Trouble with germinating

So I have a packet of seeds (bush seeds I believe).
I have tried very effortlessly to grow just one plant indoor for quite some time now, always been an uphill struggle and alas have lost 3 babies.

I decided to fork out for some decent gear (instead of a cardboard box and a CFL globe).
I have the set up ready to go and am having some issue germinating seeds from the same batch.

In the past i have put 2 or 3 to sprout in a sponge or paper towel and there has generally been at least 1 or 2.
I have now tried again with 7 seeds in paper towel (has been going for about 1 week now) dark and dry conditions (except for the paper of course)
I also have another 6 seeds in shot glasses with water, 5 of which have sunk. (They have been in for 36 hours)

Yet I have no sprouts on any of them. It is relatively cold (possibly 10 degrees?) can anyone advise?

Thanks a lot!
This is my first full on grow and I am super excited.

temp is to low 50f is way to low

You have seran wrap over the damp paper towel, yes? Also, temps can kill seeds; I think that's what I've been battling the last 2 weeks as winter begins to suck the fun out of my life. Some seeds need a lot of baby-ing in the first 3 weeks.

What's the best way to get some heat going? Should i turn on my MH light on? (currently set to 16/8 cycle) and cover everything with a blanket to stop direct light?

Put them somewhere warm!

I had the lid on the small container with 1 corner slightly lifted. But took it off as I had no progress

Sadly my house is reasonably cold at the moment (it's quite large and I refuse to pay for heaters)

they need to be put somewhere warm
by a hot water heater
refrigerator
or put under a cfl light in a enclosed area

Wet paper towel
Ziplock bag
Dark, warm place
Wait 2-4 days, then take a look.

MH would work if it warms the room up enough

...yeah, i used to do all that extra stuff when germinating seeds but now i just sow my beans in 9oz cups filled with coco, note the second cup taped above, that's a temporary 'humidity' dome that is removed as soon as the seed emerges.



...and here they are without the hats.



...as for keeping them warm, a simple milk crate flipped upside down with a light inside it will do, that light underneath will generate all the warmth you need.



...pictures are worth a thousand words, lol.

peace, bozo

Just made a few quick changes and moved a few things around.
Will this help at all? Just wondering if they need to be covered? - No the light is not directly on the ground.

Well thank you for the help.
I would assume the problem is the temperature.

If I have no results soon ill start up the MH light.

Just a quick query, I am going on to do a DWC setup, is it a good idea to seat the seedlings in rockwool and then into something like perlite? Or can they co straight into perlite?

I put seeds in a wet paper towel in a sandwich baggie on top of 25 sheets of paper on top of my router.
I just had 4 out of 4 seeds pop and they were 5 years old.

xLitton said:

Well thank you for the help.
I would assume the problem is the temperature.

If I have no results soon ill start up the MH light.

Just a quick query, I am going on to do a DWC setup, is it a good idea to seat the seedlings in rockwool and then into something like perlite? Or can they co straight into perlite?

Click to expand...

...first off, as a beginner i'd suggest you start trying to pop free bagseeds until you can be reasonably certain you can get them to sprout and survive long enough to make it to whatever system you set up. ...the best way to learn how to pop beans is to pop beans, there is no better teacher than experience.

...second, again, as a new grower i'd strongly suggest you rethink your plan to go DWC which has a much steeper learning curve than just popping some beans, ...i suggest this because you obviously haven't done enough research into the technique to even know that perlite is not the medium of choice for DWC, hydroton or grorocks would be what you'd need, the perlite would just wash through the net pots and run down into your buckets and create a mess for you to deal with.

...i mean no disrespect when i tell you this but i see you going down a path with insufficient information and that will set you up for failure and you still have time to either do more research into DWC so maybe you'll be able to anticipate some of the pitfalls that might could arise OR you could look into a style of growing that is more forgiving until such time as you learn the basics.

...my suggestion would be coco hempy buckets which are a passive form of hydroponics that has been adapted from ancient Roman technology and i suggest it because it will give you DWC like results but in a very simple system that is braindead easy to setup and maintain and that will give you the time to learn about the plant a little.

believe me, when you are first starting out, simple is good! ...the more complicated your operation is the more possible problems there are that could arise and when you are new it can be VERY difficult to nail down just which of those complications is the one that's causing your problem.

peace, bozo

I had the same problem popping a back of Female Seed's beans, tiny little buggers.
1 for 4, 50$ pack for 1 seedling. But sometimes its just playing the odds.
Tbh, you got to get your method down to increase your germ rates.
And even then, a bad bean is a bad bean.
Temp, O2, Moisture, and Time are what you need to focus on.
Dial in the ones you can, and have plenty of bagseed to practice with.

justanotherbozo said:

. coco hempy buckets

Click to expand...

Are you referring to bubblers? or just pots with coco hemp?
I have done a decent amount of research, I got perlite as its the most readily accessible where I am, I will be cycling the perlite in the DWC setup to ensure any loose or residual dust is drained.
I have read plenty about the systems and the way they work. I want to give DWC a shot as the setup I have and conditions most suit it.

The main issue I have been having is the germination stage as I haven't had issues with this in the past.

xLitton said:

Are you referring to bubblers? or just pots with coco hemp?
I have done a decent amount of research, I got perlite as its the most readily accessible where I am, I will be cycling the perlite in the DWC setup to ensure any loose or residual dust is drained.
I have read plenty about the systems and the way they work. I want to give DWC a shot as the setup I have and conditions most suit it.

The main issue I have been having is the germination stage as I haven't had issues with this in the past.

Click to expand...

...here's a link to the main inhouse hempy thread where you can learn about this simple passive hydroponic method and for real, they produce results similar to DWC but without most of the drama, WAY easier to run and maintain.

World Of Hempy


...if you take the time to go through this thread, and then if you further explore into some of the threads of some of the posters in this thread then i think you will be impressed.

...here's a look into my little 600watt 4 x 4 space...



...and some of the hempy-bucket buds i've grown in that space.







...and here is my bubble cloner that has been retired now these last 4 or 5 years.





...and a crappy look at a couple of my 7gallon DWCs that have ALSO been retired for years, ...at that time i was running a high-density micro-SOG with 4 of those DWCs, each under it's own CFL lightbar with 8 plantlets per DWC and where i was pulling one bin every 2 weeks and averaging approx. 4 zipz per bin.





...so no, i'm not referring to bubblers which are what DWCs were once commonly known as, now mostly it means a bubble cloner or a glass water pipe.

...and i don't mean just pots filled with coco either, what i'm referring to is a passive hydroponic growing method where you have a mini reservoir below a growing medium and the reason it's called a 'hempy' bucket is because the guy who first introduced the technique to the canna community back in the day used 'hempy' as his username, plus, while any watertight container can be used for a hempy, the most commonly used pot is a 2 gallon 'bucket', hence the name 'hempy bucket'.

...in any event it is technology that has been adapted from ancient Roman technology and it WORKS, and it does so without the need for ANY pumps that might fail, nor any need for res chillers or any of the drama of constant cleanup and res change outs and all the other bullshit that goes with active hydro.

...and that's not to say you can't kill it with active hydro 'cause you can, ...what i'm saying is you can also kill it in a much more relaxed way that is also safe from catastrophic failure in the unlikely event of equipment failure or a power outage, ...DWCs need that oxy in the res or the plants will die in a matter of hours, ...hempy's on the other hand would survive days with no power, hell, maybe even weeks.

...in the beginning simple is good bro, ...and there is something to be said for failsafe as well.

good luck in whatever you decide, bozo

Assuming you are growing in dirt........Put the mother @#^@#ing seed in the DIRT and water.


I used to love germinating between paper and such (decades ago).. drop the fuckers in soil and water and they will grow.. I don't care what temp you are as long as you are at least maintaining mid 50's...

If you do this, just give it time.. maybe even two weeks.. they will almost ALWAYS sprout..

This is just one guy's thoughts.. why make it harder than it need be? A seed in soil can withstand temps far lower than paper towel or water by default.. work with that..

I just germed four and all popped within 36 hrs. Wet paper towel in tupperware. Seal the tupperware except one corner. Placed on top of of a folded tee shirt on top of warming mat (for cloning). Popped them in solo cups yesterday and two are already above soil