Germinating

MickFoster said:

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Soak RR in a weak bloom solution, pH'd to 6.0. - squeeze out excess - place seed in hole - tear off a small piece of RR to cover hole - put in a drawer. Foolproof.

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I just bought some of these to try!

SchmoeJoe said:

I've never heard of anyone but pot growers messing around with presoaks or paper towels. Use a soil mix that has good balanced drainage and moisture retention and put them straight in it. The only exception for me is with old seeds where I don't want fill a horde of pots with seeds that aren't going to germinate in the first place.

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I tried this, two different rounds. Once as soon as the seeds cracked and the second time I waited until the tap root popped out. I don’t think the soil I have is properly distributing water

MnM95 said:

I tried this, two different rounds. Once as soon as the seeds cracked and the second time I waited until the tap root popped out. I don’t think the soil I have is properly distributing water

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The main thing is that the soil has plenty of air. As long as you water it in thoroughly it won't be too dry. The only exception is if the top of the soil dries out too much. Other than that the biggest issue is usually overwatering. On the other hand, when people start seeds by germinating them immerged water they're drowning the second the root comes out.

SchmoeJoe said:

The main thing is that the soil has plenty of air. As long as you water it in thoroughly it won't be too dry. The only exception is if the top of the soil dries out too much. Other than that the biggest issue is usually overwatering. On the other hand, when people start seeds by germinating them immerged water they're drowning the second the root comes out.

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This can be tough for some to mange the moisture, I find a sprayer handy. Also, a number of seeds require things like presoaking, rosmary is one, and grapes require a cool period (some suggest cannibis can benifit from this and many store seeds refrigerated). I dont think seeds drown immediately in water either, but I wouldnt use that method because its much easier using a paper towel to manage moisture and handle the seed for planting.

SSGrower said:

This can be tough for some to mange the moisture, I find a sprayer handy. Also, a number of seeds require things like presoaking, rosmary is one, and grapes require a cool period (some suggest cannibis can benifit from this and many store seeds refrigerated). I dont think seeds drown immediately in water either, but I wouldnt use that method because its much easier using a paper towel to manage moisture and handle the seed for planting.

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Stratification and inducing a false winter can be beneficial but aren't usually necessary at all for cannabis. There are plenty of plants that have tricky needs for germination but cannabis isn't one.

I have done the presoaks for old seeds in towels and shot glasses. I've found that old seeds don't handle the full immersion very well. Of course they don't drown the moment they put out their taproot but what I said was that they they start to. If the taproot comes into water with next to no dissolved oxygen it's bad regardless of whether or not it actually drowns ( they obviously don't or no one would ever successfully start seeds that way).

I drop seeds in a shot glass with tap water over night in a dark warm place. Next day either put them in rapid rooters if I'm doing dwc or half inch below surface of coco if I'm doing coco. 99.99% success rate...pretty sure it's a bunk seed if it doesn't sprout. I've sprouted seeds that have been in storage for 7 years or better.

NrthrnMichigan said:

I drop seeds in a shot glass with tap water over night in a dark warm place. Next day either put them in rapid rooters if I'm doing dwc or half inch below surface of coco if I'm doing coco. 99.99% success rate...pretty sure it's a bunk seed if it doesn't sprout. I've sprouted seeds that have been in storage for 7 years or better.

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I've done the same but it's definitely a "reinventing the wheel" scenario.

SchmoeJoe said:

Stratification and inducing a false winter can be beneficial but aren't usually necessary at all for cannabis. There are plenty of plants that have tricky needs for germination but cannabis isn't one.

I have done the presoaks for old seeds in towels and shot glasses. I've found that old seeds don't handle the full immersion very well. Of course they don't drown the moment they put out their taproot but what I said was that they they start to. If the taproot comes into water with next to no dissolved oxygen it's bad regardless of whether or not it actually drowns ( they obviously don't or no one would ever successfully start seeds that way).

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Perfect points.

I had one that didnt crack after the usual 2-5 days in wet towel so I dropped it in a pot with one of my rosemary clones (easier than sprouting them). I have on occasion had one pop this way but after about 2 weeks or so I give up or forget to keep soil moist.

I recently had one helmet head, it's possible scoring it would have helped but I cant pick the ones that would do this before sprouting and dont think scoring/scaring all is a good option. I have seen ones that look like they'll do it in the towel so I'd take two razorblades and crack them and they sprout fine. As it is I keep dropping water droplets on this one for more than 24 hrs, eventually had to crack it, it'll survive but its a good 8 -10 days behind because of the damage I did cracking it.

I'm chucking pollen now cause paying 10 bucks a seed is stupid, so perhaps I'll worry less about germination success.

I'm chucking pollen now cause paying 10 bucks a seed is stupid, so perhaps I'll worry less about germination success.[/QUOTE]

I'm sitting on a pile of breeders packs that I don't even want to start until I can dedicate some space to seed crops.

SchmoeJoe said:

I'm chucking pollen now cause paying 10 bucks a seed is stupid, so perhaps I'll worry less about germination success.

I'm sitting on a pile of breeders packs that I don't even want to start until I can dedicate some space to seed crops.

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LOL
We all got problems. Yours is a good one to have.

InigoMontoya said:

I've always threw em in a glass of filtered water, let em sink, wait for my tap root to pop out, and then it's a little less than a quarter inch into the soil and under lights. Never had a problem unless they were already suspect seeds.

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That's how I been doing mine for years