Point up Point down?

[Hash Hound]

I have had problems with my Nirvana Northern Lights seeds. I tried the first (5) batch in paper towels, the seeds cracked and i placed them point end up and nothing ever came out of the dirt. Then I tried the other 5 in paper towels and planted them point down. again nothing. Not sure what I did wrong. By the way also planted the Skunkmans freebies and nothing.
Up or down,,,, nothing.
Question i have is; when a seed falls from a plant in nature it doesnt even get buried in dirt does it? and when it does fall on the ground I am assuming it falls on its side since it is football shaped.
I started some bag seeds they had half inch long tails in 24 hrs i planted them root down since they were a little long, they came out of the dirt over night. the ones that just were barely cracked open i placed tip up, nothing yet.
Which method do you guys prefer?

 

[skully]

Re: Point up Point down ?

I always use a damp napkin till the root starts to pop out. Then it's right to pot for me, white root faces into the dirt. I also help it along by peeling the seed off the leaf matter.
Out door maybe different tho. When seeds fall the the ground that's usally seeds for the following season. Other plants act the same way, there just trying to make sure the strain servives another season.

 

[Wingman420]

Re: Point up Point down ?

Ditto, I always have the tap root pointing down with the seed hull pointing up and that is the recipe for success.

 

[lingus]

I just ordered Northern Lights seeds.
Hope I don't have the same problem.
Using Hydro, maybe work out better..

 

[Hash Hound]

Hey there Lingus,

Where did you order yours from?
I ordered my Nirvana Northern Lights through Seedbotique. Next time I'll order direct from Nirvana. Maybe they were old and sitting at Seedbotique for a long time, same with the free Skunkmans seeds. Maybe kept them to moist or something. Not sure what the problem was. Paper towels then peat pots, thats the way I always do it. But 4 finally cracked in the towels and I put them in peat pots. 2 weeks no sprouts. I was ready to pitch them but they finally popped out of the dirt and are doing well. They are in hempy buckets. 1/2 perlite 1/2 Magik-Moss potting mix and 50% OC+ and 50% Dynamite ferts. Problem I had with the hempy is I should have soaked them with water real good before I transplanted the NL's into them. The perlite/soil and the plants are sinking into the pot a little to far now, but other than that, all of a sudden they are the most robust plants I have ever started. After the slow start, they are now about 8 inches tall and loaded with lower branching.
Went to HTGSupply and bought a 400w HPS with a 400 w MH conversion bulb, that is helping them too. The CFL's are good, but started to be a hassle the way we had them rigged up with all those splitters.
Good luck with yours.

 

[lingus]

Just ordered from Castle Seeds,
ordered some Northern Lights and some Aurora Indica
Hopefully I will have better luck this time.

On my first attept with Deep Water Culture right now.
Ordered an assortment from Attitude.
Mixed results. I was shorted a couple and out of 10 seeds I have 2 sprouts...
1 lowryder - doing real good so far, one of the 3 I germinated actually growing.
1 Auto - Haze - has yellow on top (looks like a flower..) but still alive and growing real slowly. Added a few nutes this morning.

THinking of doing some dirt growing combined with Bubbler..
Still learning. It's easier to smoke than it is to grow!

Thanks

 

[Captain Kronic]

KIS... keep it simple. For the sprouting of seeds, I use a loose knitted wash rag or 2, then just put the seeds in and keep them wet, not drowning, just nice and moist.
I will then set them on a window shelf or even outside in the sun... I find that the seeds respond really well to the warmth of the sun light, just don't let them get too hot. I usually set them in broken sunlight to make sure they don't bake.
Doing it this way, I have seeds ready to plant in usually 3 days or less!
Like someone said above, the tail that protrudes from a germinating seed should always be pointed down!
I don't peel the shell off or anything like that... like a bird, I think if you help them out of the seed, it can make them weak... JMO though.
Then, when the bulk of the seeds are ready, I place them in RockWool or soil, whatever your choice of medium is.
Another tip, get some H2O2... shit works wonders for starts... gives them extra oxygen!
Hope you get something out of this... if you have any more questions... we are here to help...