Tired of germination failure... need some advice on method

I have had no success germinating a small batch of seeds for the second time. I want this time to be different. I've used the paper towel method, sealed up in a Ziploc bag on top of the cable box and had one or two crack open and a bit of the white node pokes out, but then they stall. I also tried some in a cheap greenhouse(Taco Bell-type sealed nacho container) and place behind the tv for warmth. I always try to keep everything covered and in the dark as much as I can and use RO water.

One time it looked like a I had one where the root had begun to push out of the shell enough that I could place it in the Aerogarden grow pod medium and let it get to work but it stalled too. I wanted to get it nuzzled into place in the pod while the root wasn't completely out and fragile.

Is there a method anyone uses or can think of that is considered to have the most success rate? I/m new to growing and have never used any of these methods, but I'm wondering if I should use something like a Jiffy pellet, Rapid Rooter, or Rockwool to germinate and then if they sprout, trim off some of the medium material around the root and simply wedge it on top of the Aerogarden grow sponge to continue growing down through. to the water. Does this sound like a do-able way to go about it? Is the Aerogarden grow sponge just as good as using Rockwool or rooting pellets and do people seems to have good success by just setting the Aerogarden up as it's intended and germinating in the stock pods? I always here that the mj seeds like dark and warmth to start, so with the water being cool in the Aerogarden, wouldn't it be hard to create a warm, humid environment?

After early successes using the paper towel method I started having failures like you describe, I discovered it was down to the quality of seed I had, Ones from Attitude worked perfectly, ones from Everyonedoesit all failed. Maybe you have some that have been stored badly.

I did realize several seeds where probably not good candidates, but It's just hard to believe I couldn't get at least one out of 10-12 seeds to pop properly.

First thing that comes to mind is you may have cooked them. I'm in a hot climate and temperature control has been an issue for me, hot temps will stop plant growth.
What I have done in the past is the ziploc with a paper towel. Spray the paper towel so its damp but not soaked, put the seeds in and sealed it up. Used tap water that was left out to gas off the chlorine and PHed it to 5.9. I always just toss the bag in a drawer with ambient temps at 75f-80f and forget about it for 3-5 days. At this point the shells have normally opened and have one root reaching out. You can root them when you see this but I'll make sure the towel is still damp and put them back in the drawer for another 2-3 days. Now there should be some nice looking roots starting to reach, cut out the patch its starting to root to (don't try to separate from the paper as this may damage the roots) and put it in your soil medium. From here I've put them in MG soil, rapid rooters and hydroton. All indoors under cfls with temps around 75-80f and humidity running 40-55%. So far I've done about 20 this way without a single fail. Seeds were all random bag seeds, nothing special.

Thegoodeye: On page 112 of June 2011's issue of, "HIGH TIMES," there's an excellent article called, "Propagation & Germination," written by Gregg Green. He goes over just about every imaginable way to plant seeds. The only thing I would add is: to plant them where you intend to grow them. If you do you'll stand a lot less chance of damaging the tap root when you go to transplant it. HSA

I put 3 seeds straight into the aerogarden grow sponge and 2 germinated. 3 seed looked a bit shady anyway. Gonna keep doing it unless i hit a problem.

paper towel method sounds easy and effective. I think I'll try that. I'm going to get 3 seeds next spring from Attitude, and when they germinate I'm going to go plant them. I hope they like the soil.....any suggestions on what kinds of soil aren't good for cannabis plants?

In germ'd 20 big bangs in my dresser for 3 days. I try to make sure the root is between .25 to an half inch long. This way the seed stickz out of the dirt. And the light will do its job asap!

OutlawR6 said:

First thing that comes to mind is you may have cooked them. I'm in a hot climate and temperature control has been an issue for me, hot temps will stop plant growth.
What I have done in the past is the ziploc with a paper towel. Spray the paper towel so its damp but not soaked, put the seeds in and sealed it up. Used tap water that was left out to gas off the chlorine and PHed it to 5.9. I always just toss the bag in a drawer with ambient temps at 75f-80f and forget about it for 3-5 days. At this point the shells have normally opened and have one root reaching out. You can root them when you see this but I'll make sure the towel is still damp and put them back in the drawer for another 2-3 days. Now there should be some nice looking roots starting to reach, cut out the patch its starting to root to (don't try to separate from the paper as this may damage the roots) and put it in your soil medium. From here I've put them in MG soil, rapid rooters and hydroton. All indoors under cfls with temps around 75-80f and humidity running 40-55%. So far I've done about 20 this way without a single fail. Seeds were all random bag seeds, nothing special.

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I finally have had success and I am now 4 days into transplanting seedlings into the Aerogarden. They are growing nicely so far. The problem indeed was cooking the seeds. The cable box was too hot and putting things behind the big screen tv heat, but not the proper kind of heat - ambient heat radiating from underneath the paper towels. The solution: place paper towel inside a humidity dome(in this case, a single scoop sundae container that you get at any Sonic, Dairy Queen, McDonald's, etc) and place on top of the hot water heater. I tried out five seeds and four germinated lovely. 80% success rate when before, I would try 6-7 seeds and never get any to properly extend a tap root.