Forced Germ?

Ok, well I've been messing around with germinating seeds and I just thought i would see if anybody else has herd of or done anything like this, heres the situation.

got some random (mix bag) seeds germinated them all the way i usually do.. got about 80%, a bit lower than usual and instead of tossing out the ones that didn't pop i decided i would pop them just to see what would happen.

i just used my nail to press down on the edge around the seed until they cracked and put them all back the way they were (germinating) expecting nothing to happen. To my amazement every single one popped and is now a healthy plant!

any thoughts? i couldn't find anything about this anywhere, seems like it could be a good way to get the most out of some seeds.

(forgot to take pics of the cracked seeds and stuff, but i could show the plants, doing great..)

makes sense...obviously you have to be careful not to crush the would-be emerging radicle, if you can just crack the seed coat I could see that working. never thought of it though...nice goin

yes i have heard of this

its because the outer shell of the seed is to thick for the sprout to crack open, this can also be caused by not giving the seeds enough water
so the sprouts cant expand and push the 2 halves of the seed apart

one method ive heard of to fix non sprouting seeds is called scuffing it helps cack open the case without causing major damage to the sprout

you take a small empty matchbox and line it with sandpaper put the seeds in it and shake them up a bit scuffing the outer shell of the seed

personally ive never tried it because ive had wonderfull results with all of my seeds

ya the seeds were low quality , high quality I've only ever lost a few..

its just an idea for people to keep in mind, I've heard of people tossing the "dud" seeds.. maybe this could save some of those.

This is a Valid Idea, I heard about it randomly from a friend who didn't know I was germinating seeds, and I tried it on the one that hadn't cracked after about 5 days. I actually used a razor because I dont think of my fingernails as presice tools, but it worked, the seed was ready to go but just couldn't break the shell. All it too was an incision along one edge from tip to tail.

That scuffing method sounds interesting. I can't see it hurting, like If you just scuffed some up because the seeds looked like they had tough shells. It might even help germ faster, because water will penetrate the scuffed shell faster and more effeciently than a regular shell. What a great idea! i might try this out. I Have great germ rates, less than one out of 20 doesn't make it, so im 95%+ usually. Anyway thanks for the idea!

Some seeds have thick shells that need to be scarified a safer way is to rub them lightly on some fine sandpaper. Some plant seeds like okra just wont sprout without you doing this.

NewGrowth said:

scarified

Click to expand...

there we go, thats the correct term for it. I couldnt remember...

well i guess that sums it up boys, thanks alot.

I guess i just wanted to get the word out about giving up on ones that dont germinate.. should be on the list of tips for ppl when buying seeds and such. i couldof had 15+ extra plants over my time atleast, just because i wasnt informed, and that couldof bin the best breed ever, who knows.

Anyways, word up to those who scarify. thanks again

This is a great thread... Ive never had germinating problems before, but im facing it now... maybe due to where i am now (on the equator) during the monsoon and trying to germ sativa at this low temp (24C, thats like freezing here)... Gonna give em sativas a crack... by the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR