germinating seeds

A

amsterdamned

Well-Known Member
just wondered how people germinate there seeds... just bought a bunch to find a good couple of mothers for keeping so fire away and tell me the best way to germinate them please

thanks in advance :)
 
Carne Seca

Carne Seca

Well-Known Member
amsterdamned said:
just wondered how people germinate there seeds... just bought a bunch to find a good couple of mothers for keeping so fire away and tell me the best way to germinate them please

thanks in advance :)
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I put mine in a shot glass with water that is ph'd between 5.8 and 6.0 and let them soak for 24 hours. Then I place them in a moistened paper towel in a plastic container that has a domed lid. I set it up on the top shelf of my closet next to the heater until they pop. Then I place them in party cups. I've had great results.
 
DunLarkin

DunLarkin

Well-Known Member
I put mine in a moist folded up paper towel place that inside a baggie then put in the dark where temps are around 80 degrees f. Last germination success rate was 100% using this method.
 
edsthreads

edsthreads

Well-Known Member
The water in a glass method is pretty much fool proof.. I used to do the wet paper towel method but that can dry out if you're too baked & forget to check. I use the water straight from my tap, I don't bother pH'ing it..
 
Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
I haven't used the "paper towel" method since my very first grows and I wouldn't recommend it now for germinating fresh, healthy seeds.

Due to the delicacy of the emerging seedling and it's rootlet especially, I feel it is much better to start seeds directly in a well-draining soil-less medium like Black Gold seedling mix or Sunshine Advanced #4 (#4 is preferable), Light Warrior, or even rapid rooters. A true soil (like Ocean Forest) can also be used for germinating seeds, and that is what some people reach for successfully but I much prefer starting with a sterile or selectively inoculated mix which is very light on fertilizer like those I previously mentioned.

If you let the rootlet emerge within a paper towel, chances are it will become partially fused with it (after all, it really wants to establish its root system so it can grow vigorously) and you could do some damage by separating and handling it, even if you can't really notice the damage. If this ever happens to you just try to cut the rootlet out of the surrounding tissue with a blade or scissors and be very gentle.

That alone is reason enough for me to dismiss the paper towel method, but there are others. Ultimately I find it much more convenient, for both myself and the seedling, to plant directly into a quality medium. You can help the seedling by planting it in the correct orientation: the rootlet emerges from the more pointed end of the seed (as opposed to the 'butthole' of the seed, where you can see that sort of circular seam) so it is the pointed end you want to push down into the medium. Sprinkle some more soil on top, water thoroughly and have a little patience. The seedling will emerge and the root system can go to work immediately taking in water and nutrients, establishing itself, and forming early symbiotic relationships with beneficial microbes (mycorrhizae, et al) if they are present. Both the Sunshine Advanced Mix #4 and Fox Farm Light Warrior are inoculated with various beneficial bacteria species and mycorrhizae.

Fresh seeds shouldn't have to be soaked in water for any amount of time, or germinated in between paper towels. I see no benefit in either of these methods, except for with seeds that are several years old as the embryo within the seed will begin to dry out after some time. Otherwise the excess moisture could be doing more harm than good and lend itself to early fungal infections such as damping off.
 
kevin

kevin

Well-Known Member
this is the way i do it too. but with enough experimenting you'll find what works best for you.

Nullis said:
I haven't used the "paper towel" method since my very first grows and I wouldn't recommend it now for germinating fresh, healthy seeds.

Due to the delicacy of the emerging seedling and it's rootlet especially, I feel it is much better to start seeds directly in a well-draining soil-less medium like Black Gold seedling mix or Sunshine Advanced #4 (#4 is preferable), Light Warrior, or even rapid rooters. A true soil (like Ocean Forest) can also be used for germinating seeds, and that is what some people reach for successfully but I much prefer starting with a sterile or selectively inoculated mix which is very light on fertilizer like those I previously mentioned.

If you let the rootlet emerge within a paper towel, chances are it will become partially fused with it (after all, it really wants to establish its root system so it can grow vigorously) and you could do some damage by separating and handling it, even if you can't really notice the damage. If this ever happens to you just try to cut the rootlet out of the surrounding tissue with a blade or scissors and be very gentle.

That alone is reason enough for me to dismiss the paper towel method, but there are others. Ultimately I find it much more convenient, for both myself and the seedling, to plant directly into a quality medium. You can help the seedling by planting it in the correct orientation: the rootlet emerges from the more pointed end of the seed (as opposed to the 'butthole' of the seed, where you can see that sort of circular seam) so it is the pointed end you want to push down into the medium. Sprinkle some more soil on top, water thoroughly and have a little patience. The seedling will emerge and the root system can go to work immediately taking in water and nutrients, establishing itself, and forming early symbiotic relationships with beneficial microbes (mycorrhizae, et al) if they are present. Both the Sunshine Advanced Mix #4 and Fox Farm Light Warrior are inoculated with various beneficial bacteria species and mycorrhizae.

Fresh seeds shouldn't have to be soaked in water for any amount of time, or germinated in between paper towels. I see no benefit in either of these methods, except for with seeds that are several years old as the embryo within the seed will begin to dry out after some time. Otherwise the excess moisture could be doing more harm than good and lend itself to early fungal infections such as damping off.
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Carne Seca

Carne Seca

Well-Known Member
Well, apparently Jorge Cervantes is talking out his ass because he uses the shot glass and paper towel method. *LOL* So far I've had a 100% germination rate since I started soaking them.
 
The Knuck

The Knuck

Active Member
I just did 16 last saturday and all 16 poped as usual.

24 hrs in water.

18-24 hrs in paper towel,

all 16 grew tap roots and all 16 are poped and are above ground as we speak.

these were my seeds i made in september so to see 16/16 is really good. IMO
with so many having success with paper towel metheod, its hard to argue with it.
 
Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
I certainly wouldn't be surprised if Jorge Cervantes was, indeed, talking out the ass. Don't know too much about him honestly but I do hear that he is full of shit quite frequently.

I try not to put too much faith in the things I hear from people like him, especially. Others such as Ed Rosenthal and 'the Rev' I'll lend a tad more credence, but I certainly don't hang on their every word and I sometimes feel that I know/realize something that they don't. But then, there are instances that I've read of particular bits of gardening advice and totally disregarded it only to find myself changing my perspective and coming to accept it later.

A true botanist/horticulturist/master gardener with an actual plant biology/physiology degree I would probably be much more perceptive of. I'll read Skunk magazine just to see what other peoples methods are and maybe get some ideas or learn something new, but for that knowledge to come to fruition really still depends on application and experience.

I [try to] respect High Times, but they suck in my humblest of opinions.

The Knuck said:
with so many having success with paper towel metheod, its hard to argue with it.
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Funny..I've found it quite easy to 'argue with' or at least change from those first times I used that method. There is nothing special about a paper towel that causes seeds to pop. If they broke open in a paper towel, they'd have done so in the medium that they would end up in anyways- immediately able to establish. That's all I am saying.
 
5tealthman

5tealthman

Member
im germinating mine tomorrow. only have two so they need to work. although they are quality seeds so im not worried too much. surely its better planting them straight away as theres no fiddling around and thats the way they would grow naturally!
 
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