layer of coco-coir to the area where the seedlings will be transplanted. 1/22: -Tent hit 50 degrees F while the lights were out due to it being extremely cold outside and my family deciding to turn the heat off for hours without my knowledge, gotta love those Pepega's. Not sure if the seedlings are going to handle that lapse in temperature very well, or if it just killed them off in general. Only time can tell. 1/24: -Despite the hinderance of those around me, I was able to make sure the seedlings didn't die off after successful germination. They're both beginning to leave the soil and slowly become erect. -Since all 5 seeds did successfully sprout, I DEFINITELY think the soil + temperature was the issue with two seeds damping off early on. I'll more than likely be sticking to germinating via paper towel from now on, since I've already had 100% success rates with it.