Germinating: Does the water matter?

[Nedhead]

Seasons Greetings All!!

When I germinated my first seeds I used bottled spring water and paper towels. They germinated just fine. Once planted I continued to water using the bottled water until I discovered that the girls weren't doing well with that ph level. I adjusted the ph and things took off from there.

My question is....Does the ph level matter when germinating your seeds? (paper towel method after soaking in water for 24 hours)

 

[Emilya Green]

I don't think that pH in a reasonable range matters much to a seed. I use plain tap water to germinate seeds... has always worked just fine here.
Some paper towels however are a problem. Some of the paper towels have been bleached to be white... and that bleach needs to be rinsed out before use or it will kill your seeds as soon as the root emerges. This is why I have changed from using paper towels to using sterile cotton balls soaked with water to lay my seeds on.