Gonna start my first micro grow shortly but I've got a germination question

[ultrastealthgro]

I'm going to start growing again for the first time in about ten years and have a germination question. I'm gonna grow in dirt but I hear a lot about people germinating in wet paper towels and stuff, I always just sowed my seeds right into the soil in the container? Is there some advantage to letting them pop in a wet paper towel? Thanks for the help, I need it

 

[92GTi]

I've been wondering this myself. I'm doing the paper towel deal right now with a plate and bowl. 2 days in and I've seen nothing really yet. Always thought you just put them in soil and grow :/ First time for me doing this though.

I've been told on here that you can do the paper towel wet and toss it in a ziploc bag in a dark warm place. Around 90% success rate.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

moisture and warmth is key. a paper towel just makes things easier for some folks.

 

[ultrastealthgro]

Could it just be a bowl of warm water? If you do germ this way does it matter how/when you transplant them and how there oriented?

 

[CLDBD]

I have tried many different methods. I say do what works for you. There is no long term advantage doing it in paper towels. What I do is take a paper towels and fold it in half and then in half again. I get it wet and wring it out a little. I then unfold the last fold and put the seeds in. Then slam that guy in a little tupperware and set it on top of the cable box for warmth. With nirvana seeds I have had 100% germ rate. All within two days.

 

[CLDBD]

Could it just be a bowl of warm water? If you do germ this way does it matter how/when you transplant them and how there oriented?

As an addon to my last post I have been told that coffee filters are a litte less likely to rip on you when wet. I stil use towels with no problems.

There are allot of folks that would have you get dressed in a bio suit to plant the seeds that sprout in the towels. I say hell they are going into a pile of dirt. I just take them with a set of tweezers and drop them in a hole I make with a bic pen about 1in deep. Make sure the tap root is pointing down and your good to go. Once again if you are doing well with planting them in the dirt then keep on keeping on. Mother nature doesn't use towels and tweezers.

 

[ultrastealthgro]

Awesome CLDBD! I was starting to think I was doing something wrong just putting them into soil. I never bought expensive seeds before though either, just didn't want to screw it up

 

[freakinbud]

Just to add on.. I've had 90% germ with the wet papertowel in a zip-lock in a warm place. I started germing 4 seeds like this less than 24hours ago and already 3 have 1/4 tap roots Be sure to keep a corner of the bag open for air or "burp" it lol every 8 hours or so. Good Luck!!

 

[CLDBD]

Just to add on.. I've had 90% germ with the wet papertowel in a zip-lock in a warm place. I started germing 4 seeds like this less than 24hours ago and already 3 have 1/4 tap roots Be sure to keep a corner of the bag open for air or "burp" it lol every 8 hours or so. Good Luck!!

I forgot to add that I check on them enough to allow them to breathe. Good work.

 

[texas_green]

i took a shot glass and 2 seeds and set it on top of my water heater.

15 hours later they popped tails.

 

[92GTi]

I've got the paper towel and bowl thing going on right now, its like my 3rd day and I'm not getting why they wont pop. I've kept it pretty moist and covered them with a black shirt, then put my lights on for warmth. Can seeds "die" or just not pop? What should I do now?

 

[texas_green]

I've got the paper towel and bowl thing going on right now, its like my 3rd day and I'm not getting why they wont pop. I've kept it pretty moist and covered them with a black shirt, then put my lights on for warmth. Can seeds "die" or just not pop? What should I do now?

if you hit them with some very fine sandpaper, it helps them crack a bit faster.

you said you haven't grown in 10 years, are these seeds that old?

 

[ultrastealthgro]

if you hit them with some very fine sandpaper, it helps them crack a bit faster.

you said you haven't grown in 10 years, are these seeds that old?

LOL, no I just got them in the mail last week. I got 3 types of auto's and a bunch of free seeds with the order from Attitude. For some reason they sent me double my order, not complaining though!

 

[FreezerBoy]

Is there some advantage to letting them pop in a wet paper towel?

No. None. Zip. Nada. It will pop in soil just as fast as towels but, in soil, it's already planted. Towels have several disadvantages, increasing the odds of mold, starvation or root breakage.

The best use of towels is determining viability of large seed batches. Guy here stumbled across a 20-30 year old stash of thousands of seeds. By germming 100 in paper towels, he had an idea of how many seeds he'd need to produce a single plant.

If you've reason to believe your seeds are fresh, germ in what they grow in.

 

[ultrastealthgro]

Cool beans, thanks freezer! In the dirt they will go

 

[K.J]

I just popped 6 beans in a small Tupperware container that held about 3 oz. of water and a VERY dilute amount of Liquid Karma. Popped the seeds directly into the water, put the container on top of the cable box over night for heat, and within 24 hours all of them were showing their radicals. They went straight from there into rockwool cubes and under a humidity dome. Eazy peezy.