Help with germination

Rick C-137 · Apr 5, 2017

Hey guys I'm having some trouble getting my seeds to germinate. After more than 3 days in water/dark the taproot is only juuuuuust breaking through, you can barely see it.

The seeds are bagseed but it's some high quality potent potables from my hometown around Nimbin, Aus. So I want to stick with these seeds if possible.

1) Do some really dry seeds just take ages to extend the taproot?

2) Should I leave the seeds in water until the taproot extends out regardless of how long it takes?

3) Should I be worried about 'drowning' the seeds?

pop_rocks · Apr 5, 2017

#3: yes, you should be very worried about drowning your seed
you should only soak your seed in water overnight before moveing them to another medium
i like to germinate directly in rapid rooter cubes but another popular way is using damp paper towels
the seedlings needs air and water to grow
lets move her right away

Mtoutdoor · Apr 5, 2017

Yeah don't drop them in water. Either just stick them in some seed starter about a pinky knuckle deep and water. Or fold them into a moist paper towel and stick that in a plastic bag. I make seeds so I usually plant 100 at a time and kill the weak, so I usually skip the paper towel method unless I bought them in which case it definitely produces a better germination rate. But fuck that I only grow winners. Stick it in the dirt and watch it go vroom.

Rick C-137 · Apr 5, 2017

Thanks all. Is it ok to plant in damp soil now even though the taproot is barely showing? Should I go to paper towels for a bit first?

w3rds · Apr 5, 2017

I would transition to apertowel plastic bag combo until your tap root is longer. I just planted a few seeds a week ago and the 1 that i planted before letting the root get longer died when the leaf couldnt cast off the shell.

Rick C-137 · Apr 5, 2017

w3rds said:
I would transition to apertowel plastic bag combo until your tap root is longer. I just planted a few seeds a week ago and the 1 that i planted before letting the root get longer died when the leaf couldnt cast off the shell.

sweet thanks brother will do

lightuptheherb · Apr 5, 2017

Thanks for the hydro suggestion w3rds.

Rick C-137 · Apr 8, 2017

I switched to paper towel after posting this and one of the three seeds sprouted a nice taproot, I think my seeds are just a bit bunk. But that seed's in soil now so fingers crossed! Thanks everyone!

pop_rocks · Apr 8, 2017

they might not be the best but this is where you are going to learn the most
practice with the bag seed man and you will be better off when you get your hands on the good stuff

paper towel is the way to go

best of luck,mate

Rick C-137 · Apr 22, 2017

pop_rocks said:
they might not be the best but this is where you are going to learn the most
practice with the bag seed man and you will be better off when you get your hands on the good stuff

paper towel is the way to go

best of luck,mate

paper towel worked wonders here's the first sproutage

pop_rocks · Apr 22, 2017

look at er go!
why the mylar covering over the container?
you want somethign that breathes if you choose to use a mulch
maybe try hydroton or somehting like that
is it to preserve moisture or keep out pests

and digging on the screen, how far above the plant is it?
is it movable?
it seems like you ahve done this before,mate

do you ahve any szechuan sauce handy?

Gelado` · Apr 22, 2017

Seedling SCROG?

farmerlion · Apr 23, 2017

If you are germinating all the same strain of seeds. Using a wet paper towel works ok. Handling germinated seeds is never a good idea. Plant them directly in your grow medium, potting soil, jiffy pots. Keep transplanting to a single time if at all possible. I go from seedlings into their final pots normally. I'm waiting for my greenhouse to be delivered. So this season I do have one extra step this year. I have 16 sativa dominant to 100% pure sativa strains this season. Labeling and keeping everything separate can be challenging.(paper towels) With it snowing today I have jiffy pots on a heat mat. They will go into a 8" pot for a week or two then into 30 & 45 gallon pots. I would put directly into the large grow pots if the new greenhouse was already erected. So far 10 of the 16 have come up,3rd day. I recommend going to mandalaseeds.com They have great information for all levels of growers to read. It will remove much of the learning curve for newer growers. Peace

WilliametteWilly · Apr 23, 2017

farmerlion said:
If you are germinating all the same strain of seeds. Using a wet paper towel works ok. Handling germinated seeds is never a good idea. Plant them directly in your grow medium, potting soil, jiffy pots. Keep transplanting to a single time if at all possible. I go from seedlings into their final pots normally. I'm waiting for my greenhouse to be delivered. So this season I do have one extra step this year. I have 16 sativa dominant to 100% pure sativa strains this season. Labeling and keeping everything separate can be challenging.(paper towels) With it snowing today I have jiffy pots on a heat mat. They will go into a 8" pot for a week or two then into 30 & 45 gallon pots. I would put directly into the large grow pots if the new greenhouse was already erected. So far 10 of the 16 have come up,3rd day. I recommend going to mandalaseeds.com They have great information for all levels of growers to read. It will remove much of the learning curve for newer growers. Peace

I totally agree farmerlion. Planting directly into soil always worked for me. My method was planting directly into one gallon pots that were on a shelf in my veg room. The germination rates were 90% or better most of the time(the seeds were all respected breeding companies stock as well). And the pots were big enough to sex the plants out in, before transplanting into their final 10 gallon soil pots. A lot of growers suggest the paper towel method, so there must be something to it as well. Keep popping seeds and you will find the method that fits you Rick C. Best of luck.

Rick C-137 · Apr 25, 2017

pop_rocks said:
look at er go!
why the mylar covering over the container?
you want somethign that breathes if you choose to use a mulch
maybe try hydroton or somehting like that
is it to preserve moisture or keep out pests

and digging on the screen, how far above the plant is it?
is it movable?
it seems like you ahve done this before,mate

do you ahve any szechuan sauce handy?

actually this is my first time but I'll take the compliment for sure, thanks brother

the covering is to reflect some extra light, it's very loose above the soil and I think can probably breathe ok

the screen is movable, actually the tray the plant is on is too, I plan to move the plant down instead of moving the light up as she grows if that makes sense

Gelado` said:
Seedling SCROG?

hah yeah the screen's in place for later fim and scrog, with my setup it's easier to make it before the seedling stage

here's the thread if either of you fine people want to check it out

legalcanada · May 15, 2017

i've heard cannabis only leaves only photosynth light from the top so under lighting is wasted, that was from grow boss on youtube. just starting my first grow so idk

RedACD · May 26, 2017

pop_rocks said:
...
i like to germinate directly in rapid rooter cubes
...

I've tried using the Rapid Rooter cubes for germination. I've had great success with everything but cannabis seeds. With those, I've had about a 80% success rate.

I like using the Rapid Rooters and plan to keep using them. But, I've also heard not to use them, so now I'm confused. Anything wrong with them?

pop_rocks · May 26, 2017

RedACD said:
I've tried using the Rapid Rooter cubes for germination. I've had great success with everything but cannabis seeds. With those, I've had about a 80% success rate.

I like using the Rapid Rooters and plan to keep using them. But, I've also heard not to use them, so now I'm confused. Anything wrong with them?

not in my experience
they hold enough water so the sprout dosent dry out but also holds air so you arent drowning the baby

i soak my seeds overnight and then into the rooting cubes
spray the cube really well so that its super moist
i keep them in a humidity dome and will water as needed
can take a couple days or so to see the cotyledon (sprout) emerge
then the whole cube goes into the growing medium

how are you doign it?
are these commercialy bought seed or bag seed you collected?
/depending on the viability of your seeds 80% isnt that bad

Crusader Rabbit · May 26, 2017

In paper towels you can see exactly what's going on, or going wrong. But the plants want to send a root down and a stem up from day one, and with paper towels you're not allowing this... just needless stress. If you plant in a medium the seed coats get pulled off as the seedling lifts the seed upward.

RedACD · May 26, 2017

pop_rocks said:
...
how are you doign it?
are these commercialy bought seed or bag seed you collected?
/depending on the viability of your seeds 80% isnt that bad

Been using the disposable 9-cell starter trays set in glassware. I put a wet Rapid Rooter in the starter tray and then drop the seed point down about 1/4 inch. To plug the hole, I'll tear off a corner of the plug and use that.

I'll leave the glass pan sitting on a reptile heating pad (8w) under a CFL. Add water as needed, but no more than 1/2 inch deep and make sure to keep the plugs wet. Been getting sprouts in about 5 days, some longer.

Was 100% with bag seed, about 80% with purchased seed, and 30% with "freebie" seeds.

Went a little overboard this year with my vegetable garden and grew everything from seeds instead of buying starter plants at the nursery. Those Rabid Rooters work great and I've got a lot of plants growing this year using them.

Help with germination

Member

In my empire of dirt

New member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

In my empire of dirt

Member

In my empire of dirt

Active member

Microbial Repositories

Member

Member

New member

Member

In my empire of dirt

Active member

Member