Germinating question

[skitzle]

hey everyone, i recently started germinating a second batch of seeds by using the wet paper towel in a cd case method, and it's been about 3.5 days and still absolutely no sign of cracking. is it possible for seeds to die? like, just not be able to plant or root anymore?

also, 1 more question, what would people say is the fastest and easiest way to germinate?

 

[RooRman]

Yes, seeds can go bad. However, it can also sometimes take up to a week for the seeds to crack using the paper towel method. Don't give up just yet.

 

[Xlr8]

I'm new to this, but I've found that seeds can definitely be "bad", but they also sometimes take a bit longer - so don't give up until you have to (probably hopeless after a week). There are some key things I found that matter in your success - mostly: consistent "warm" temp (lower to mid 80 deg. Farenheit worked great for me), humid conditions, and darkness.



In detail, what worked great for me, was:

paper towels were first wetted thoroughly with distilled water

paper towels were almost completely "rung out" first (gave them a good squeeze or two, but didn't try to ring them out as thoroughly as I could have if that makes sense...

seeds in paper towels that were folded into 4th's

I took the folded, damp paper towels with seeds inside and put them on a ceramic plate with a bowl over the top, making sure that none of the paper towel stuck out from the bowl.

I placed this on my cable box and monitored the temperature - the cable box kept the temp at about 82 degrees

I checked once or twice the first day to make sure they were staying damp and misted them (paper towels) some with Distilled water.

This method gave me taproots on 4 out of 5 in just over 24 hours. The fifth was a dud and never sprouted, but I don't think it was the methodology - I stuck with it on that one for a week.

Probably more detail than you need, but when I was germinating I felt like I kept finding info referring to the "paper towel" method, but not a lot of real detail on what that entailed (I know it's out there, but you have to seek).

Good luck!

 

[skycowboy]

Ya know the little shot glass lookin' plastic cup that comes with liquid cough syrup etc., put some warm water in there, drop yer seeds in and put a dark colored small plastic cup upside down over the little cup on a shelf or whatever for 24 hours and start checking for cracked shells and roots

 

[carolinagrow]

As you can see, everyone here has their own version of the paper towel method so I'll throw my 2 cents in for what it's worth. Having tried other methods of germinating over the years, from just putting the seeds in soil and letting nature take it's course, to soaking the seeds in water, etc., etc., I have only used the paper towel method for the past few years. I just take a couple of paper towels , wet, let excess water drain off, place the seeds around, fold over, put in a zip lock bag and that goes into a warm dark spot - I use a drawer in the bathroom vanity. I have always gotten at least a 90% germination rate doing this. The time the seeds take to actually germinate is dependant on the strain, for me, my white widow and PPP will usually pop in 24 hours or less, but have had some strains take as long as 14 to 18 days. Besides the strain, I find that the quality of the breeder controls how fast or even if they actually germinate. This is one of those that you get what you pay for things. The only exception to this is my current grow, paid top dollar for what I had read was one of the best strains for chronic pain, but I only got a 46.67% germination rate (7 out of 15) and of those that did germ, only 3 are females
But, don't throw them out just it if they don't sprout in 1 or 2 days, give them a little while - Patience is a viture when it comes to farming, good luck and hope you succeed at it.

 

[skitzle]

thanks for the tips everyone. I gave the seeds a week and still no roots. two of the seeds felt kind of mushy and one of them broke when i touched it, so im just going to go ahead and assume that they're dead.

No matter though, I've decided to make things a little easier on my self and have some clones coming from a friend later today.

Thanks again for all the tips.

 

[Xlr8]

Good luck with the clones Skitzle. Thanks for the update.
xlr8