Germination.. what methods do you use??

[RoomRaider]

Paper towel method hands down. They only grow into it if you leave em for a couple days after the taproot breaks out, usually when the taproots pass 1" in length. I too wait till they are about 3/4"-1"
Its alot easier than soaking seeds, then planting them and worrying if the soil has dried out, or that its too wet, etc. Soak a folded paper towel, ring it out so its at field capacity, not saturated, put seeds in, place in ziploc bag on top of 4ft fluros in the veg chamber.

I've soaked for 12/24 hours when I planted them into the soil, not only is germination <60%, but some are extremely stretched out while others are fine, extremely annoying for me. When I wait for the taproots, they are all pretty close to each other, I still plant them below the pot's rim, so can add more soil and cover up any stems.

 

[maxima32]

i use coco plugs in ziplock bags. they hold moisture well and can easily be planted into soil or hydro when popped. the plugs have convenient holes for the seeds and its easy to see when they have sprouted. i keep the plugs on a propagation mate and usually have great success with this method. seeds usually sprout in 1-3 days.

 

[steppinRazor]

right on plugs eh? wonder how some rockwool would do.. might as well just drop'm in the soil if that was the case tho

paper towels are startin to sound like a pretty good idea but i have a pretty inconsistent schedule right now and kinda worry about them drying out.

 

[wygram]

The one's that float are the ones I plant, the one's that drown, I throw them out.

Can't agree with that. Recently dropped the SB Mazar-I-Sharif freebies in water, sunk within a few hours and within eight they were sprouting.

In general, 12 hr soak with a hint of superthrive and into paper towels until they pop. Though I will agree that straight into watered soil might be the best.

 

[JOE CHRONIC]

right on plugs eh? wonder how some rockwool would do.. might as well just drop'm in the soil if that was the case tho

paper towels are startin to sound like a pretty good idea but i have a pretty inconsistent schedule right now and kinda worry about them drying out.

If you are going to be gone for a day or two just submerge the paper towel under water and it will be good to go till you return...

 

[RoomRaider]

I think the seeds will drown if you submerge them...

After moistening the paper towel, stick it in a ziploc bag, reason for that is to hold moisture. More than a couple days worth, probally more than a week.

If you leave them too long they will intertwine w/ the paper towel, i've never cut around the roots before, planting the paper towel w/ the roots, but I don't think it will hurt like other people say.

 

[JOE CHRONIC]

I think the seeds will drown if you submerge them...

After moistening the paper towel, stick it in a ziploc bag, reason for that is to hold moisture. More than a couple days worth, probally more than a week.

If you leave them too long they will intertwine w/ the paper towel, i've never cut around the roots before, planting the paper towel w/ the roots, but I don't think it will hurt like other people say.

The seeds will not drown, lol.
1-2 days submerged they will be fine man, but the ziplock baggie sounds lik eit would work also...

 

[Mr Stinkweed]

huh pretty damn interesting.. the only time i have taken tweezers to a shell was when i had a seedling sprout and the shell was still attached.. gotta be real careful as they are delicate as hell in that stage

Thats an important issue.... if you use the tweezers it must be done prior to the tiny plant beginning to grow....

This is also a very effective treatment to seeds that just wont pop... after a few days.... originally this was when I did the tweezer thing... but I found that using the tweezers on all seeds allowed for all the seeds to sprout at pretty much the same time.... the germination window smaller....

 

[Danksta408]

I use soil to germinate my seeds...........I get my soil mix and add perilite at a 1:4 mix (p:s)........Sometimes I will also use vericulite as well...........I use 16oz plastic cups for my plants first home..........Poke holes in the bottom for drainage.............Then I put my soil mix in the cup, loosely............Poke a hole in the center of the soil about 1/2'' to 3/4'' deep and plant my seed.......Cover up with soil and water..........You want to add enough water to get all the soil moist and should drain out of the bottom..........Yeah, this method takes a bit longer than the paper towel method, but I have 100% germination rate.........They should start peeking through the soil in about 3-5 days

 

[luvtogrow]

Lots of interesting info! I force all my seeds to sink when soaking. I'd never throw away a floater, and you want them to sink, please don't throw those away as was suggested. I grow soil, but when seeds are old or hard to germinate, rockwool is the best way to go. Prepare rockwool by soaking, shaking excess water and placing into a container(i use pyrex dish 9x14") with heating pad under. Place seeds (soaked or not) into opening and cover with piece from edge of rockwool. Those that like to peak can just lift the flap and see how the seed is progressing. Cover top of dish with plastic wrap and poke a few holes with toothpick. If it will germinate these conditions will bring out the hardest. Rockwool is a superior medium for germination due to it's drainage/waterholding abilities, we can easily control ph of. Just keep it moist by adding a little water to dish and let rockwool soak it up. Not too much! Personally I don't want to see the taproot, nor do I want to handle or move the seed while the taproot is developing. Why? Been there done that.

 

[steppinRazor]

great info there luvtogrow.. so outta these new strains i just did the regular soak in ro water in ceramic muggs.. been 24 hours just now and mr bubble 5 outa 5 sank and 3 opped, euphoria 5 outa 5 sank and 2 opped and special K 3 outa five sank and nothing has shown a fucking sign of life or goodness.

so far ive alreadly seen the special K in action and from the one seed that popped im not impressed.. im actually pissed because its SOO god damn far behind. i think these special K's were garbage. we'll see how my share pans out but even on the germination so far NO GOOD

im going to give them all another 24 hours and im sure all the mr bubble and euphoria will all have tap roots..

 

[messn'n'gommin']

I soak seeds in a small container of RO water until they sink (6-24 hrs). Placed in a dampened paper towel and put into a ziplock baggy. Then under (about 6"-10" distance) a 24/0 schedule of incandescent light until they show a 1/4"-1/2" root. I plant them in cups, about 1/4" deep in the soil and place a ziplock baggy over the cup and return them underneath the incandescent. When the seedlings are about 1 to 2 inches tall, they go under CW fluoro's. Seeds respond best to a high Red to Far Red ratio, which has enough penetration into the surface layer of soil to start the germination process and incandescent provides that with the warmth necessary on a small footprint.

Namaste, mess

 

[Pig-Pen]

I used to soak, use paper towels and ziploc baggies, etc. I never was completely comfortable transferring naked, delicate little sprouts. And all that did seems a bit extraneous just to sprout some seeds that nature has done in much simpler terms for how long now?

Anymore I just plant the seed in dirt (imagine that!). I use a 2-oz. solo cup or nursery flat seedling cells packed with soil and thoroughly moistened. Set it somewhere warm if possible. Just make sure the soil stays moist, put em under a dome if need be to keep 'em from drying out. When the break the surface add light.

Super simple and less margin for human error.

 

[cktRAVEl]

...

 

[steppinRazor]

YOU PUT SEEDS IN HYDROGEN PEROXIDE?
doesnt sound goood but i guess you alreadly know.

i wish you well on your SD

 

[thc43]

i soak over night in rhizotonic + ro water then lay seed on surface of coco in small pots coffee cup size. sprinkle some rhizo soaked coco over the top 5mm only seed with big tails can be above surface. Use the seed soak mix in spray bottle to wet top soil and water through first week.






edit for update

 

[Pharma Geddon]

If they're viable seeds, they sprout for me.

I plant them in peat pots of 50/50 p/v, about an inch down. The peat pots get stood in a tray of ro water and is placed in the veg tent, 400w cmh hanging vertically. Can have them 8" from the bulb with no problems. The way I see it, if it's a good enough environment for them to veg in, then it's good enough to start them. Far less stretch from the seedlings compared to using a cfl to start them.

They all sprout within 6 days. No handling, no fuss. They stay in the tray for 2 weeks, counting from when they first got wet, then get potted up into either 11 litre square pots or hermpy buckets which is when they get their first feed. Easy enough for the roots to grow through the peat pots so no problems there although the buggers are a bit awkward to handle when wet.

 

[jws0007]

I agree with luvtogrow I always have them sink, please dont throw those away. I have never done rockwool before, but I am going to start using it this next round. I have had a hard time finding information on how to ph rockwool. Do you just let it soak in ph 5 water or is there another way. A quick breackdown by someone with experience would be cool. Thanks.

0007

 

[steppinRazor]

pHing your rockwool is actually about the as simple as it gets..

you pretty much got it right tho its suggested to have the ph around 5.5 anything lower than that is possible to dammage the rockwool fibers

no need to soak it for long periods of time a half hour is suggested but i usually go about 10 mins.. then ring it out so its moist not soaking and you're ready to go..

some ppl add nutes also at a pH of 5.5-6 but i personally think at that age they do just fine with RO water... if you're taking clones its never a bad idea to use a rooting hormone gel..

 

[metamorf]

I used to do the paper towel method but now I just pop them into coir and water with pH-adjusted water at 0.6 EC. Works like a charm.