Growing247
New Member
I just checked the tag on my AKR (always label your plants with strain info and date) and it sprouted and was planted on January 22nd. That would make this plant 40 days old I believe. The hairs are starting to turn orange. I grow mostly from clone but recently have been growing from seeds a LOT and I can tell you how to increase your germination rate. I had almost the same problem where the seeds would sit there and drown. Recently I purchased 6 RESERVA PRIVADA Cataract Kush (OG Kush x LA Confidential) and since it was as promo I got a free lighter and also 6 LA CHEESE seeds (EXODUS Cheese X LA Confidential) and a couple other freebies. One was called Blue Hash and it is a Blueberry X California Hash Plant and a Powerkush seed that had a birth defect shell and never hatched.
I got 100% seed germination and I can tell you how to do it yourself. All the information I used I got from a book written by Jorge Cervantes (a weed guru) that takes you thru every step of growing weed. First I take my seeds and put them in brand new DIXIE cups that I have labeled with a marker. I write the seeds strain name and the date and time. I put the seeds in the cup and fill it halfway with distilled water that is luke warm either store bought or from my dehumidifier. I leave the seeds in the cup for 24 hours and check on them. By now some will have cracked. Some will have cracked and produced a small rootlet. Others will still not have cracked at all. The more seeds you can germ at once the better because you can see that not all seeds follow the same schedule. Some seeds will literally jump out of their shell in 24 hours of soaking while others will barely crack open and produce a small rootlet. After 24-48 hours or whenever they have produced a small rootlet i take the seeds out and transplant them to a Dixie Cup with holes cut in the bottom and the cup filled with a product called LIGHT WARRIOR. It is made by Fox Farm and is peat based seed starting soil. The soil you use to start your seeds is very important because if you use regular potting soil a lot of times the soil will be too high in minerals and nitrogen and kill the seed. LIGHT WARRIOR has never let me down. It holds an incredible amount of water but also holds a lot of oxygen which is important because you don't want your seedling to die. It has things in it like Humic acid which help seeds starting out as well. So now you have a seedling with a small rootlet. What I do now is water the soil with distilled water until the medium is completely soaked. Then I use a pen to poke a tiny 2mm size hole and plant the seed rootlet down but leave the top of the seed barely exposed to the light. Next I use a zip tie as a marker and plant it into the soil next to the seed so I know exactly where the seed is and I don't lose track of it while watering. Now I take all my seeds and repeat the process until all my seeds with tiny rootlets are planted. Then, I plug in a heating blanket, and put a towel over it and put a cloner/propagator on top of the heating blanket. Next I put the Dixie Cups in the cloner and put the lid on top. I put a high/low thermometer inside the cloner as well. I want to keep the humidity high and the temperature @ a constant 75 degrees. Too hot, seeds will cook, too cold seeds will freeze. This state is really crucial. Give the seeds a small bit of water every day and keep track of their process. Watering with an oral thermometer is a good way of watering your seedlings without stressing them out or knocking them over. Be careful not to drown your seeds. I had some seeds germ and grow its 1st set of leaves while still in the cup. I've had seeds that have taken over two weeks to shed their shell and begin growing leaves. It really all depends on a lot of things. I believe the fact that each seed germinates at all different times has to do with preservation of the species. If all the seeds germinated at once and there was bad weather the species would all die out. So it seems like a protective measure to me, like a survival mechanism. One thing you should never do though is try to take the seed shell off yourself unless you are being EXTREMELY careful and the seed shell is coming off on its own anyway. I have killed a seedling on accident trying to help take the shell off. It will come off when it is ready so don't rush it. Once the plant sprouts leaves I remove the Dixie cup from the clone dome and put it under a T5 with my other clones and seedlings. I wish you luck on germinating your seeds. Germinating seeds is the toughest part of growing weed for me. If you are a new grower or someone who just wants to grow a small crop for personal use I would recommend growing from clones because seeds can be a bit tricky. Clones are nice because you know what you are getting more or less. Also, you can get a couple clones. Keep one as a mother and keep making clones off her and have an endless supply of clones and plants. That is pretty much what I am doing. I only buy new clones to make new mothers or to try something new. Wish you best wishes on your grow. Hope your seeds germinate. Every grower has had problems germinating seeds. If they say they have not they haven't been growing long enough LOL. I am just really surprised because my AK and AKR germinated really fast in a "Root Riot" cube and were like the 1st plants with leaves. Maybe you got a hold of a bad supply? Anyway, best of luck on the AKR. I just bought a "BC GOD BUD" clone and I am stoked.
I'm so freaking happy! I know I'm not there yet, not by far, but I made mistakes, tried to learn from it all to make it a lesson, not a mistake, and then tried again immediately to make those slight adjustments, which I did, so that I could actually sprout some seeds and get some real seedlings going, which I have now finally done, thanks to the support of all you guys that stopped by everyday or so and helped me out, shared your failures and really were trying to help me with mine...
