Easiest Germination?

[Beanzy]

Rock wool cubes

Rock wool cubes

I drop em in a rw cube and let em rip!

I happen to have a bunch of rock wool cubes, I need to look online and see how to use them. I noticed they have a deep kind of wide hole , am I supposed to put them in that hole or is that made for cloning ? Somebody else told me I should sprinkle a root hormone on the rockwool cube.
I had luck with 25% of jiffy pellets with bagseed practicing.
Do you than put the rockwool cube into pitting mix?

 

[TrueReligion]

I happen to have a bunch of rock wool cubes, I need to look online and see how to use them. I noticed they have a deep kind of wide hole , am I supposed to put them in that hole or is that made for cloning ? Somebody else told me I should sprinkle a root hormone on the rockwool cube.
I had luck with 25% of jiffy pellets with bagseed practicing.
Do you than put the rockwool cube into pitting mix?

I wouldn't germinate a seed with root horomone sprinkled on the rockwool cube, for a clone I would do a powder and gel combo. For seeds make sure they're pointy side down. Mainly so its easier for the tap root to establish. I'm currently testing rapid rooters since sub cool was so interested in it, with the tray and a temp and rh monitor you should have an easy 100% rate 75-80 degrees 50%-70%RH.

Also pH test your rockwool cubes

 

[MickFoster]

I always use Rapid Rooters and never have a problem.

 

[MickFoster]

I never use a humidity dome - breeds fungus - can't beat fresh air.

 

[Beanzy]

I went into the hydro store and the dude knew I was a noob and I was looking for jiffy kit or rapid rooters and he gave me rockwool. I should have retornes it, that seems geared towards hydro and cloning.i think I'm gonna go with the rapid rooters, and try the other methods with my freebie seeds, I just gotta do it I'm acting like it is 100 a seed or something. But like I said I had some bagseed and only 1 of 4 popped in the jiffy pellets than after it popped it just kind of froze at 2"

 

[Betterhaff]

I use the soak/towel method. Temp and moisture are the keys, not too warm and not too cool, and not too moist.

I grow in dirt but you can use rockwool to germinate. One thing you have to be careful about is moisture, they can hold a lot. They can also dry out fast if not in some sort of containment. You can put the cube in a soil mix after the sprout but should wait until roots start poking thru the RW as the RW will wick moisture from the soil and may become too wet. That’s why I just plant in a soil mix after the seeds crack and show a tail. Less fuss.

 

[mojave green]

I happen to have a bunch of rock wool cubes, I need to look online and see how to use them. I noticed they have a deep kind of wide hole , am I supposed to put them in that hole or is that made for cloning ? Somebody else told me I should sprinkle a root hormone on the rockwool cube.
I had luck with 25% of jiffy pellets with bagseed practicing.
Do you than put the rockwool cube into pitting mix?

Drop the seed in the hole, wait for the plant to pop up and transplant to medium of choice.

 

[TrueReligion]

Its been less Than 24 hr's, Granola funk has successfully germinated. I assume the others shall poke out soon I don't want to disturb more than one!

 

[TrueReligion]

Have a 90% germ rate at two days currently waiting on snow leopard

 

[waveguide]

before you order seeds, check around for germ reports on that strain and retailer. it may have nothing to do with your technique.

there are countless favourite germ method threads, and problematic germ threads eg. for older seeds. they may be worth reading. but don't blame yourself, sometimes it is the other guy. like delta 9 have lots of no germ reports, guess the age of the seeds, dunno, paid twice, never had a germ. used to be a professional germer for a nursery a quarter century ago. the nicole kush freebies from herbies recently, no germ. other seeds in package, fine.

and like the post about humidity covers and fungus above, there's also other factors to learn about (fungus gnats can wipe out all your seedlings).

 

[TrueReligion]

before you order seeds, check around for germ reports on that strain and retailer. it may have nothing to do with your technique.

there are countless favourite germ method threads, and problematic germ threads eg. for older seeds. they may be worth reading. but don't blame yourself, sometimes it is the other guy. like delta 9 have lots of no germ reports, guess the age of the seeds, dunno, paid twice, never had a germ. used to be a professional germer for a nursery a quarter century ago. the nicole kush freebies from herbies recently, no germ. other seeds in package, fine.

and like the post about humidity covers and fungus above, there's also other factors to learn about (fungus gnats can wipe out all your seedlings).

Indeed I put a barrier of fine recycled glass on my top soil as a preventative.

 

[MickFoster]

It's a good thing that there were paper towels and shot glasses billions of years ago or we may not have plant life at all.

 

[MazeWL]

Refrain from Jiffy pellets...the peat substrate is too hot for germination/seedlings. Surest way to kill them.

What would you say to sprinkling a bit of peat moss on top of the towel/medium in the original stage to prevent pythium and other fungi? do you think it could harm the seedlings?

 

[ganjygav]

The method I use and have done this for years now with success.

1. Soak the seeds in a shot glass of water for 8-10 hours at room temp in a dark spot.
   Don't go longer than 10 hours.
   
2. Place the seeds in a moist folded cloth place inside a folded baggie. Don't seal the baggie closed.
   Just fold it and place it in a dark and warm location. Not too hot though.
   
3. A day or two later you should have some cracked seeds ready for planting.
   
4. Some seeds may take more time up to a week. But fresh seeds normally show
   signs of germination within a day or so.

Once the seedling is visible above ground apply lighting.

Good Luck.

This is the method I use and it works great I often get 100% germination .
This grow I've started I've got 8 plants for 8 seeds.

 

[zoic]

Very interesting thread!! I did not see my exact method here which I will share. I decided to do this because of some info posted here that I do not understand. So first, my method.

I use a 4" plastic cup (clear). I fold a paper towel in half, length wise, then I wrap it inside the cup. I fill the cup about half way with water and wait a minute for the paper towel to soak up the water. I use tweezers to strategically place the seeds between the paper towel and the side of the cup. This method ensures I do not have a dry paper towel if I forgot to add water.

Now the interesting part. I put the cup on the window sill to get some exposure to sunlight. This has worked fabulously and a few times I have had some sprouts with a second set of leaves already started before planting. I find it rare that the seed does not germinate, even the light coloured tiny size seeds seem to work fine.

So it begs to ask why so many people say it should be done in a dark place?

 

[brown_thumb]

I'm just an ignorant newb so take what I write with a grain of salt...

I've germinated at least 60 seeds and every one of them popped. I used the damp (not overly wet) paper towel method. I placed the towels/seeds between 2 disposable aluminum pie dishes to retain moisture and block light. I checked them every morning to ensure the towels remained damp. I used plain tap water with nothing added.

I state the seeds all germinated and they did. It wasn't until I planted them that I killed so many.