Any Germination Secrets?

Hi All,

I just completed my first grow and am pleased with the outcome. One of the difficulties (there were many) I had was germination. I had seeds sitting in damp towels for 2-3 weeks with no success. Finally, instead of tossing them, I stuck them haphazzardly in some damp rockwool in my little hydro set up and WALLHA!!! Growth!!!

I tried to germ 3 skunk #1 seeds last week in damp rockwool in a small prop tray - no luck

Tonight I moved them to damp paper towels, fingers crossed

Does anyone have a fail-safe way of germinating? And is there any reason not to just place the seeds directly into the growing medium to avoid transplanting a delicate taproot?

idk i think it more depends on the seeds lol they pop up around my house alot me and a friend just found a few bag seedlings earlier today, good luck

I have always had excellent results from simply placing my seeds straight into the soil about 1/4 inch deep and lightly covered. Usually depending upon freshness of seed, I get germination rates of 90% starting in as little as 4 days. I am very particular in my seed selection, only the plumpest get planted.



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Myself and many people have had great success with just peat moss pellets. They are little peatmoss chips about 1/4 of an inch thick that soak up water and become about 1 1/2 inches thick. I find it works much better than using soil because it has no nutrients to mess with the seedling so there is no worry about early nutrient burn. It is also an excellent medium for cloning. If you wanted it in a hydro setup then peatmoss isn't a good idea to stick with because it breaks apart too easily when wet... after they break the top of the pellets you can pull the peatmoss away from the taproot very easily and maybe put into some other hydro-friendly medium.

Put them in a cup of water in a dark area with a neutral temp.Or use 6 napkins next time,and cover it with styrofoam plates 1 on top 1 on bottom.Place on top of something warm.You can also put the napkin in ziplock bag,blow it up zip it and place on top of something warm,I use my "cable box".Let the water drain out before you put it in the bag,or on a plate.

1kooguy said:

Put them in a cup of water in a dark area with a neutral temp.Or use 6 napkins next time,and cover it with styrofoam plates 1 on top 1 on bottom.Place on top of something warm.You can also put the napkin in ziplock bag,blow it up zip it and place on top of something warm,I use my "cable box".Let the water drain out before you put it in the bag,or on a plate.

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So I soaked them in water again last night and started over this morning. I put the seeds between damp paper towels, on top of a plate, with a bowl of the dinner plate, and then on top of the cable box for warmth. I put a small hygro/thermo under the bowl as well to monitor, but I'll guess it's around 75-80 F and 70-80% humidity.

What could I possibly be doing wrong? How important is water quality when germ'in seeds? Too Wet, too dry, enough air, dark enough?

Why won't my freak'in seeds sprout?!!?!??!!?!?

The water is absorbed through the shell as it softens which acts like one of those little sponge toys that grow... so soaking them too much is not possible, although the water must not be fouled.

I always plant straight into liners outside with a waxing moon .. but that's just me.


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This is how I germinate.. I take a cd case, i take a paper towel, I fold the paper towel into quarters.,I dampen paper towel. I place damp folded paper towel in cd case. I open up paper towel and place seeds inside and fold damp paper towel back up and close the cd case. I then place cd case either behind my PS3 or on top of my dvd player and I wrap the cd case in a clean t-shirt. This keeps everything nice and toasty. My seeds all pop within 24 hours usually and some take 36 hours. None have ever taken me longer than that and Ive never had one not pop. For me this works very well.

i soak mine in a glass of water in a warm place over night then pop em right into the pot ther life is gonna be lived in, always gives me great results messin with a paper towel and all that bullshit is just makin sumthin easy complicated... best proven way is to get like a peat pot or some kinda pot water it plant it cover with clear seran wrap type stuff and keep it warm

when I get stubborn seeds, I pinch the side of the seed between my fingers until it cracks. Its a gentle squeeze but definately works cuz the next morning the tap root is poking out.

Boneman said:

when I get stubborn seeds, I pinch the side of the seed between my fingers until it cracks. Its a gentle squeeze but definately works cuz the next morning the tap root is poking out.

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This is called "scarification" and is utilized with many hard cased seeds, some much harder than weed. Take a nail file next time and scrape near the tip, you'll have more control and achieve the same results..


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CrackerJax said:

This is called "scarification" and is utilized with many hard cased seeds, some much harder than weed. Take a nail file next time and scrape near the tip, you'll have more control and achieve the same results..


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Digg'in the nail file idea - Also like the tshirt and cd idea. Thanks everyone.

Cheech Wizard said:

This is how I germinate.. I take a cd case, i take a paper towel, I fold the paper towel into quarters.,I dampen paper towel. I place damp folded paper towel in cd case. I open up paper towel and place seeds inside and fold damp paper towel back up and close the cd case. I then place cd case either behind my PS3 or on top of my dvd player and I wrap the cd case in a clean t-shirt. This keeps everything nice and toasty. My seeds all pop within 24 hours usually and some take 36 hours. None have ever taken me longer than that and Ive never had one not pop. For me this works very well.

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OK, man - I followed your method right down to the clean tshirt. I hope it works out for me because I'm really frustrated here. Afew nights back I followed someones advice on here and gently cracked the seeds between my thumb and the plate. Those seeds still have not sprouted. Tonight I germed 4 more seeds with the cd method

Frankly I have never understood the need to do an additional transplant. The towel/sponges/etc. are all trying to mimic what happens to the seed in the real world, which is SOIL. Just use a petri dish or something similar, fill it with FINE soil and plant your seeds just below the surface, and then dust soil on top slightly enough to cover. This is what the seed KNOWS is right. Keep the soil moist but not saturated. If drying does occur the soil is more forgiving then paper towels. You can transplant them later by merely scooping them up with a teaspoon .. easy.
Personally I just go straight to liners and then transplant from there. Less stress, better grow.


Good luck

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