Germinating Seeds - Little Tip

[kiwipaulie]

I recently was trying all the different types of ways to germinate seeds and seemed to have really crap luck, maybe it was just me over thinking the process.

Then the other day, I did something I should have done a long time ago, just put the seeds in some seedling mix (or a jiffy pellet - I did it both ways) with the pointy tip facing down about 1cm deep. The medium was wet, but not soaked.

I then put it in a cheep propagation seedling raiser and chucked it on my heat mat I used for brewing beer.

Bang - three days later, all have sprouted and looking good.

Just a little tip I thought Id share.

 

[TheYokel]

I cover mine with dirt and lightly water them...



To each their own.

 

[curious2garden]

I recently was trying all the different types of ways to germinate seeds and seemed to have really crap luck, maybe it was just me over thinking the process.

Then the other day, I did something I should have done a long time ago, just put the seeds in some seedling mix (or a jiffy pellet - I did it both ways) with the pointy tip facing down about 1cm deep. The medium was wet, but not soaked.

I then put it in a cheep propagation seedling raiser and chucked it on my heat mat I used for brewing beer.

Bang - three days later, all have sprouted and looking good.

Just a little tip I thought Id share.

I start mine directly in Advanced Sunshine Mix #4, wet in Dixie cups in a dark shoebox on top of my T5's. Within 24 to 72 hours usually I have close to 100% germination. I had read studies on damping off due to bacterial contamination from handling. So I never handled my seeds.

I've also used Jiffy Pellets with the same results. I don't even bother to pH my seedlings water They get nothing but tap until they begin to show color lightening.

 

[Blindnslow]

jiffy peat pellet on soil in a solo cup on a heating pad. I used to do the sand paper ruff, 24 hr soak, then paper towel sprout and found there was no need for all that over time.. I don't worry about the direction of the seed. Just chunk it in...

 

[a senile fungus]

This. I've had best luck just putting them in the soil all natural like and letting them come up on their own.

I think it is less stressful and disorienting than germinating them in paper towel or whatever. Less damage to taproot and the seedling gets to work on roots immediately...

I've had great luck with coco and a passive wick on a heating pad with minimal light over it.

Win win for me...

 

[Wicked ReToddDid]

The key to success, in my opinion, is the heat mat. I mentioned that on your other thread where you said you get a 60% germination rate.

 

[CoyoteBob]

I soak my seeds in water for 16 hours (until they crack), then plant them in Rapid Rooter cubes and immediately put them in a humidity dome under T5 lighting. So I don't have to use a heat mat. The light is there for them whenever they break the surface.

I used to use the "wet paper towel" method, until I killed an expensive seed by accidentally cutting off its taproot with my tweezers.

 

[Sativied]

I use my own organic approach. I bite off the pointy end of the seed with my teeth, crack it open with my nails and peel off the green membrane, spit on it, and the place it in soil/coco/rockwool. 100% success and crack the soils within 12 hours.



I highly recommend doing this with your $10 pp seeds at home.

 

[kiwipaulie]

The key to success, in my opinion, is the heat mat. I mentioned that on your other thread where you said you get a 60% germination rate.

Yeah man, I think your dead right. I used my heat pad for brewing and they have all sprouted no worries.

 

[curious2garden]

This. I've had best luck just putting them in the soil all natural like and letting them come up on their own.

I think it is less stressful and disorienting than germinating them in paper towel or whatever. Less damage to taproot and the seedling gets to work on roots immediately...

I've had great luck with coco and a passive wick on a heating pad with minimal light over it.

Win win for me...

Damping off is often caused by bacterial contamination of the germ by handling

 

[a senile fungus]

Damping off is often caused by bacterial contamination of the germ by handling

Another reason to put 'er in the soil and let 'er rip!

 

[rnint]

This. I've had best luck just putting them in the soil all natural like and letting them come up on their own.

I think it is less stressful and disorienting than germinating them in paper towel or whatever. Less damage to taproot and the seedling gets to work on roots immediately...

I've had great luck with coco and a passive wick on a heating pad with minimal light over it.

Win win for me...

i know this was a while ago but how do you go about wicking in coco, like do you just put in in a small cup and sit it in water or?

 

[a senile fungus]

i know this was a while ago but how do you go about wicking in coco, like do you just put in in a small cup and sit it in water or?

Its a mat that the coco sits on top off. The mat passively wicks up the water. The coco is in contact with the mat.

Soaking the bottom in coco would be way too much moisture!


Hope that helps.

 

[qwizoking]

This for me: sorry long and choppy, i combined copy paste of my older posts.
Wet paper towel in an open ziploc between 82-84°„ you wanna see beads on the bag. It should be ready in 24 hours, another 12-24 may be necessary. I fill a cup with my moistened soil mix. I either wet the soil the night before and till it first or moisten untill it will hold its shape and compact at the time I'm doing it (forgot the word for this) ..so as to avoid any rot. Then placed In solo cup, gets a ziploc over the top and in the dark until I have my first set of leaves (still 82-84°)
Bags come off and they goto the sides of my light until the first set of leaves (true set). And temps are brought down to low 70's high 60's to promote female ratios
..use ph'd water, dont use distilled, promotes bacteria and mold growth. Theres also nothing wrong with the chlorine in your tap

This gives me best results. Out of 40 cheese seeds I just germed, all sprouted and only one died as a seedling (my fault)

As long as they aren't crushed or white they will sprout...and even crushed seeds give me about a 50% rate

The bigger it is when put in soil the faster it seems to sprout. I've let the shell fall off with a set of leaves and all before while still in the paper towel (not recommending this though, but can happen in less than 48hrs), if germed at the same time, putting a seed with a smaller taproot will take longer to sprout than if you had just left it in the bag a bit longer.or germed in straight soil for that matter. I use an open gallon bag with wet paper towel at 82-84°. And i use multiple if running alot of seeds, i normally am.
(Ive experimented in 2° increments and found this to be optimimum and the biggest factor)

When you put the seed in the soil, you don't need to bury it, you don't even need dirt to cover it so long as you have high humidity, i use solo cups with a ziploc bag over
, which should have water beads. You don't want to bury the seed to far or compact the dirt when you do. This will drastically increase the time it takes. Ive had seedlings pop up weeks into veg even flower because they were buried in the soil

the dark helps prevent mold and damaging exposed roots.

I've never had seed take longer than 36hour's to open and maybe 2 and a half days till it was ready to transplant. this is on very old seed as well

4 days is the longest i expect it to take my seeds to be ready for light