A couple of years ago I had tried to grow (without any equipment) and I remember that when I germinated seeds back then sometimes the plant literally got out of the seed while it was still in the germinating pan in the wet paper towel. However, when I tried lately (now more confident having the appropriate equipment for when i have actual plants) the best i was getting was just a tiny white sprout out of the seed and whenever i sowed seeds in that state they literally NEVER survived. Please help! What is the absolute best way to germinate seeds properly? and do i wait till it comes out completely of its seed or is a little white sprout supposed to be enough? I also used seeding powder on them but it didnt help at all :/ PLEASE HELP
Help with germination!!
- Thread starter maltagrow
- Start date
Dc5smoker
Active Member
What I do is
Soak my seeds in ro water for about 6hrs or till they sink.
Then I get regular napkins soak them then squeeze the excess water,fold them twice, unfold once. then place seeds in napping fold back up wait 2-3 days once I see it POP I transfer it to my medium..
Always works for me...
Soak my seeds in ro water for about 6hrs or till they sink.
Then I get regular napkins soak them then squeeze the excess water,fold them twice, unfold once. then place seeds in napping fold back up wait 2-3 days once I see it POP I transfer it to my medium..
Always works for me...
Carne Seca
Well-Known Member
you should plant them when you see the little white tap root coming out of the seed. How deep are you planting them? You may be putting them too deep in the soil when they crack. You should plant them about 1/2 inch deep. Here's a link to a great thread on growing.
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/937-how-grow-marijuana.html
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/937-how-grow-marijuana.html
Beansly
RIU Bulldog
I'm not a fan of sprouting seeds in paper towels or water. Like the grower above, I soak my seeds for about 4-6 hours till they sink of I can push the to the bottom of the glass, but no matter what, don't soak them for more than 10 hours. You want to take the seeds out before the shell cracks and the taproot comes out.
After you soak them, simply place them in whatever medium you're using, making sure you place the seed in the medium with the pointy side up, dimple side down (probably the opposite way you were taught). Don't plant it any deeper than 2x the width the of the seed. Leave them in a dark warm place until they break soil. That should take 3-7 days, maybe 10 at the most. After they break soil (or the surface of whatever you're using), you can stick them under the lights.
I've had great results like this. This last time I did it I got 19/20 seeds to germinate this way. Good luck.
Use tap water, and don't pH it. Don't add anything to the water.
After you soak them, simply place them in whatever medium you're using, making sure you place the seed in the medium with the pointy side up, dimple side down (probably the opposite way you were taught). Don't plant it any deeper than 2x the width the of the seed. Leave them in a dark warm place until they break soil. That should take 3-7 days, maybe 10 at the most. After they break soil (or the surface of whatever you're using), you can stick them under the lights.
I've had great results like this. This last time I did it I got 19/20 seeds to germinate this way. Good luck.
Use tap water, and don't pH it. Don't add anything to the water.
That is exactly the kind of help I was hoping to receive Beansly. Thank you so so much. I'm going to try this right away tonight, and will get back to you in a couple of weeks. I never ever tried placing seeds that hadn't cracked yet, especially after that soaking procedure. I simply put them in damp tissue paper and checked them twice a day for a white sprout. This procedure is what you're told to do on the book called "Grow Marijuana Now" by Alicia Williamson. I guess these things differ from one person to another but I'd much rather try out a 19/20 success rate! Thanks again!
Beansly
RIU Bulldog
No problem, and thank YOU.
It's gonna be a litte anxious at first cause the first day or two after you plant them--nothing happens. Don't worry about that. Just make sure you keep the soil moist, but no soaking wet. Seeds need air to germinate, which is why the soaking/paper towel method is a little risky. Keeping the soil moist but not soaking is gonna be the most important thing you can do to help them germinate. If you have something warm you can put them on like a heat mat set to low, it helps a lot. Like, a REALLY lot lol. If you do have a heat mat, be careful with it. Watch them for the first few hours to see how fast the extra heat dries out the soil. The last thing you want to do is let the soil dry out. Make sure you lpace something bettween the heat mat and the pot, like a dish rag or something, until you get the hang of using it.
I'm telling you, the heat mat works wonders, BUT I've seen people fuck up with a heat mat and let the seeds dry out. BE CAREFUL. Good luck.
ActionHanks
Well-Known Member
I've been running into issues with my first grow with my seedlings. I've got one plant out of 8 that's survived (i killed the others by overwatering, adding too much peroxide, etc noob stuff) so far. You always plant into medium pointy side facing up? I do the opposite bc i thought the tap root was supposed to you know, be a root and face downwards, but i've actually had 3 sprouts just shoot the tap root way over the soil and never really come out of the shell, it was just a long tap and a shell case. Also, i dont mean to thread jack, but ive had the last survivor for about a week, leaves are straight up, what exactly is the cause of this? Humidity, air exchange, temps? My box is at 82, its only 2x2x3 maybe, ive got 125cfm fan, about 90 watts of cfls (actually 2 plants), i tried using humidity domes for the past 2 days to no avail. :/ new seeds on the way though
Beansly
RIU Bulldog
The idea of placing a seed pointy side up is a little controversial because 99% of us were taught exactly what you said. Place it down, cause the root grows down...
Check out this illustration;
Do what works for you, no one is holding a gun to your head saying tap root down.
Beansly
RIU Bulldog
Yeah Idk if I agree with the reasoning in the picture, but it really does work better that way. When you plant them like that you don't have to worry as mucha bout seeds popping up with the shell still on. Because of the physics resulting from placing the seed pointy side up, the soil grabs the shell as the sprout pops and holds it in place while the leaves come out. It's just easier really. For the few seconds you spend orienting the seed the right way, you save a lot of time and aggravation than if you didn't.
Hmmm I don't have a heatmat but listen... the temperature in the room they'll be in is 29 degrees celsius, do you think that's sufficient?? And one last question I have for you mate is - i have this rooting powder that says it's to be used for cuttings however...do i use it or not? Coz i wasnt getting any success at all using this powder but obviously i wasn't blaming the powder. What do you think?
Ok...so after considering everything and everybody's opinion i have 8 seeds in pots in the dark after having been soaked for 6 hours, and a few more that had been soaked as well that are 5 feet away from a 400W MH bulb. Also I have 6 more seeds in a humidity retaining container inside damp paper towels in the dark. The ones in the container have been started today. the others that are in pots i started them on the 17th...just two days ago. PRAY FOR ME GUYS!!! My biggest problem is definitely the temperature at this point in time. I now managed to get it down to 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees) during the day and at night goes down to approx 23 degrees Celsius (73.4 degrees fahrenheit). do you think i'll manage to get a few plants growing? or this is gonna be another waste of struggle and time? 
Gets tiring, especially when you know you've done everything right and you still dont see any friggin soil breaks...
Gets tiring, especially when you know you've done everything right and you still dont see any friggin soil breaks...
Beansly
RIU Bulldog
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!Ok...so after considering everything and everybody's opinion i have 8 seeds in pots in the dark after having been soaked for 6 hours, and a few more that had been soaked as well that are 5 feet away from a 400W MH bulb. Also I have 6 more seeds in a humidity retaining container inside damp paper towels in the dark. The ones in the container have been started today. the others that are in pots i started them on the 17th...just two days ago. PRAY FOR ME GUYS!!! My biggest problem is definitely the temperature at this point in time. I now managed to get it down to 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees) during the day and at night goes down to approx 23 degrees Celsius (73.4 degrees fahrenheit). do you think i'll manage to get a few plants growing? or this is gonna be another waste of struggle and time?
I'm looking forward to hearing your results.
Guess what...i got 2/4 successful seedlings using the system of soaking them for 6 hours and potting them in the dark right away. However something really weird was that 1 of the seedlings was immediately 1.5 inches tall upon the very moment it broke the soil. the other one was normal and now (2 days after breaking soil) it seems to have a much stronger (although shorter) stem. But a very interesting fact for you all that were helping out, my 2 successful seedlings both reacted very very well to being put under my 400W mh bulb at about 4.5 - 5 feet distance. I just cant wait to know whether at least one is female!!!!! I had a whole bunch of other seeds waiting to germinate but they are what a friend of mine collected from what he consumed so im very unsure of their quality, but im giving them some time. i will keep posting to keep you updated and tomorrow i will post pictures of my two little ones 
Beansly
RIU Bulldog
Glad to hear it man.Guess what...i got 2/4 successful seedlings using the system of soaking them for 6 hours and potting them in the dark right away. However something really weird was that 1 of the seedlings was immediately 1.5 inches tall upon the very moment it broke the soil. the other one was normal and now (2 days after breaking soil) it seems to have a much stronger (although shorter) stem. But a very interesting fact for you all that were helping out, my 2 successful seedlings both reacted very very well to being put under my 400W mh bulb at about 4.5 - 5 feet distance. I just cant wait to know whether at least one is female!!!!! I had a whole bunch of other seeds waiting to germinate but they are what a friend of mine collected from what he consumed so im very unsure of their quality, but im giving them some time. i will keep posting to keep you updated and tomorrow i will post pictures of my two little ones
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That's my bad about the root coming out where the plant should've been. Sometimes when you plant them pointy side up, they grow upside down like that. Normally yyou just dig it out and flip them around and they grow, but they're stunted for life.
aquashift
Active Member
Start with healthy seeds, first of all.. The best way to tell is to drop it in a glass of filtered water, and wait 12 hours. Stir the water if the seed is still on the surface of the water. It should sink to the bottom. If it stays afloat, it is not a very good seed... It may still grow, but you want a seed that sinks after 12 hours. Do not leave your seed in the water more than 12 hours. Take it out and plant it in your soil if it has a tap root. If there is no tap root, or if the tap root is very small (half a centimeter or so), place it inbetween two wet paper towels for another 12 hours, then plant.
This is the best way I know of to germinate pot, because it tells you how viable the seed is, and also cracks the seed open and engorges the seed with water so that gernmination time is greatly reduced.
Cheers.