Soaking Seeds

[JackTheGrower]

Okay the search term soaking seeds is only giving me soaking and ignoring seeds and searching for seeds is being refused..

It will take a week to read 99 pages of results for soaking.

So I must break one of my rules and just ask for help.

It's been a long long time since I needed to soak seeds and I forget how long to soak them.

Also I remember that good ones sink is that right? What happens when they rise back up when the first sank?

They supposed to float and then drop if good right?

I forget..

I assume they float then drop.. The one that dropped then rose again was a trip.


Since I now have one person in our collective i will share the meds I grew for no consideration and go on a rescue mission which should see me using that silver to make seeds of a couple of old strains.. Berkeley circa 1999..

It is worth noting that one of them has a unique mood lifer effect and was called Glad for a very good reason.

Okay then so it's what 24 hours with really old seeds in water right? been years since I had to worry about viability.

Everything was super clean and sterile for the most part.. Drinking water was used..

Comments welcome.

 

[stillsmokin843]

Soak the seeds for no more than 24 hrs esp if there old I add a couple of caps of hydrogen peroxide then take out and put in a papper towel sandwiched inbetween 2 plates. Make sure the papper towel is folded so that none of the edges are over hangng the edge of the plate. And kepp in a cool dark place during whole process. As far as floaters go sometimes they will still pop. Then once poped place about a 1/4 to 1/2 in under dirt. I use moutwash cups with a small hole cut in bottom of cup so I can put all cups in a poan and let them bottom ffeed. By the way that's what this site is for feel free to ask questions anytime bro. Good luck feel free to ask any questions id be happy to clarify

 

[stillsmokin843]

Oh yea I almost forgot a light scaching with an emery bord before soaking helps improve chances especially in old seeds. Ya can put a peice in a matchbox dump some seeds in and shake before soak

 

[OPT]

Why do you feel you have to soak the seeds? I believe in 6-7 grows, I've had only 1 seed not crack when I use the normal germ technique.

OPT

 

[Stoned Crow]

I've had the same conundrum Jack, and I still can't find an answer that I like. My seeds always go in soil in a tray on a heating mat. Maybe I haven't read the thread that will convince me, but I'm too afraid of my seeds drowning. I've popped seeds in soil that I know were 15 years old. However, using my method, about 8 months ago, I did have a pack of Sagamartha Gardner's Choice seeds where 10/10 did not pop. It was a sad day.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Why do you feel you have to soak the seeds? I believe in 6-7 grows, I've had only 1 seed not crack when I use the normal germ technique.

OPT

The last attempt of maybe 100 seeds gave me one sprout.

That spout didn't make it.

 

[stillsmokin843]

I was tought that by an old frower who said to use that method on any old seeds I have had great results using it aslong as ya don't leave them more than a day. For what its worth. I have had some seeds pop in the cup of water they were soaking in and they still lived. Forgot some once for 2 days and they didn't make it.

 

[JackTheGrower]

So 24 and place all of them in towel..

Alright..

LOL it's the simple things i need to do once in a blue moon that stump me.. That's funny..

I hadn't cloned for years and I thought No problem for me.. I'm super gardener man.. LOL I ended up getting up to speed on technique after the first batch failed to give me enough clones and I went back and read "How" again..

The heating mat was the thing!

Okay 24 it is.. I thought so but good to get y'alls help.

 

[VerdantGreen]

hi jack - i tend to saok overnight and then straight into soil

for old seeds a little liquid seaweed is sposed to help - from the nitrogen in it as well as the hormones. 1ml per litre of water - so about a teaspoon in a gallon.

watch out for heating mats. in my experience they are far too hot. the heat speeds things up - including rot and mold unfortunately. easy to cook seeds too

good luck

V.

V.

 

[RESINvention]

Yes, Heating mats can cook your seeds.. Seeds will continue to float when there is no embryo inside, creating a buoy effect.. It can take a bit for seeds to hydrate, the reason for the soak.. All seeds are different.. some shells may be hard and impenetrable, while others may be soft and crack open easily.. Some seeds need a simulated "winter" to trigger germination.. Some seeds need the help of a digestive system to break down the shell to help crack them open.. so for me, my best practice is..

Throw them in the freezer or fridge for a day or two, then take them out and let them thaw, then aggitate the seam on the seed that splits open with some abbrasive material, then soak in tap water until the seeds sink (indicating a fully hydrated seed), then place in a folded & moist(not wet or soaking) paper towel, which is then placed in a sandwich baggy located in a warm dark spot(around 75-80 F), and checked upon every few days. Hope that helps! Good luck with germination.

*if your seeds don't drop after a 24 hour soak, they most likely are missing the embryo inside. Wait another day or two, and if they still don't drop, they almost certainly don't have the embryo inside

 

[maryjohn]

Remember to tap the jar before writing off a seed. An air bubble or five can be clinging to it.

Cold stratification as described above is a waste of time with cannabis. Save it for onion seeds you save. Scarification does help with hard seeds, the kind that may continue to float despite having an embryo.

 

[CT Guy]

Seaweed is a good suggestion. I've read studies that show that in proper concentrations it can have a significant benefit towards germination rates. Just to clarify, it was a study of ascophyllum nodosum in TL Senn's book, Seaweed and Plant Growth. I remember that too high of concentration actually reduced germination. If you decide to go that route, let me know and I can look it up again for %s.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Droppers!

Droppers!

I see more than enough have dropped this morning. How exciting.

If Soaking these seeds works to germinate then I will have more than need but this is a rescue mission for a couple old friend strains.

I did plenty of computer programming with the aid of Glad and I miss that in my medical selection.




I will be trying my hand as making S1's from these and others.

 

[habeeb]

try this jack:

plant the seed in soil. It's the easiest method, less material, less time..

 

[Big D]

I only read the first couple of post and I have to say this.
Forgive me for highjacking your thread Jack (btw much respect to you my brother )

I have read shit loads of threads about germination and I have myself germ'd 100's of seeds using the paper towel method. I'd never heard of soaking seeds until I found the internet in 2004, I tried it once and it worked great! I have also went straight into soil and also had great results. The point of my post is, that seeds need 2 things to activate: moisture and warmth. If the seeds are good, they will crack siting on a rock covered by a leaf. Ofcoarse they need to hit something nutritious to grow. And IMO no certain way is better than the other.

Jack when the seeds sink, plant them.

 

[exploziv]

I soak older seeds for around 6 hours in 24-26 degrees C water.. then plant them into soil. I got 70% germ rate with seeds stored for 4-5 years in a normal drawer.

 

[JackTheGrower]

try this jack:

plant the seed in soil. It's the easiest method, less material, less time..

Well for over 6 years they popped easy but, the germination rate has dropped..

This is the last of the seeds for both strains.

I am debating going to soil after soak and am ready for that.


Glad



B-59

 

[opt1c]

ok this is a bit more info than just soaking seeds but i find soaking is only one small part of a larger process in starting seeds. as expensive as seeds can be i've been on a quest to dial in my seed starting methods and document them too boot.


i like to get a room around 80-85 degrees ambient; i use a small space heater in an even smaller bathroom. i then soak the seeds in a shot glass of ro water at room temp for up to 12 hours; i cover em with a box to keep em dark during this period. I check them every few hours and once they drop i move them to moistened paper towels that are on a heavy stoneware plate which is then covered with another smaller plate; i find this gives a nice distribution of heat and insulates the seeds from any drastic temperature fluctuations. Even seeds that are still floating after a 12 hour soak get moved to the paper towels.

35 hours later...

I like to use paper towels because i'm able to check and physically see if the seed has germinated as opposed to just hoping they pop up out of the ground everyday.

I recently started my seeds in coco as i've had problems with bugs in bags of premixed soil and i don't trust anything around my yard; i also didn't want to use rockwool cubes as the seedlings end up in coco and not rockwool. To get the coco sterile i pasteurized it; something our brothers who farm mushrooms employ. To do this i placed a good amount of coco in a hops bag i use for brewing my teas (used in brewing beer too; paint strainer bags are the same i think) i then boiled 5gallons of water on my stove; placed the bag of coco in a 5gal bucket and covered with the boiling water; best to do this outside if possible. Cover the bucket with the lid and let it sit for 90 minutes; open it up and take out the coco; it'll be HOT! I spread it out on a 10x20 tray with slits in it and allowed it to drain. Once drained i placed it in the same room the seeds in the paper towels were in so it would come to ambient room temp and not shock the seeds when they were transplanted. I filled some little 1x1 cells with coco taking care to not compress it; the coco was still a bit moist from the pasteurization but i didn't rehydrate it prior to planting the seeds. Once germ'd i transplanted em to the coco cells and placed em under two 40 watt fluorescent lights propped up by trusty beer cups(not the best supports but they worked in a pinch and i always exercise care around the babies.) At this time i moisten the top of the coco with a small spray bottle filled with ro water at room temp; just a couple squirts.

And here they are after 66 hours from opening the packages of seeds...

Of the 8 seeds i soaked 7 germinated of those 7 are up and alive. In less than three days time the seeds are up and out the gate.

As the seedlings grow and the coco dries i'll feed them with ro water at room temp from the bottom up by placing them in a small dish with the nutes in the bottom. This way the coco only absorbs whatever it will absorb through capillary action lessening the chances of overwatering the delicate tap roots. I then let the cells drain well before moving them back under the lights. Once they've rooted out a bit i transplant them to larger containers. I feed them with h&g coco specific nutes, not organic i know, and some h&g root excel.. nutes at half strength; about 3ml per gal after the true leafs have shown; while its just the cotyledon all they get is water.

After a week they are ready to be transplanted into larger containers and the first true leaves have all started to grow.

After that they go to their new home in the veg tent under a 4 bulb t-5

And here they are at 10 days from opening the seed packs.

To give a better idea of the growth in 3 days here is a 7 and 10 day shot of the same seedling.

Anyways hope i didn't hijack your thread too much; everyone has their own method of starting seeds and soaking is a standard part of my regeime; i consider it more of a rehydration than anything else; like the drop of rain that fell on the seed in nature starting the process i feel a soak is a nice first step and has never hurt my germination rates; i don't like to let them soak for more than 12 hours though; it's a soaking not a drowning; i also don't like them to crack when they are still in the shot glass; too much moisture for my tastes

 

[OPT]

I'll agree with opt1c. I'm not a fan of planting in soil, and hoping they pop up. I learned many years ago the paper towel method in science class, and it's always worked for me. I have soaked seeds before, but for the most part I don't. Also, the one thing I do different from others, is i put them in a sealed plastic baggy, and usually put them up outa the way, on my fridge for example. I then just check them daily. After a day or two you can usually tell if they are gonna crack open, and like i've said before, I've only had like 1 not sprout in like 7 grows.

The way I look at it is, if the seeds don't sprout after a couple days, even after you soaked them and put in moist paper towels, they probably won't.

Adding the heat mat, and etc, is just upping your chances at viability. Plants in the outdoors don't have a nice heat mat and 80 degree days to pop up, they either do it, or they don't.

Good luck, I hope some germ for you!

OPT

 

[DARC MIND]

i use the perlite wick water bottle for both cloning and seed germing. works better then any other method i tried.
simple perlite and or vermiculite moisten in a container will also pop seeds very well. just place some were warm not hot, heat mats have done me wrong before so be cautious with them.
Best of luck