Germinating. I’ve done it for years. Now, I’m confused.

Susanne

Susanne

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

I’ve germinated seeds for years & have been steadily growing good strains now for the last three years. Today, I’m wanting to start germinating my 2021 seeds. So, I thought I’d refresh my old memory on germinating. I used to always do it in a damp paper towel. It worked very well. Last year, I did it in the glasses of water.....Again, they did well (makes me wonder why I’m asking :p).

So, when I searched today & was reading, I saw a ‘new’ way I was unaware of & am wondering why it would work better:
they are saying to:
Put in water (I’ve seen different times)
then, put in damp paper towels.

Why do it twice? Wouldn’t just one way work better? What makes this way better and..
while I’m at it.......opinions on putting in water or using paper towels.....which do you prefer?

thanks!
 
Rdubz

Rdubz

Well-Known Member
For it's the best way because I use Hydro system and also gives me easy access to see what's going on and if it's popping and controlling temps and everything you just get full control and I usually have 95% success
 
WubbaLubbaDubDub

WubbaLubbaDubDub

Well-Known Member
I’ve found a better success rate with older seeds with thicker shells by scuffing the seed on sandpaper then letting it sit in a shot glass of water for 12-24 hours.
In the initial stage your not going to deprive the seed of oxygen so I’ve found it’s just guarantees it gets the water it wants.
that being said if i throw a seed in the shot glass and it immediately sinks I just go straight to the wet paper towel method.
 
Susanne

Susanne

Well-Known Member
Rdubz said:
For it's the best way because I use Hydro system and also gives me easy access to see what's going on and if it's popping and controlling temps and everything you just get full control and I usually have 95% success
Click to expand...
Okay, I’m going to answer *I didn’t want to because.....I feel dumb*.....

What do you mean? “For it’s the best way....”.

What’s the ”best way”?... the hydro system? ... I grow outdoors in large pots..anyway, curious. Thanks
 
Rdubz

Rdubz

Well-Known Member
Susanne said:
Okay, I’m going to answer *I didn’t want to because.....I feel dumb*.....

What do you mean? “For it’s the best way....”.

What’s the ”best way”?... the hydro system? ... I grow outdoors in large pots..anyway, curious. Thanks
Click to expand...
Sorry I was answering the OP by saying Putting it in water then in paper towel works great for me because I can keep the paper towel at the higher temps for better germination so drop the seed in glass of water until I get it to sink then wet paper towel and wrap it up , u don't want it dripping wet and put it in a bag and I put it on a heat source and it germinate with in 3 days if not sooner
 
Susanne

Susanne

Well-Known Member
Rdubz said:
Unless you have no media .....
Click to expand...
No, no ‘media’, just potting soil and starter pots....... this has gotten much more complicated than it used to be.. I’m just an old hippie & we used to just plant the seed in the ground...never could wait for the plant to grow up..pulled it when it was about 2 feet..LOL.....(we never actually grew any to bud..didn’t have any place to do it...but, what little we did was fun). Now, I’m needing it for medical use in my old age, so I’m growing medical strains and trying to get my best yield with the least amount of work. It’s gotten so scientific here, even with backyard growers, that it’s passed up my expertise by a long shot! :wall:. At least I’m getting better at it & getting fewer yellow leaves, even though the best crop I had with the least amount of trouble/least amount of yellow leaves was from a handful of bag seeds a friend gave me. These that I’m paying so much for are much more finicky. Being ill, I can’t really tell a difference between one strain & another anyway. ..yes, I’m rambling & haven’t even smoked. ...leftover fog from all the hash I have to smoke to sleep through the night.....
thanks.
 
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Susanne

Susanne

Well-Known Member
Rdubz said:
Sorry I was answering the OP by saying Putting it in water then in paper towel works great for me because I can keep the paper towel at the higher temps for better germination so drop the seed in glass of water until I get it to sink then wet paper towel and wrap it up , u don't want it dripping wet and put it in a bag and I put it on a heat source and it germinate with in 3 days if not sooner
Click to expand...
Thanks!
 
Rdubz

Rdubz

Well-Known Member
Susanne said:
No, no ‘media’, just potting soil and starter pots....... this has gotten much more complicated than it used to be.. I’m just an old hippie & we used to just plant the seed in the ground...never could wait for the plant to grow up..pulled it when it was about 2 feet..LOL.....(we never actually grew any to bud..didn’t have any place to do it...but, what little we did was fun). Now, I’m needing it for medical use in my old age, so I’m growing medical strains and trying to get my best yield with the least amount of work. It’s gotten so scientific here, even with backyard growers, that it’s passed up my expertise by a long shot! :wall:. At least I’m getting better at it & getting fewer yellow leaves, even though the best crop I had with the least amount of trouble/least amount of yellow leaves was from a handful of bag seeds a friend gave me. These that I’m paying so much for ate much more finicky. Being ill, I can’t really tell a difference between one strain & another anyway. ..yes, I’m rambling & haven’t even smoked. ...leftover fog from all the hash I have to smoke to sleep through the night.....
thanks.
Click to expand...
Ok yes I understand how it all can be very confusing and I'm sorry for just assuming u understand what I'm saying lol I think the best for you would be to just put it right in the should and water it maybe get some advice from soil growers on what the best potting soil would be for this I think if I'm not mistaking using something like Foxfarms Happy frog people have had good success but again don't listen to me I tend to complicate things lol so get advice from 1 soil growers and follow to a T you shouldn't have issues again Good luck! And I hope you get the meds you need!
 
lusidghost

lusidghost

Well-Known Member
I ran clones for several years and I too feel like I need a refresher. I always put the seeds directly into a macro plug and that worked fine. But I've gone back to seed on my last two cycles. I feel like I've done everything the same as before, but the sprouts keep getting confused of which way is up and end up squirrelling around searching for an escape. I've had to manually reseat them so that their heads are sticking out. Am I giving them too little light? Maybe planting them too deep? Which was close to the middle of the macro plug.

I bought some Root Riot starters and I'm going to try them, but I'm just wondering what I was doing wrong.
 
twentyeight.threefive

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
lusidghost said:
I ran clones for several years and I too feel like I need a refresher. I always put the seeds directly into a macro plug and that worked fine. But I've gone back to seed on my last two cycles. I feel like I've done everything the same as before, but the sprouts keep getting confused of which way is up and end up squirrelling around searching for an escape. I've had to manually reseat them so that their heads are sticking out. Am I giving them too little light? Maybe planting them too deep? Which was close to the middle of the macro plug.

I bought some Root Riot starters and I'm going to try them, but I'm just wondering what I was doing wrong.
Click to expand...
Giving them too little patience. Seeds grow intentionally like that. Seeds open and the taproot makes a 180 turn down before surfacing. This causes friction on the seed head as it emerges from the soil and helps remove the seed shell.
 
Funkentelechy

Funkentelechy

Well-Known Member
lusidghost said:
I ran clones for several years and I too feel like I need a refresher. I always put the seeds directly into a macro plug and that worked fine. But I've gone back to seed on my last two cycles. I feel like I've done everything the same as before, but the sprouts keep getting confused of which way is up and end up squirrelling around searching for an escape. I've had to manually reseat them so that their heads are sticking out. Am I giving them too little light? Maybe planting them too deep? Which was close to the middle of the macro plug.

I bought some Root Riot starters and I'm going to try them, but I'm just wondering what I was doing wrong.
Click to expand...
Give them time, new sprouts orient themselves based on gravity, they will find what is up and down on their own.
 
Dorian2

Dorian2

Well-Known Member
Only been doing it for 3 years on a small indoor scale....for reference. I've just put them in a glass of water for 20 - 24 hrs then transferred to stacked paper towels. Leave em in the furnace room on a shelf on a stoneware plate sitting on and half wrapped in a towel (extra warmth) in the dark and spray the paper towels to stay moist. Takes 1 or 2 days and they're ready to plant. I'm sure all the other methods work just as well but this works in my case.
 
Funkentelechy

Funkentelechy

Well-Known Member
lusidghost said:
Am I giving them too little light? Maybe planting them too deep?
Click to expand...
A general rule of thumb for any seed is to plant at a depth of twice the width of the seed.
I plant pot at approx 3/8 inch below the surface. If you plant too shallow the seed won't shed its shell, too deep, and the plant wastes too much energy coming to the surface.
 
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