what is the proper way to germinate?

[Drufiss1]

so when i germinate my bagseed i usually put a few in a moist paper towel and put on my window sill and within a few days, i got germinated seeds. recently i got a warming mat/ seedling mat deal. i got seeds from nirvana, through a cpl in a moist paper towel and placed them on the mat in their baggies. with in a few days nothing. so i am trying to figure out if my method of germinating is wrong or something as i couldnt get any of the black jack to germinate and only got 1 full moon to germinate. when i sent an email to let them know they said next time get our germination packs. so i am trying to figure out if my method is not a good method as i had shitty results with their seeds or just luck of the draw, as with my bagseeds i am at a 100% success. trying to figure out if maybe they were exposed to much light while on the mat or got to hot, but the light i cant see that being an issuse sincethe other times they sat on a window sill. now i am trying to see if placing them under the cable box works since that gets no light under there and the heat, but then i could've put them under the mat as well. also i am terying to figure this out since very soon i am going to order some of the barney's farm red dragon, so if anyone has any feedback on those feel free to mention. but anywho, if someone has a better method or has alot of luck get the seeds that we order to germinate and sprout please let me know of a better method. thank for the help.

 

[diamonddave]

plant the seed in moistened medium, best way to do it hands down, most natural, least risk of screwing up, all around just better, always worked for me

 

[cadeneli]

Paper towel method is by far the most widely usex method. Get a paper towel and fold 6 times wet the paper towel, open it up and put your seeds in. Then put moist paper towel between 2 plates and set on top of your frig or on a small heating pad. Workz every time for me. All due respect but putting a seed in soil before germination iznt the smartest way of doing it.

 

[Nunotmp]

Did you place the paper towel on top of the mat with nothing separating them?

I fill shot glasses about half full then place them on a heating mat with a plastic tray between the two, and cover them with a small box to keep them dark. When they crack place them in a soaked ph starter cube..

I had a few crack in about 8 hours

 

[Lt. Dan]

Here's a thread I read a few days ago on the subject, hope it helps.

https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/176359-starting-your-seeds.html

 

[diamonddave]

Paper towel method is by far the most widely usex method. Get a paper towel and fold 6 times wet the paper towel, open it up and put your seeds in. Then put moist paper towel between 2 plates and set on top of your frig or on a small heating pad. Workz every time for me. All due respect but putting a seed in soil before germination iznt the smartest way of doing it.

imo, it is the most natural and has ALWAYS worked for me, what i do is moisten to medium thoroughly, plant the seed 1/2" below, place a ziploc bag over the cup/pot and wait for it to sprout.. i have heard many stories about ppl breaking off the taproot while going to plant it, which led me to always do it this way, to each his own, and for a newbie this MAY be the best method..

 

[brandon.]

All due respect but putting a seed in soil before germination iznt the smartest way of doing it.

Are you saying mother nature who's been germinating seeds for millions of years is doing it wrong? That she should use paper towels from now on?

 

[Chomps]

All due respect but putting a seed in soil before germination iznt the smartest way of doing it.

I've got to disagree on this. Seed directly into soil is the way mother nature has been doing it forever. There's no paper towel laying around in forests for seeds to drop into and germ first. If the seeds are good, straight into soil works every time.

 

[Chomps]

Are you saying mother nature who's been germinating seeds for millions of years is doing it wrong? That she should use paper towels from now on?

Beat me to it

 

[bird mcbride]

They're are a lotta ways to do germinate seeds but the most important thing, it should be started about a week before a full moon. This is very important.

 

[Brimi]

Agree - if the seeds are good they will germ directly into soil or other wet medium like rockwool. But if you use the paper towels you don't have to make pots etc. for seeds that are not going to germinate. So if you want to germ a lot of seeds the towels would probably be easiest as you could discard the bad seeds without more work on those.
I think the way you describe the germinating process is great and that you probably had some bad seeds - good seeds should sprout within 1-2 days in towels like that.

 

[cadeneli]

First, I dont believe i said it wouldnt work. Second, i grow more than one plant and want them to stay the same size. So my point is if you do it in the paper towel you can observe the progress of the tap root and plant them in soil all at the same time. that way they generally will sprout within a day of each other. A couple of days head start can make a big difference in how even your canopy will be. Makes perfect sense to me.

 

[supdro]

bro don't use a paper towel.. use a handkerchief way better. in a paper towel the tap root will grow into the fibers of the paper towel making it hard to tear apart. that won't happen with the chief. good luck

 

[woodsmaneh!]

Well supdro is right happens all the time. I use to do it a number of ways, paper towels for the longest time 5 years. I got some beans from a buddy and he said don't bother with all that. Use plastic transparent beer cups and MG starter soil for seeds. Punch hole in bottom for dranage fill with MG and water let stand for 10/15 min. smoke one then go back and poke a hole with a pen about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep and drop the bean it and cover lightly, don't tamp it down hard be genital. Put wuner light and keep moist. Thats how I do it now and it works great and you can see the roots growing through the sides of the cup. They only get water when living in the cups. I let them get root bound than move to 6" pots and feed. I will never go back to towels very happy with this way. IMHO

 

[cadeneli]

bro don't use a paper towel.. use a handkerchief way better. in a paper towel the tap root will grow into the fibers of the paper towel making it hard to tear apart. that won't happen with the chief. good luck

If they're growing into the paper towel you're leaving them in there too long in my opinion. Been uzing thd paper towel method fof 10 years or so and not once have thdy grown in the paper towel. I only let my tap root get no more than a 1/4" long. Besides theres a thousand ways to skin a cat. Shot glass, handkerchief, test tube, whatever.

 

[Dwezelitsame]

not looking for trouble but

ther is a lot of ways to do the same thing and because mother nature does it one way does not mean we as thinking animals cant come up with something that works better for us

i have a lot of minature fruit trees in my vegitable garden my apple tree has to be cross pollenated for me to get apples in nature bees butterflys bugs and wind does it but for me to gurante i get alpples when i have flowers on it i go around with a paint brush from flower to flower and bingo loads of apples

there is prolly a lot of things that farmers have learned that is not what nature does --does nature make femanized seeds no but it is what we have learned in time to make things better does nature use hydro, c20, fertilizers no but some things we have improved on nature

do what works best for you dont knock what works for the next man

so many rumors and wise tales around this hobby i like to experiment some time it cost me but i still learn something if nothing else what not to do next time i feel soorry for those that believe everything they hear

for the Attitude June promo i tried two seperate orders and got two full promos i asked around everyone was like a parrot reapeting same thing even the site said one set per but i got two sets -- your coice to follow or not

i take advice with respect then i do what i think is best here at RIU 3 say its black 3 say its white 3 say its gray then there is the blind man that swears its orange so that tells me half dont know what they are talking about but still answering should be reading

good luck, good grows, to all and may grow gods smile upon your beans
1Luv

 

[Kerovan]

If they're growing into the paper towel you're leaving them in there too long in my opinion. Been uzing thd paper towel method fof 10 years or so and not once have thdy grown in the paper towel. I only let my tap root get no more than a 1/4" long. Besides theres a thousand ways to skin a cat. Shot glass, handkerchief, test tube, whatever.

you just don't notice that they are attached to the paper towel and that you are tearing them. The roots have microscopic fibers that go into the paper towel that you will never notice. When you remove it, you tear those away from the towel. You don't notice because they are "microscopic" the force they hold is nothing compared to what a human has so it is not noticable at all.

 

[Kerovan]

to the op, you could have cooked the seeds. Heating pads aren't needed if your temps are decent. If your room temp is 70, that is all you need. Placing the seed directly into soil is the safest method. And will work just as effectively as any other artificial methods used.

 

[cadeneli]

sounds like you guys have all the answers. good job

 

[Legit Smoke]

I fold a paper towel once, wet it, put it in a ziplock bag, and put it in a dark place for a few days... They germinate.. but I haven't had a successful transplant to soil yet... maybe that's why ?:/