The Germination Station

ok ive been germinating 3 seeds of some unknown purple bud for about 8 days now... and they have been cracked since about day 3 or maybe even the night of day 2, anyways, the root tip is just barely out and i was wondering if i should plant it now or wait til they shed there seed casing.. i germinated 3 other seeds of the same strain and they were much farther along at this point last time. it seems like when i plant with the seed casing still attached i have no success.. i was just needing some feedback on this.. can you drown your seeds using the plate/ paper towel method? or do i just need to remain patient, please send along any germination knowledge you know because for some reason this is my only stage i have problems with. thanks

I didn;'t even know they could shed their casing! I wait till the white shoot is about 1/8" then plant it shoot down into dirt...yadayada...but waiting until they shed their seed? why wait that long?

everytime i have waited i have had a 100% success rate.. otherwise they never sprout for some reason??? i dont get it

are you using the hydrofarm germination station?

no paper towel method with plate and bowl over top

I have had the same problem. The seeds will crack and show root and then nothing. I had one that had 1/2" root and still did not shed its seed casing. When i tried to remove it the hole head snapped off. Talk about a bummer. I think part of my problem is that i have been soaking my seeds too long. I have been soaking them until they crack and show root which is about 24-48 hrs. I have been using this method WWW.GREENHOUSESEEDS.NL - Green House Seed Co. Amsterdam Since 1985. I noticed that they say to only soak them for 12 hrs and then transfer them to paper towel. I am going to try soaking them for 12hrs and see if that changes things. I think by soaking them too long i may be damaging the roots. You can also try this stuff Seed Germination Tips and Techniques - Seed Germination Products..

do you plant them after the 24-48 after they crack or just transfer them to the towel? if to the towel how long have you waited until you noticed more progress?

I would soak them for 12 hrs . After that i transfer them to a damp wash rag and put it in a plastic bag. Then i lay it in my seed starting tray with a seed heating mat under it and i put the dome on. Be sure to put it in a dark place. I check them every day after that.

im just debating on whether i need to plant them now that they have cracked since they havent progressed at all.. im thinkin they need the nutrients in the soil to shed the seed casing the rest the way to grow up and sprout

If they are showing a 1/4" of a root then take them out of the paper towel and plant them.

this is a first for me. just plant them when that white root first makes an appearance. You run the risk of killing it by trying to remove it from the seed casing. the casing will fall off eventually, it doesn't hurt anything. 1/8" of white root shoot plant it down into the container so your seed is up, that't it. I've lost 3 seeds out of 35 this way!

i dont manually remove the casing.. i let it do it itself before planting.