Why did my seeds stop germinating?

[bbgun80]

over 48 hours ago 2 seeds popped open, one shows the white tap root, the other has the tap root with some part of the shell on it. The seeds are 3 years old out the package. Its been over 48 hours and both roots have stopped growing. They are both between 2 paper towels(damp), inside a ziplock, and have been on top of a heating mat. Are they as good as dead or does a change in the setup have to be done?

 

[beatster]

How much of the root is showing? whats the color if its still white lookin (not brown) it should still be good... You might wanna try to transfer them if the root is gettin long enough.. Nursurey tray with some water(bubble the water).. stryofoam island poke some holes in the styrofoam put seeds so root gets wet...As long as they still look healthy they should be ok..If you're able to shed the shell without harm you might wanna try doing that.

 

[SweetIndica2]

Once they show the taproot you can plant them, although the taproot should have grown a little after those 48 hours. You only need to keep them warm, not hot so 70-75 degrees is fine. Make sure they aren't too warm. I would plant them with the taproot facing down in some soil and just wait for them too pop.

Also, how were the seeds stored? They could be older than 3 years old also if they were sitting in a shop for awhile.

Your method sounds fine so i'd say it's probably bad seeds if they don't reach soil. My method is to put them between damp paper towels, put them between 2 glass plates to keep in moisture but still give them a little bit of air and then i put that in a warm dark spot and re-dampen the paper towel with warm water every 4-6 hours. I always get roots within 24-48 hours, i have only had 2 or 3 seeds not germinate.

 

[libby]

I could only say got too hot, cold, or dry. if dry or hot, then i'd say theyr'e finished.

 

[beatster]

Yeah plant them.. (forgot this is a soil forum lol)

 

[bbgun80]

sad to say, I think it got too hot, as one member said, I remember picking up the ziplock and it was very hot at the bottom, but one root is still white as snow, are they fried already? The other one does still have some type of brown on top of the root, is that bad?

 

[SweetIndica2]

Yea, did you leave the ziplock bag closed too? They need some fresh air, high temps and no fresh air could very well cause them to rot. If the taproot is brown then it could be rotted. I would plant them ASAP. They should survive if you plant them.

 

[B. Friendly]

because you did not use this method. It has given me 90% in the last 3 runs and is proven in the horticulture industry. And it is so simple you'll thank Docgrow:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=10876
Use the furnace room where it is nice and warm with clear domes and it's on.

 

[chuckyoufarley]

i had 3 bog bubble 5-6 yrs old popped in 48 hrs ,were kept in a mason jar w/silica packets in the crisper drawer in the fridge

 

[alegoblin]

Makes me feel good about my mason jars w/ silica gel in the bottom of the fridge.

 

[grow1620]

I'm popping a few color coded seeds from ghs, they cracked in papertowel/ziplock and barely revealed their tap root in the first 24hrs, then nothing for 3 days. I threw them in moist soil with a humidity cover and the next day one of them popped. They had no progress for about 3 days but once put in the soil one popped right up and is progressing well.

I'd suggest throwing them in soil and keeping them moist/humid/warm, then cross your fingers. I've popped tons of seeds in the papertowel/ziplock method and never had seeds just stall out like that after they crack.

Best of luck.