best way to germinate seeds and your own methods that have worked for you .

i usually use a paper towel a snack bag and a paper plate and my cfl tube lights. i take my paper towel fold it up all nice take my seed put it in the middle then run it under warm water then put in a plastic bag put it on the paper plate then almost literally touching my light and seems to work pretty well but i wanted to hear other peoples methods. ive heard of using no light and keep it on like a cable box to keep it warm but not hot. any input is accepted and not right or wrong this is to help people out and figure whats best for your own situation. ive heard that u can drop a seed in a cup with the bottom full of water ??? thnxs all hope to see this thread grow

I normally use a wet towel in a tub i a closed box and have had good results, but now that I am back in the UK and it's -2C right now so got myself a heated propagator. It costs the same as a couple of seeds and should save me more than that in the amount of seeds that I would not have managed to germinate otherwise. I'll be having a grow journal starting from propagation as soon as I move into somewhere a bit more permanent (crashin with a friend for now).

Straight into soil, coco, rockwool, peat pellets, soaked in a glass, germed in paper towels, i've tried plenty of methods and other than rockwool they were all no more or no less effective than any other. Only reason i'd opt for germing out of it's medium is for easy observation on which beans have germed.

I soak mine in a shotglass which is placed on a germ mat....after sinking, the seed goes to a paper towel inside a baggie, in the dark.....after 1/4 inch tail sticks out, plant in well watered soil......still using germ mat to maintain constant temps.....my germ raites and successful seedlings have gone way up in percentage. Germ mats are definitely a primary incredient....

im simular to oldreefer i make paper towel sandwich put seed in between then i put about 1/2 inch of water completly covering seed overnigt in dark on heating pad the nekt day sometimes split then to soil and cup --if not split i pour water off and leave enough to keep damp and put back on heating pad in dark untill split then to soil in cup--once in cup i cover with a baggie and rubberband one or two tiny pin holes for air until seed breaks surface of soil ,then i remove baggie all under flouresent tube on heating pad-- i normally keep seedlings on heating pad under flouresents until transplant normally 4 or 5 weeks --then to big girl lights and no more heating pad

i also have experimented with straight water till germ and tap root out about 1/4 inch

if seed does not split, i have experimented with peroxide for germ on known stuborn seeds and scarcification (picking shell off ,with a blade,and sandpaper) when i have waited for germ and got nothing i feel like nothing to lose and try all kinds of shit

good luck

wet paper towel in a ziplock bag under my modem or on top of my furnace sometimes during colder months

im very interested i guess my best bet right now is just how i been doing it. no money for heating pad how much is that anyways. i wish i had i got a rare ass grape ape seed i found outta one of my bags looks like it hermie seed so hoping it female cause i smoked like a zip only found 1 seed

I soak the seed in a shotglass for 48 hours. By then it will have cracked and have a root tail sticking out. I put the seed in a Jiffy pellet root tail down and put the Jiffy into a 2" netpot right into a DWC bucket. Voila!

I have found the best method is to just drop the seed directly into moistened soil under my flourescent veg lights at 18/6 and let it pop. 100% success rate with fresh seeds.


The only time I use paper towel method is if I am trying to sprout seeds that are 4+ years old. At that age a lot of seeds are "dead", so I don't waste the soil until I know the seed is good.

Seed in soil (5mm deep), a bit of water, a humidity dome, under an incandescent light for heat. 3 days later, sprout. Then I change the incandescent bulb for a 65 watt 6500k cfl.

Seed soil propagation:
This is a method whereby the seeds are placed down in moist soil about 3mm or the length of the seed from the surface. The soil is kept moist (Not soaking wet) by sprinkling water over it once a day. This has a moderate success rate. Out of 10 seeds only 7 - 8 may germinate.
Seed towel propagation:
This is a method whereby the seeds are placed either on a damp towel or on a damp piece of cotton wool. Cheesecloth may also be used. The seed is then covered with more damp wool or a damp towel. The towel/wool must be kept moist at all times. If the material dries out it may damage the seeds. Everyday check to see if the seeds have started to produce any roots. If they have then immediately transfer the seedling to a grow medium (such as soil) using a pair of tweezers. Do not touch the root. This has a moderate to high success rate. Out of 10 seeds 8 - 9 may germinate. The problem with this method is that sometimes the transplant can cause the seedling to go into shock. This can kill the germination process leaving you with nothing. With practice you can get all your seeds to germinate.
Propagation kits:
This is a method whereby the seeds are placed in small unit, called a seed or clone propagator, which is designed to help plants germinate. One such kit is called a rockwool SBS Propagation Tray. Some of these kits can be heated and look like a miniature greenhouse. At the bottom of the tray is a small area where water, or even better ‘some germination hormone’ is poured. Small grow cubes called rockwool cubes are placed into slots in the tray, which automatically dips the rockwool into the solution

Method to 100% Success rate with healthy mature seeds:
Most seeds that fail to start germinating do so because their shell is too hard to break open and allow water to seep in. At the end of your germination period you may have found that 25% or more of your seeds have not managed to pop out. You can help these seeds to grow by using a method known as Scuffing.
Simply get a small box, like a matchbox. Line the inside of the box with sandpaper. Place the seeds into the box. Cover the seeds with more sandpaper. Close the box and shake the seeds in the box for a few minutes. Now the seeds are scuffed and their outer shell should be easier to pop open. Plant these seeds in soil and they should be able to germinate.

Or my personal favorite

Soaking method:
This method is by far the easiest method and has 100% Success rate when combining my matchbox method for scratching the surface of the seeds you just take a glass of room temp water or distilled water drop them in put them in darkness and check back every 12 hours some will crack fast others slowly once all have cracked place them in your medium and they will grow from there.

Great info, thanks Exodus434. I especially like the scuffing idea, I'll definitely try that out.

No problem anything to help this plant! What are you working with seed wise? Bagseed or a strong strain from Attitude?

Put it in dirt. I don't understand the advantage any other method has so long as your conditions in the soil are right. Keep it moist and warm. Near 100% success rate with mj and with all my other gardening stuff. I highly suspect the failures I do encounter are defects in the seeds, not the method.

Yep, keep it simple. i have tried the paper towel and shot glass method. But the best luck i have had is to soak in a shot glass of distilled water for 24 hours and then put directly in soil under cfl's. after 2-3 days in soil you'll see em poking thru. i just barely cover the seed and keep the soil very moist. a misting bottle works great. if you try soaking in water for more than that the water starts to sour and you end up with this slime all over your seeds.

Exodus434 said:

No problem anything to help this plant! What are you working with seed wise? Bagseed or a strong strain from Attitude?

Click to expand...

My first grow last spring, I tried two strains from AMS: Caramelicious and White Widow (feminized). I didn't have much luck with the Caramelicious. Most didn't germinate, (had I known, lol), and those that did were mostly male. Had great luck with the WW, and continue to do so.

Actually in my first grow I didn't recognize a male Car until way way too late. I ended up with a very seedy WW. I have a couple hundred of those seeds, and have grown a dozen or so. Very WW-like of course, and makes large strong plants. Responds well to pruning and produces well. Also a very nice smoke, but I wish it was more aromatic.

I just ordered some SLH and LSD from Attitude today.

I just began my first grow two days ago and my seeds are already sprouting with a 100% success rate. I used the simply paper towel method but placed in between two plates instead of inside a bag. I think by the end of the week or so I will transplant them to a cup of soil to allow growth until I can place them in their final pots. Although my gas got turned off today and I may lose them to low temps. Any ideas on what I can do. It will get down to 60 or 40 depending on how lucky I am.

Soak mine in warm cup of water for 24 hours.
Then let it chill in its nesting ground

i do dwc i dont like soil to many pests nothing against soil growers just not for me. and as far as the shot glass just take it fill with water and put seed in or do u have to have the heat pad ??

jackfrostking said:

i do dwc i dont like soil to many pests nothing against soil growers just not for me. and as far as the shot glass just take it fill with water and put seed in or do u have to have the heat pad ??

Click to expand...

heatilng pads are dangerous. They probably kill more seeds than they help. Just put the germinating seeds in a place where they can stay around 70-80ºf. Too cool and it slows them down and too warm it kills them.