Germination
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Mother's Finest
Well-Known Member
Of course. Imo it's easier to monitor moisture levels using the paper towel method because you can see if the root is out or if it needs to be wet a little more. You can then plant it root-down and avoid the occasional seedling growing upside down problem.
Wallmandummy
Active Member
i did it in soil but i dont know if its faster or not sorry
jcdws602
Well-Known Member
The main advantage of germinating in a cup or paper towel is that you know for a fact your seed germinated....you don't know how many times I hear people killing their seedlings because they don't know if their seed has germinated and end up killing them digging them up just to see if they popped.....
Mother's Finest
Well-Known Member
Here's one good method using a paper towel:
Use bottled and/or filtered water, which can be made into a 1/4 strength Maxicrop solution. Pour some of this liquid into a small cup (a white coffee cup works well, white so you can see seeds easier and heavy to avoid tipping) and toss in the seeds. Throughout the process, the little ones should be kept at or just above room temp. Leave them to soak in a warm, dark place for 24hrs, stirring occasionally or whenever convenient (stirring more than once or twice is not absolutely necessary but speeds up the process). After 24hrs give them one final stir and allow the mixture to settle- inviable seeds will float while live seeds will sink. Fold one single paper towel 3 times and place on a plate. Wet the paper towel with the MC solution (if unavailable use plain bottled/filtered water). Tilt the plate and allow any excess water to run off. Place your hand gently on the paper towel while the plate is tilted to squeeze out a little of the water being held by the paper towel. Never use any chemical fertilizer on seeds or sprouts. Open the last fold of the paper towel and place all live (sank to bottom of cup) seeds inside (not touching each other). Any seeds still floating may be left to soak for another 24hrs, once in awhile one or two more will sink but not often. Put the plate in a warm, dark, draft-free area. Do not allow temp to go above 85 or below 65. Should the towel start to dry out, add fresh MC solution and drain as before. The paper towel should always be moist but not soaked. Once the root starts poking out the seeds cannot be submerged in water, needing some small amount of air. After the roots poking out of the seeds are at least 1/4in but no more than 1/2in long it is time to plant them.
Prepare plastic drinking cups by poking drain holes in the bottom and filling with either seed starter soil or some other fairly inert medium, no higher than an inch from the top of the cup. Moisten the soil with the same soution used to germinate the seeds untill a handfull of soil leaches just a few drops of water when lightly squeezed. Poke a hole in the soil of each cup with a toothpick and place the stem coming out of each seed into the hole, being careful not to touch the root. Gently push the soil snug around the root. Cover the cup with a piece of plastic wrap and poke two finger sized holes in it for ventilation. Place the seedlings no closer than 7 inches to a florescent light. Once the seeds stand up and begin shedding their shell remove the plastic wrap. Wait about 24hrs then move the plants to the "normal" distance from your floros. Occasional misting will help the seedling get the last of its shell & membrane off if it needs some help.
Once the 3-bladed leaves first appear, they can be transplanted into fertile soil with Worm Castings and other amendments. They need to be transplanted by the time the first 5-bladed leaves start growing in as they'll need both nutrients and larger pots. A very good soil mix is 3 parts potting soil, 1 part perlite and 1-1.5 parts Worm Castings with some Blood, Bone and Kelp Meals added. Imo, Edna's Best is a great potting soil and Black Gold also has a good, simple mix with a nice consistency.
Use bottled and/or filtered water, which can be made into a 1/4 strength Maxicrop solution. Pour some of this liquid into a small cup (a white coffee cup works well, white so you can see seeds easier and heavy to avoid tipping) and toss in the seeds. Throughout the process, the little ones should be kept at or just above room temp. Leave them to soak in a warm, dark place for 24hrs, stirring occasionally or whenever convenient (stirring more than once or twice is not absolutely necessary but speeds up the process). After 24hrs give them one final stir and allow the mixture to settle- inviable seeds will float while live seeds will sink. Fold one single paper towel 3 times and place on a plate. Wet the paper towel with the MC solution (if unavailable use plain bottled/filtered water). Tilt the plate and allow any excess water to run off. Place your hand gently on the paper towel while the plate is tilted to squeeze out a little of the water being held by the paper towel. Never use any chemical fertilizer on seeds or sprouts. Open the last fold of the paper towel and place all live (sank to bottom of cup) seeds inside (not touching each other). Any seeds still floating may be left to soak for another 24hrs, once in awhile one or two more will sink but not often. Put the plate in a warm, dark, draft-free area. Do not allow temp to go above 85 or below 65. Should the towel start to dry out, add fresh MC solution and drain as before. The paper towel should always be moist but not soaked. Once the root starts poking out the seeds cannot be submerged in water, needing some small amount of air. After the roots poking out of the seeds are at least 1/4in but no more than 1/2in long it is time to plant them.
Prepare plastic drinking cups by poking drain holes in the bottom and filling with either seed starter soil or some other fairly inert medium, no higher than an inch from the top of the cup. Moisten the soil with the same soution used to germinate the seeds untill a handfull of soil leaches just a few drops of water when lightly squeezed. Poke a hole in the soil of each cup with a toothpick and place the stem coming out of each seed into the hole, being careful not to touch the root. Gently push the soil snug around the root. Cover the cup with a piece of plastic wrap and poke two finger sized holes in it for ventilation. Place the seedlings no closer than 7 inches to a florescent light. Once the seeds stand up and begin shedding their shell remove the plastic wrap. Wait about 24hrs then move the plants to the "normal" distance from your floros. Occasional misting will help the seedling get the last of its shell & membrane off if it needs some help.
Once the 3-bladed leaves first appear, they can be transplanted into fertile soil with Worm Castings and other amendments. They need to be transplanted by the time the first 5-bladed leaves start growing in as they'll need both nutrients and larger pots. A very good soil mix is 3 parts potting soil, 1 part perlite and 1-1.5 parts Worm Castings with some Blood, Bone and Kelp Meals added. Imo, Edna's Best is a great potting soil and Black Gold also has a good, simple mix with a nice consistency.
Japanfreak
New Member
Yes you can and it's actually less stress on the seedlingCan you germinate the seed directley in the soil? Instead of a paper towel?
Is one faster or more efficient than the other? feedback please
