Why won't they sprout?

[Dro3420]

When i put my seeds in water for 24hrs they didnt sink but i still used them. Put them in rockwool cubes in humidity dome. Been 4 days out of water now and still nothing. Should i scrap or smoke n chill out???

 

[ChefDGreen]

If they didn’t sink in 24 hours, chances are they aren’t viable.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I don’t do the glass of water thing so can’t comment on that. But, assuming the seeds are good, the usual reasons for sprout failure are - too cold, and/or too wet. (Also of course -could be too hot and/or too dry. But cold and wet are more common).
Rockwool holds a lot of water and if saturated can easily cause a seed or sprout to rot.

I will tell you the way I sprout seeds these days-which works extremely well for me.

I get a small container with a lid, such as a tupperware container or 1/2 pint mason jar for example.
-A sheet or two of paper towel, folded up to fit in the bottom.
-Enough water to get that paper towel thoroughly damp. Pour off any excess water.
-Put the seeds on top of the paper towel in the middle where are you can see them. They don’t need to be buried or covered.
-Put the lid on and put it somewhere warm like the back of a computer, hot water heater, somewhere like that. I put mine up above my woodstove -it’s about 80-85°F up there.

Average sprouting time is about 36 hours.

I hate waiting for seeds that I can’t see. I want to be able to see what’s going on.

With seeds that are old you may have to take special measures because the shells get hard.

 

[Dro3420]

Thank you brotha

 

[Farnheit]

I don’t do the glass of water thing so can’t comment on that. But, assuming the seeds are good, the usual reasons for sprout failure are - too cold, and/or too wet. (Also of course -could be too hot and/or too dry. But cold and wet are more common).
Rockwool holds a lot of water and if saturated can easily cause a seed or sprout to rot.

I will tell you the way I sprout seeds these days-which works extremely well for me.

I get a small container with a lid, such as a tupperware container or 1/2 pint mason jar for example.
-A sheet or two of paper towel, folded up to fit in the bottom.
-Enough water to get that paper towel thoroughly damp. Pour off any excess water.

I do it same way except I put on them another wet paper towel. Close it on top so they have more humidity and thats all.
I check them once a time until they are ready to transplant.

Dont know why most people are doing the water sink thing.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

I use paper towel method, works a treat.

 

[Backlipslide]

Everybody’s got different methods. Trick is, is to choose a method you like and stick to it. The seeds are probably duds. Like I said, everybody’s got there own thing going. Not that it matters but I leave in nuke warm water for 24 hours then switch to paper towel in a sandwich baggy for 24 hours.

 

[Sctanley007]

My method is close to Weasel’s but I soak in distilled water for 18 hours. Paper towel folded in half on a plate. Dump water and seed onto towel and fold over. Pour off excess and into 1 gallon ziplock and onto seedling mat. Usually see the root about 12 hours later.

Good luck.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Everybody’s got different methods

nuke warm water

wow -that’s very warm!

Yep - agreed- many way to skin the cat, but the two ingredients that matter are - nice warm temps and high humidity. Just don’t drown them. Think ‘humid’, not wet, at least after the first day.

towel and fold over

I used to always fold the towel too, but having to open it all up and unfold it to peek was just one more step. I would sometimes get roots growing the towel. If you do- just get out the scissors, cut out and plant that part of the towel along with the sprout.

Lots to be said for being able to watch their progress. Though lots of people plant directly in the pot too- nothing wrong with that if you have your method down and don’t mind a little mystery.

 

[Dro3420]

Ya but can u do that paper towel method with hydroponic dwc. Cause if the root is popped out and is like a inch long or whatever what do u do then dig a lil hole (bigger and deeper then the one that factory made) and then put the root in the rockwool cube? And then do u put it under light???

 

[Northern Hydro]

Ya but can u do that paper towel method with hydroponic dwc. Cause if the root is popped out and is like a inch long or whatever what do u do then dig a lil hole (bigger and deeper then the one that factory made) and then put the root in the rockwool cube? And then do u put it under light???

Yes

 

[Weaselcracker]

Yep- just widen a hole in whatever the grow medium- not too deep, ease or drop the sprout in there. Root should be pointing more or less down - safely below surface in damp conditions and the head up, at the surface or just very slightly below - then backfill very gently around to prevent any drying out.
Roots grow best in humid, not wet, conditions. Never soak the medium down in early sprout or seedling stages. Roots grow great in rockwool that is quite light 15-30% saturation. Just not 100% saturated.
Drowning is by far the number one killer of seedlings.

 

[Backlipslide]

wow -that’s very warm

Your right. I’m not sure why I said nuke warm. I never do. It’s normally cold out of my drinking water dispenser