The seeds don't want to sprout

[Popey]

Hi. For a long time I have had a problem with the germination of seeds I made myself. The seeds germinate slowly and sometimes do not sprout at all.

I take the seeds from the plant when they are definitely ripe (I attach a photo of sample seeds), then they dry in the closet for a few weeks, and then I either use them or put them in the fridge (if I plan to store them longer). Store-bought seeds even sprout within 24 hours, even when they are older than mine. And my 3-4 days or not at all.

I suspected 2 reasons:

​
- too warm in the growing box (but the leaves of the plants don't show it),
- some mineral deficiencies due to the small pots (but the plants don't show it).

So I don't know anymore. I am asking for help from experienced growers, because it is difficult for me to keep the genetics I have due to poor germination. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Growenhaft]

do you work sterile?

There are some viruses that germination kills.

Have you tried hydrogen peroxide before?

If you want to know whether your seeds are able to germinate at all, then drop some seeds into a cup of water. They should initially float on the surface, but after a few hours they should sink. if they sink then they germinate too. you can observe that this happens even in the cup of water if you do not take the seeds out of the water. the seeds open and the root tip peeks out. even these seedlings usually become healthy plants.

all seeds that do not sink within 24 hours will not germinate ... so my experience

 

[dlxtpnuo]

You can't expect indoor grown seeds to be as reliable as professionally grown outdoor seeds. If you get any indoor seeds to grow this is a huge benefit. I heard on here, that simulating winter by placing seeds in fridge can help them. Great job though.

 

[TychoMonolyth]

Hi. For a long time I have had a problem with the germination of seeds I made myself. The seeds germinate slowly and sometimes do not sprout at all.

I take the seeds from the plant when they are definitely ripe (I attach a photo of sample seeds), then they dry in the closet for a few weeks, and then I either use them or put them in the fridge (if I plan to store them longer). Store-bought seeds even sprout within 24 hours, even when they are older than mine. And my 3-4 days or not at all.

I suspected 2 reasons:

​
- too warm in the growing box (but the leaves of the plants don't show it),
- some mineral deficiencies due to the small pots (but the plants don't show it).

So I don't know anymore. I am asking for help from experienced growers, because it is difficult for me to keep the genetics I have due to poor germination. What am I doing wrong?

Not long enough. It takes a few weeks to dry weed, you can't expect to dry seeds in the same amount of time. Put them in a box or tin with silicon gel packs. Let them sit for a few months. They won't degrade for years, so you have time before you put them away in your fridge or freezer. Note that when you dry seeds, it's only the shell that dries, not the inside. They're hermetically sealed by the shell.

Seeds do perfectly well laying on the ground for a whole year before they germinate on their own. Sure, you'll get a few to germinate now, but only a few. Some seeds will go dormant and germinate 5 years later while sitting on the ground.


In general, this is what I've found. This is for fresh seeds stored in a small cookie tin, with a big gel pack, in a cool dry place (basement closet).

(~99% = or more)

So you have time. Lots of time.


If you didn't throw them out, try out your old seed and I'll bet you get much better germination rates.

 

[troutman]

Germinating fresh seeds is hit or miss. I prefer drying them for a week after they come of the plant
and set them in sealed containers in the refrigerator for months before even trying to germinate them.

Another thing, old seeds sometimes take a week or more to germinate.

 

[Switcher56]

You can't expect indoor grown seeds to be as reliable as professionally grown outdoor seeds. If you get any indoor seeds to grow this is a huge benefit. I heard on here, that simulating winter by placing seeds in fridge can help them. Great job though.

Never heard that one before

 

[Popey]

Growenhaft, do you ask about sterility during seed production or during germination? Seeds from other breeders germinate well using the same method I use to germinate my seeds.. So I suspect that the cause must be in the way the seeds are produced or stored ...

TychoMonolyth, do you know what temperature would be the most appropriate?
I have a lot of seeds, now I will try to sprout some that are 2 years old and were in a cardboard box at about 71-75'F (22-24'C). I'll let you know in a few days.

 

[TychoMonolyth]

cool. below room temp. But if you're in a very dry climate, it shouldn't matter much.

 

[Growenhaft]

my seeds dry in the weed. this weed is not kept in jars ... I store the seed-containing buds in simple cardboard boxes. the weed is the protective cover and after 3 months of drying it is waste ... or it comes to the trimmings.

when the women are removed i wear gloves and clean the seeds with a 3% H2O2 solution. so do most of the commercial hemp producers I know.

After cleaning, put them in the refrigerator in an airtight packaging. There, under the influence of cold, the predetermined breaking point, which holds the two seed shells together, dries up. 4-6 weeks are usually sufficient to predict excellent germination rates.

Due to the cold, the fats that make the breaking point strong and flexible solidify. without these greases the breaking point becomes brittle. our taproot only needs to build up a little pressure to separate the halves.

If the exposure to the cold is done well, you will not have any problems with germs that the nutshell sticks to ... it is basically the same material that connects the nutshells.

if you are a tobacco smoker and work without gloves and do not clean your seeds, you are very likely to have seeds contaminated with tobacco mosaic virus. this virus can kill an empryo during germination as soon as it comes through the shell with the moisture.

Many professionals use H2O2 for germination ... it is faster and the seedling is stronger ... what more could you want?

 

[Popey]

when the women are removed i wear gloves and clean the seeds with a 3% H2O2 solution. so do most of the commercial hemp producers I know.

How exactly does the cleaning process look like?

 

[Growenhaft]

you can laboriously clean and polish nut by nut.

or you can make it easy for yourself. i have 2 beverage tapes .. on one is a boiled micro-fiber cloth, the other is lined with a boiled cotton cloth. i collect all the nuts and place them on the microfiber cloth. there I spray them on the surface with h2o2 3%. i pick up all 4 corners of the cloth. gently massage the nuts in the bag from outside until all the nuts are evenly moist. then empty the cloth onto the dry cotton cloth and let the seeds circle by moving. if they all shine nicely, they are protected against bacteria, germs and fours by h2o2.

 

[Popey]

Thanks! Next time I will make seeds with your method.

 

[PolyChucker]

I would fertilize some lower buds at least 5-6 weeks before expected finish. Pollinate a few buds completely to get about 100 seeds. Then store 2 months.
I don’t know exactly what’s happening to you but some seeds just get bad DNA, especially if it’s a cross, so you should make lots of seeds and expect many of them to fail. What strain/ where did you get the original dna?
I sprout 40 seeds at a time. The ones I used early with unlike parents I got 7 normal plants. Then I sprouted 40 seeds from vigorous parents that were similar and also these had 6 months of wait time - got 27 decent plants. Anything that develops normally has the minimum amount of good DNA to move forward and be bred further. If you keep selecting for plants that are simply normal, as well as waiting 2+ months before germ, you should get closer to 75 percent success in a few generations. Simply making a lot of seeds and waiting before using should solve your problem

 

[PolyChucker]

Breeding is an almost infinite proceess. Even getting 100% germination is a goal to be worked towards. Then actually having really good plants that have perfect germination is another multiplier. When you take a few traits that you want and expect a few generations to get each to reproduce reliably - it adds up to decades to get the perfect plant - and then you might be reaching inbreeding depression when you get there. So make a lot of seeds and keep trying to make them better. That’s the sense I’ve got from only 3 generations of plants. I’ve been able to get mostly good smoke but flowering time or flavor or non herm or other traits still need to be worked. Hopefully what you’re working with is further along but stabilizing seeds is no joke

 

[PandoraSeedBank]

Hi.

To preserve seeds it is important to dry them properly. Once the plant is cut and dried, the seeds are removed and cleaned of plant debris. Once clean, they are put to dry in a cutting / propagator with containers with non-toxic orange silica gel at 22 ° and humidity at 8-10% for 3-4 weeks. Once dry and hermetically packed, they are placed in the fridge.
The seeds have a dormancy or dormancy period in which they will not germinate even if the conditions are favorable. This way they avoid germinating at the wrong time. In nature, imagine that the seeds fall to the ground, the weather is good, it rains, they sprout and the cold comes and they die. It is your protection mechanism.

The latency time is usually 2-3 months. the cold from the fridge simulates winter and then germinates in good weather. if you have to germinate fresh seeds before the dormancy period scarifying the seeds helps them germinate in addition to the cold.

It is also important to overripe the plant so that the seeds mature well.

Lucky.

 

[Guest]

Op, don't listen to any of these people. I've spouted seed directly out of flowering plants before.


This community is full of shit