germinating in paper towels??

[angel4us]

always soaked in h20 for 24 hours ,popped in soil or plug and bingo. but recently had bad germination -about 60 %. or maybe chickens plucked some before i seen em?????

anyway trying paper towel technique . do you wait for tails or just till they crack??? thenput in medium????

 

[professordank]

I wait for tails about two inches long and then transplant them before they rot. You can also germinate in rockwool cubes, works about as good as anything else.

 

[SmilinBob]

Wait till they have a small tail. I never wait till it's 2 inches long. 1/4" to 1/2" then straight to the dirt.

 

[angel4us]

been since 1977

been since 1977

Thanks smilin bob and proffessor!!! i did it in 1977 or so and let em get too long -back in days of columbian gold which i no way could possible finish flowering in central illlinois latitude/ winter!!! so it really was a waste of time . walllaa 30 years later and with bog/rez genetics to boot-lookout

 

[CrumpleZone]

The problem with germing in paper towels is the fact that the growing roots can work their way thru the pores in a paper towel. When you pull the sprout away from the towel you lose microscopic root hairs.

That said, I've always used the paper towel method. I just don't let them get too comfortable in there. I try to get them into rockwooll asap.

 

[SmilinBob]

I've always used this method, and I've never had a problem.

Never seen any missing microscopic hairs either.

 

[Too old to care]

If they have microscopic hairs. Do I need a microscopic razor?

 

[LoKey]

If they have microscopic hairs. Do I need a microscopic razor?

lol



I found straight to papertowel works the best for me, i just use a prefolded towel that i get damp (not dripping), if squeezed it should give out some water, and then throw it with the seeds in the middle of it, in a ziplock bag with a bit of air sealed into it, then i just throw it in a warm spot (on top of my computer)

and have typically had taproots long enough to plant with in 2-3days, but gotta watch out have had some seeds shed there shells with in 2days and be inch and half long

 

[Lazyman]

Ah the ziploc is a good idea, I have mine on a plate on top of my water heater, and have to water them 2x a day. After they pop tails I've had better luck putting them in damp soil in full sun, they seem to sprout faster for me that way. Lately I've been popping old beans for friends that haven't done anything, but I got a couple blackberry widows to pop and sprout that were just a couple years old, hope one is a female at least!

 

[twrex]

I know lots of folks like the paper towel method but I always feel that the counterpoint must be mentioned. http://www.mandalaseeds.com/html/germination.html

Aside from certain landraces and older seeds they don't suggest doing anything but putting them into soil.

It's possible you just got a bad batch of beans which affected your germ rate, or some other unknown environmental factor (don't know what your growing method is so can't say). By all means experiment and learn what you can, but just be careful.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Gotta vote with MrT here. If you can't grow in it (and you can't grow in paper) don't germ in it.

Paper towels have no magic powers of germination. Weed did not go extinct 20,000 years ago for lack of a roll of bounty. Warm soil will not freeze a seed. Moist soil will not dry it out. Whatever you think the paper towel does, a proper substrate does better and safer.

 

[John Deere]

Agree with those who go straight to the medium. I've had MUCH more success since planting direct vs when I used paper towels.

And it's funny because I've hung out with many other gardeners of all sorts of plants and none of them germinate in paper towels.

 

[unseeded]

I have been using the paper towel method for over 20 years and it has worked very well for me.I never put them in water to soak though.I wait till about a good 1/2 inch before moving them.Does anybody change temps on the seeds before they put in paper towel or medium?I was thinking about this before and thought maybe I should start from the fridge and then room temp and maybe a little warmer after that and into the paper towel.Something to think about.Trying to mimic nature.
Good luck and safe groing

 

[John Deere]

I have been using the paper towel method.....Trying to mimic nature.

Sorry for the cut, unseeded, but I got a chuckle out of your post. You might be on to some good ideas but you've got to admit that this is kind of a funny statement.

Sorry, no offense.

 

[LightGreen]

Step 1) Damp paper towel, not dripping, but nowhere on the paper towel is dry.
Step 2) Place one seed inside of the paper towel and fold, leaving about a 2"x2" square
Step 3) Place one or two of these seed filled damp paper towels into a dvd or video game case without any of the paperwork from the dvd/game or the actual cd. Close the dvd/game case securely.
Step 4) Lay this dvd/game case somewhere warm and dark (the case usually takes care of the dark part). I put mine on top of my mini fridge and for some reason the top of it stays nice and warm so it worked perfectly. The top of a computer works, any game console including xbox 360 and ps3, etc.
Step 5) check in 24-48 hours until a white tail has poked its way through the seed and gotten about 1 1/2 - 2" long, carefully remove the seedling from the papertowel trying not to rip or tear the root and lay inside whatever it is you wanna start growing in. Soil, coco, rockwool, whatever.

Hope it helps

 

[festivus]

I have been using the paper towel method for over 20 years and it has worked very well for me.I never put them in water to soak though.I wait till about a good 1/2 inch before moving them.Does anybody change temps on the seeds before they put in paper towel or medium?I was thinking about this before and thought maybe I should start from the fridge and then room temp and maybe a little warmer after that and into the paper towel.Something to think about.Trying to mimic nature.
Good luck and safe groing

Funny you should mention this, my friend and I were just talking about mimicking the natural cycle yesterday. The seed falls off the plant in the fall, and has some time to dry out. Cold temps in the winter, then a wet spring. The sun warms the ground, then drops back down at night. Eventually the ground dries up as summer kicks in.

I had some beans that were being stubborn, so I put the paper towel w/presoaked beans (in baggie) into the fridge for a couple of hours, then on top of my cable box for about 4 hours, then it sat overnight. The next day, half of the beans had sprouted. I had given up hope on the others, so I threw the paper towel in the trash. A couple of days later, I pulled it back out, just out of curiosity. The paper towel was dry, but all but 4 of the remaining beans had sprouted!!

I think the temperature swing may send a signal to the seed that it's time to go.

 

[Oregongrow]

Wet paper towel inside a ziplock bag.
I don't like to let the root grow very much. As soon as it cracks and leaves the shell I move it to dirt. I do this so there is less chance of damage to the root.

 

[unseeded]

Sorry for the cut, unseeded, but I got a chuckle out of your post. You might be on to some good ideas but you've got to admit that this is kind of a funny statement.

Sorry, no offense.

Looks like its go time.Thanks for making me smile this morning.
Ill let it go this time because I like John Deer.None taken and thanks again for the chuckle.

 

[unseeded]

Funny you should mention this, my friend and I were just talking about mimicking the natural cycle yesterday. The seed falls off the plant in the fall, and has some time to dry out. Cold temps in the winter, then a wet spring. The sun warms the ground, then drops back down at night. Eventually the ground dries up as summer kicks in.

I had some beans that were being stubborn, so I put the paper towel w/presoaked beans (in baggie) into the fridge for a couple of hours, then on top of my cable box for about 4 hours, then it sat overnight. The next day, half of the beans had sprouted. I had given up hope on the others, so I threw the paper towel in the trash. A couple of days later, I pulled it back out, just out of curiosity. The paper towel was dry, but all but 4 of the remaining beans had sprouted!!

I think the temperature swing may send a signal to the seed that it's time to go.

I wish I could grow with people like this.Good luck and safe groing.