Seed Germination strategy 2024

808Med

808Med

Active Member
I have to mention that the Exotic Genetix brand/breeder had the best looking seeds!

(Exotic Genetics Prime Time) seeds were fat/round and they all 6 Cracked and Breached fast with Spring Water!

Gotta keep trying EG seeds I vaped Gouda Berry and it was really really impressive!
 
emepher

emepher

Well-Known Member
Tap water, Rapid Rooter or Root Riot. That's it, couldn't be easier or more reliable.

I had some issues with rockwool, might have been too wet, IDK. Sowing directly in coco, peat, soil, whatever, works fine most of the time. Paper towels work, just make sure they aren't sopping wet. All methods work or no one would use them. I prefer Rapid Rooters but use whatever you want, the seeds just want moisture without being drowned, and darkness, they don't care otherwise. I've mostly used Greenpoint sees lately but have used others, including bag seeds, and never had a problem with germ rates as long as they were mature seeds and I didn't drown them.
 
tlarosa

tlarosa

Active Member
Soak overnite in tap water. Then in wet paper towel wrung out in zip loc on top of water heater. 1-2 days.

But truth be told best plant I have this year is one I just stuck in a red solo cup with dirt/coco/perlite mix. Filled with water and drained. popped up an a couple days and took off. Granted it was skunkx mixed bag seed. :lol:
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
if germinating in a paper towel placed into a Ziplock, I make sure I spray about 5 squirts inside and also that the Ziplock is puffy when you seal it for plenty of air. I do get the towel quite wet.
I put mine on top of my tent under an old boot box.
 
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ancientpush

Member
Noobs here trying to germinate. This is all I get. I soaked the seed overnight and put the seed in wet towel. Nothing happened for the next days. On the fourth day the seed show signs of life. 7 days later from the day the seed is germinate is still remain the same in appearance.

What did I do wrong? Is the seed or just me? Help please....
 

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GreenGenez421

Well-Known Member
Winter is the only time I'll use a heat mat. But root riot cubes all the way. Sometimes I soak, most times I don't, just depends on the seed I guess. I do like to add 1-2 drops of lactobacillus serum to the RO water I'll hydrate my cubes with. I think alot of folks overthink germination and that's where mistakes are made. Mother nature doesn't do any of these wild techniques and has been popping beans since the beginning of time.

In all my years I think the most successful germination comes from plants that were grown organically. They'll contain certain microbes that the mother plant hosted during her life cycle.
 
MickFoster

MickFoster

Well-Known Member
ancientpush said:
Noobs here trying to germinate. This is all I get. I soaked the seed overnight and put the seed in wet towel. Nothing happened for the next days. On the fourth day the seed show signs of life. 7 days later from the day the seed is germinate is still remain the same in appearance.

What did I do wrong? Is the seed or just me? Help please....
Click to expand...
You drowned the seed. Just plant it like nature intended........it's that simple.
 
DCcan

DCcan

Well-Known Member
ancientpush said:
Noobs here trying to germinate. This is all I get. I soaked the seed overnight and put the seed in wet towel. Nothing happened for the next days. On the fourth day the seed show signs of life. 7 days later from the day the seed is germinate is still remain the same in appearance.

What did I do wrong? Is the seed or just me? Help please....
Click to expand...
Yea, that paper towel is too wet, it's not damp.
Plant them as soon as they crack, don't let the tap root to wander around while other seeds still germinate.
I just find it easier to use RootRiot plugs (or not) in a small 3"x3"planter, less handling involved and higher germ rate.
Helps keep the plugs moist without babysitting.

IMG_1140.JPG
 
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MissinThe90’sStrains

MissinThe90’sStrains

Well-Known Member
Keep em warm and moist, but not saturated, and give them access to some oxygen, and they’ll grow. Everyone here has a slightly different method, but the successful ones all incorporate the same basic principles. Personally, I like the paper towel method, because I like to label my plants in order of vigor at transplant time. The one with the earliest/longest tap root is #1, and then #2 and so on, down to the least vigorous. Sometimes this matters in terms of pheno later on, so I track it early.
 
laddyd

laddyd

Well-Known Member
Try float tech. I've been getting pretty much 100% germination since I started doing it this way. That is the method that NASC recommends on their site.
 
MickFoster

MickFoster

Well-Known Member
Not sure why people make germination so complicated with seed germination strategies?
There has to be hundreds of threads on this forum with people having paper towel germination problems.
I never understood the soaking, the paper towel, heat mats, and domes........ :wall:
I just plant them and within 3-4 days they sprout.
I can't remember the last time one didn't sprout.........it's been years.
 
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FKH

Member
MickFoster said:
I think most people make planting a seed way too complicated.......heat mats, domes, special kits, paper towels, glasses of water.
I use rapid rooters and have been for decades. I can't remember the last time a seed didn't sprout.
Soak the rooter in tap water.
Squeeze out the excess.
Stick the seed in the hole and put it in a drawer.......3-4 days later you got sprouts.
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Really? No lights? Hm....

I do the the same as you. Rapid Rooters but keep the seeds under lights for 6-8 hours. Increasing light to ten hours after sign of true leaves.
 
MickFoster

MickFoster

Well-Known Member
FKH said:
Really? No lights? Hm....

I do the the same as you. Rapid Rooters but keep the seeds under lights for 6-8 hours. Increasing light to ten hours after sign of true leaves.
Click to expand...
Unless you're using lights for heat........there's no point until the seed actually sprouts. I stick them in a drawer.
 
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MtRainDog

MtRainDog

Well-Known Member
There's plenty of people germinating in paper towels without issue. It's probably the most popular method.

If you're germinating a bunch of seeds at once, the paper towel is nice because you can catch any duds before bothering to plant. Not that that is some huge advantage, but it's part of the reason I do it. That and it's always worker very well for me, so why fix something that aint broke?

Don't use humidity domes on seeds though. I've seen lots of people get wilt-offs or attacked by fungus under domes. Domes are for clones, not seeds.
 
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FKH

Member
MtRainDog said:
Don't use humidity domes on seeds though. I've seen lots of people get wilt-offs or attacked by fungus under domes. Domes are for clones, not seeds
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Hm... Good point. Thanks for this. I used a dome to keep the environment 'stable'.
Hm...


MickFoster said:
I was walking through the forest the other day and there were paper towels and water glasses laying around everywhere.
Click to expand...
Good point...

It's my (probably wrong) understanding that things are done this way (when germinating indoors) to keep the environment stable and get the most seeds we can to germinate without threat of mold, disease, etc,...


Wow... You guys are making me rethink things. Thanks!
 
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GreenGenez421

Well-Known Member
I remember reading somewhere in years past that 660nm can have a positive effect in germination. But that could just be bro science, seeds can see any spectral wavelength. However, when the cots are open, now I believe that chlorophyll A+B peaks are important for developing root and tissues.
 
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