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Seed Priming & Germination Techniques

Mate Dave

Propagator
ICMag Donor
Veteran
So this is a new section Gypsy has given us discuss propagation, the do's & don't the how 2's & the how not to's so come & share your success in the 2019 season.

I myself have started 2 lots of Autos already some 1-2 CBD THC & some 2-1 CBD THC & 7 lots of regulars already. Blueberry, Mango Haze, Black Domina, Skunk x Haze, Psychosis x Pure are all up & the Jamaican Pearl & the MexiGan are showing retiredness.

Juicy Fruit, Royal Orange are the next sowings..

All paper towel tech & mineral water..

I transplanted viable seeds into full seed trays to save space with pots.

The mix is 1 part Perlite 1 part Sphagnum moss peat 1part EWC 1 part Pine Bark 1 part Coconut coir.

After splitting the seeds, I then begin 1st by rolling them into Piranha powder & transplant them into a hi-grade organic medium to become juvenile plants.

What are you growing? How do you do yours?

What's the best methods & light schedules you have found when transplanting outdoors for optimum results?

Do you bring your seedling on under lights before transplanting if so what lights or do you find starting them later in situ works better?

What sneaky methods have you for planting & keeping transplants away from herbivory?
 

AgentPothead

Just this guy, ya know?
I feel like I haven't been doing this long enough for anybody to care how I do it, but I am definitely in to find out how ya'll do it.
 

ion

Active member
im popping fresh beans from vendors and crosses i made ten years ago, not many probably 1-4 each handful of strains. my germ rate is goodly, 90%+ with prolly 70-90+ beans popped in the last 18month.

if they're old they get extra h202.... beans go in small clean cup(usually nonplastic) with water and h202, roughly 4/1 ratio. fresh beans spend -24hr and old ones go +24hr, maybe 2day....


they go into rooters or jiffy plugs, prep the receptacle well with toothpick for laying the bean in. if jiffys, i till the innards a bit as i want porosity. if rooters i slice an X into the top(upside down, i dont use the trays) to be able to lay the bean in ........

clean spoon, scoop the bean tap the spoon bean rolls into receptacle.........gently persuade it into a flattish position. if you have a tap root, breathe a lot and take your time. no drops, jolting or touching it with anything but air and peat.....

depending on the ambient enviro factors, ill put them in sterilite container, shoebox size. i dont care for them to be in contained humidity too much, rather not but sometimes i cant check them and they are good for 2-3 days no opening and stay at the proper moisture level.

i dont want to contact that bean, hence this way. less steps, less complication, less possibility that bean goes flying down the drain or vent.......package}water}spoon}medium


sorry, this is kind of like therapy for me. im about to pop many old beans and this is my self-refresher course, kind of like a note to self........or se[f-babysitting.
 

Switcher56

Comfortably numb!
... whether old or not, I soak my beans in H2O2 for 18-24 hours, take the water they have soaked in and spread on a paper towel. Place in a sealed plastic bag. Place in a warm dark space. I usually have a 3/8 - 1/2" tail within 2 days. Same ratio 4/1. The only thing I have added is to scarify my seeds prior to soaking. I plot them in "jiffy plugs" the hole spiked with mycorrhizae.
 

Creeperpark

Well-known member
Mentor
Veteran
I hope I'm not out of place, I'm going to make a comment. I sow the SEED IN THE SOIL and water in. Have a 100% good luck. The trick is use only seeds from Professorial Breeders! They do regular Germination tests to check the seeds vitality. I have never ever had a seed from a Professorial Breeder not Germinate.
 
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Mate Dave

Propagator
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I'm having 100% success with the paper towel tech with 7-10 year old seeds stored in a fridge. Those desiccated with rice & other shit treatments like in a match box in a draw. Those are all dead..
 

GOT_BUD?

Weed is a gateway to gardening
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I just popped some beans into paper towels last night.

Normally I soak them in water for 24 hours previous to paper toweling them, but wanted to forego the soaking if possible.

These beans are all 2005-2007 vintage.

7 BOGs Blue Moon Rocks, 9 Legends Ultimate Indica.

1 gallon of RO water, 3ml Superthrive, 8 ml of Supreme Growers SuperKelp. Soaked the paper towels and wrung them out to heavy dampness. (Then poured the gallon into my fresh soil pots) Placed the paper towels with seeds into ziploc sandwich bags and placed in a warm dark room. Normally I have inch long tails in 48-60 hours.

I'll update the post when/if they pop.

ETA - Didn't get back to them until the 72 hour mark.

6 of 7 of the BMR were anywhere from "just popped" and the tap root was poking out, all the way to 1 inch long tails.

4 of the 9 LUI had 1/2 to 1 inch long tails. Not quite sure why I'm less than 50% with these seeds. I re-wetted the paper towel and will let the remainder go another 48 hours, as well as the one remaining BMR.

All sprouted seedlings are now living in little pots with my new soil mix, and living under 200 watts of LED goodness.
 
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Mate Dave

Propagator
ICMag Donor
Veteran
picture.php


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picture.php
 

Mate Dave

Propagator
ICMag Donor
Veteran
picture.php


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Couple different seed mix's.


1 part Perlite 1 part Pine Bark 1 part EWC 1 part Peat for seeds in pots. Organic cultivation

Seeds go in towels till we know if they are good for the space..

1/3 Peat 1/3 Perlite 1/3 Coir a basic mix for direct sowing into flats & those for fertigation

Phylos sex kits are on order. Looking for 1 of each variety that I can cut & flower then make a 100 gallon planter for it if the smoke is good & then cut clones for production before the 1st of June.
 

Mate Dave

Propagator
ICMag Donor
Veteran
So the advantage to germinating in flats is somewhat of an underused technique.

Firstly it enables the plants to establish themselves until a stage you can top dress them with more media or EWC or a mixture of EWC & Guano, preventing them from swaying & becoming cumbersome until they develop the 1st true leafs is most helpful @ which stage you can pick them out into pot's or into the final position encouraging a fibrous root system useful methodology when not direct sowing into living soil with field culture. Plants can then be assigned Numbers letters names whatever instead of having just a batch number. These can become Phylos tagged & you can proceed to crush a cotyledon for sex testing if that is your choice.

I prefer this method to paper towels & straight to pots.

As you can see in the pic the seedling has been direct planted & top dressed with Guano & EWC in a pot & not picked out & potted up & is leggy.

picture.php


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Once the seedlings are established yo can use the stem rooting aspect of them & pot on so that the cotyledon is just above the soil surface for optimal growth.

picture.php
 
V

ValleyHill

Hi chaps
For this germination mission I decided to use a mixture of 6% hydrogen peroxide and de chlorinated water
Ratio. 1 fl oz oz to 1 litre of water
6 hours later into paper towel method and voila all
Sensi seeds have cracked within 24 hrs
So much for people having issues with germination from sensi seeds
Vh
 

Mate Dave

Propagator
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Like to see the pic's valley of your processes.. Seems unusual that they all turn into plants :) most folks using the old seed not the new breeds experience long germination some starting & not finishing.. Not many folks get a full pack
 

PlantBully

New member
I always try to improve my ways and this is how I did last time:

In these cups there is some seeds, water and rhizotonic, not sure about exact numbers because I just took some water from my sprayer bottle.



I got this really good germinating closet in my kitchen. Before I understood the value of that radiator inside the closet I was wondering why would anyone cover radiator with immovabel furniture. I still got no clue but it's fine by me.
After 12-36 hours I pour seeds on paper towel which goes in to that plastic box for... well it takes the time it takes, rushing is not good.



After germination I just plant them. There is no magic to it. Pair of tweezers are great for making holes and orienting the seed in right way without any risk of doing anything stupid.
I use combination of two cups, there are holes on the bottomside of cardboard cup and plastic one collects runoff. This was the first time I had no issues with over watering seedlings, usually I treat atleast few of them badly by accident.



All of those seeds germinated, two of them did not get up from soil. Those two were old seeds from jamaica.
Next time I will add prepared lentils to the mix.
I must add that I have grown without thinking about germination too hard and looking back it seems stupid. My seedlings are now much stronger in general (picture missing). It's the little things that matter :dance:
 

Creeperpark

Well-known member
Mentor
Veteran
sooo easy

sooo easy

I have so much good luck just planting the seed directly in the soil. I stick a pencil in the wet soil, then drop the seed in the soil and cover, lastly, I water them in. The trick is not to water again for about 8 to 10 days so the roots will grow. I have 100% success!
IMG_3617.jpg IMG_3618.jpg
 

Creeperpark

Well-known member
Mentor
Veteran
damn

damn

I shouldn't have bragged, sorry about that. I had one not sprout. Also I would like to add, if you don't mind, that using turkey basters for watering, is sooo helpful for me, when it comes to taking care of those little babies.
IMG_3634.jpg IMG_3633.jpg
 
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Creeperpark

Well-known member
Mentor
Veteran
Seed help

Seed help

It helps tremendously to weigh every cup in the beginning before watering. If I don't weigh each cup, then I over-water or underwater. After I learned that weighing is sooo helpful, I haven't lost one plant.
IMG 6992
 

Spinme

Member
I soak the seeds In water with a miniscule amount of fish emulsion like 3 mls to a gallon
3 mls liquid seaweed and extract.
And 2 mls humic acid and compost tea and mycorizae spores for 24 hours
Then transfer to paper towels dip in the same solution and ring out to field consistency and place I. A plastic zip lock on top of a water heater
 

calisun

Active member
So the advantage to germinating in flats is somewhat of an underused technique.


View Image

View Image
Once the seedlings are established yo can use the stem rooting aspect of them & pot on so that the cotyledon is just above the soil surface for optimal growth.

View Image


That's interesting, When you repot you plant them all the way down to cotyledon. I've always been worried that would provide unfavorable conditions for the stem and possibly cause rot. Maybe I'll give it a try with some of my seedlings. Thanks for the info
 

Spinme

Member
I soak seeds in a solution of 3 mls fish emulsion 3 mls seweed extract and 3 mls maxicrop seaweed.
3 mls humic acid compost tea concentrate with colloidialls and mycorizea spores in a gallon of water for a day or two until the seeds crack. Not in a whole gallon but in a cup of said solution.
Then I place seeds in a paper towel soaked in said solution and wring out to field consistency.
I also almost always water with this mix . Instead of heavily feeding less often. Great for finiky sativa's. Not sure about indicas or commercial varieties used to heavy feeds.
Peace
Trix
 

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