Easy Seed Germination: simple, fast, safe

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I haven't invented anything new but I follow these steps every time I germinate seeds and I've got a near 100% success rate. Hopefully someone will find this useful.

I like it because it's simple (1 step), fast, safe, and I don't have to handle the sprouts. I usually get sprouts popping the surface in 2-3 days, the shortest around 30 hours and the longest 3.5 days.


Plastic cup (16-20oz)
Pro Mix (non fertilized soil less)
Distilled water
Magnifying glass (or good eyes)
Bic pen refill
Glad Press and Seal wrap (crinkled)
Tablespoon
Masking Tape
Sharp poking tool (knife, scissors)

1. Mix Pro Mix normally - enough distilled water so the mix holds together when squeezed in one hand but not so much water that it drips.

2. Poke holes in bottom of cup. Fill cups with Pro Mix, put hand over top and shake up and down to get rid of air holes. Pat the top of the pro mix in cup down gently. Fill to 1" below the cup top - room for the sprout to grow if it comes up when you're not around; and to put in more Pro Mix if the stem stretches. Label each cup with masking tape before putting the seed in. I use different colored cups for different strains as well.

3. With the writing tip of the pen poke a hole in the center of the pro mix, about 1/8". Not deep, just a starter hole. The seed will do the rest of the work.

4. Using good eyes or the magnifying glass find the scalloped (opens) and dimpled (hing) sides of the seed. Poke the scalloped end into the pro mix - I find it easiest to put the seed between the thumb and index finger and gently squeeze it in. Don't push far, just until it stays upright.

5. Recheck the seed to be sure the dimple side is up.

6. Using the open tube end of the pen refill push the dimpled end of the seed down until it is 1/16-1/8" below the surface. Using the pen refill skuff up the pro mix until 1/8" is over the seed dimple. Loose and airy is good.

7. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of distilled water over the top of the pro mix. Do NOT uncover the seed.

8. Rip off a piece of Glad Press and Seal wrap, tear it's length in two so you have a square, and wrap over the top of cup making a complete seal.

9. Place the cup minimum flower distance from your light in your flower room. The heat from the light will act like a steamer with the distilled water and the seed; the (12 on/12 off) cycle of the light will mimic nature; the crinkled Glad wrap will keep the moisture and heat in and diffuse the light.

10. After the first day pull back the Glad Wrap a couple of times a day to look for sprouting.

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Distilled water doesnt agree as well with MJ
use tap or RO water, as MJ likes the micro nutes in the water.
I learned after trying to grow with it that my tap water works better.
For best results let it sit out about 24 hours and make sure your ph is in range.

Nice tutorial btw, I do soil germ as well.
Pretty similar to how you do, works well huh?
I dont use humidity domes or anything like that tho, not even on clones.

Happy times bud!

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Thanks for the tip on the RO/tap water for germing Phenom, I'll give it a try next time around.

I use the distilled water because of the neutral PH, my tap water is around 8.5 after sitting. I can get RO water at the grocery store for germing, I'm not sure what the PH will be.

For the short time that the seed is germinating I'm not sure the lack of micro nutrients in the water would matter with distilled, but I can see how RO or good tap water would be just as good.

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Hobbes said:

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Thanks for the tip on the RO/tap water for germing Phenom, I'll give it a try next time around.

I use the distilled water because of the neutral PH, my tap water is around 8.5 after sitting. I can get RO water at the grocery store for germing, I'm not sure what the PH will be.

For the short time that the seed is germinating I'm not sure the lack of micro nutrients in the water would matter with distilled, but I can see how RO or good tap water would be just as good.

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Click to expand...

Yeah im not sure because I did germ my seeds starting out with dist (I THINK) but later on I started having issues that disappeared after I switched. If your ph is that high then yeah your gonna need to drop it to 6.5 mine is 7 and it seems to work fine on my plants, Im getting some ph up and down tho soon so I can take better control of it.

Just thought Id add that tid bit.
RO water should b around 6-7

Thanks for the rep and back in the mail to ya for the post

i think thats a pretty good guide. its a good idea to use the plastic wrap

i dont think theres anything wrong with distilled water, its just distilled so it doesnt have chlorine and shit

KaleoXxX said:

i think thats a pretty good guide. its a good idea to use the plastic wrap

i dont think theres anything wrong with distilled water, its just distilled so it doesnt have chlorine and shit

Click to expand...

it's not about the chlorine, it's mainly the lack of micro nutes in the water and something else, theres a thread about it but it's been so long since i've read it I can't find it (like the search on the site is helpful).

I'm lucky I'm in a area with good clean water with few chems in it, low enuf not to hurt my plants atleast, I use it straight out of the tap
without any problems but alot of others wouldn't be so lucky.

Great guide, thanks for the tips! I will be following this guide when I try growing for the first!

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The germination procedure from above with pics.

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Index: Propagation

Alphabetical: Germination

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I plant in Pro Mix with distilled water in 18 oz cups with Saran wrap on top for a humidity dome. Of the hundreds of seeds I've germinated with this method I've only lost one - I planted it upside down and the root grew into the air overnight and dried out. Other than not using a magnifying glass that one time to check the seed the system is 100% fool proof. As a new grower - if the seed is going to germinate you have the best chance of getting a seedling with this method.



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Germination


Easy Seed Germination: simple, fast, safe



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I haven't invented anything new but I follow these steps every time I germinate seeds and I've got a 100% success rate - I've lost only one seed with this method, I was careless and planted it upside down. Nearly fool proof. Hopefully someone will find this useful.

I like it because it's simple (1 step), fast, safe, and I don't have to handle the sprouts. I usually get sprouts popping the surface in 2-3 days, the shortest around 30 hours and the longest 3.5 days.



Plastic cup (16-20oz)
Pro Mix (non fertilized soil less)
Distilled water
Magnifying glass (or good eyes)
Bic pen refill
Glad Press and Seal wrap (crinkled)
Tablespoon
Masking Tape
Sharp poking tool (knife, scissors)

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Clear fruit cups from the grocery store, with their own humidity dome instead of Saran wrap, make an excellent biosphere germinator. The great thing about clear cups is that we can watch the roots develop.



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1. Mix Pro Mix normally - enough distilled water so the mix holds together when squeezed in one hand but not so much water that it drips.



2. Poke holes in bottom of cup. Fill cups with Pro Mix, put hand over top and shake up and down to get rid of air holes. Pat the top of the pro mix in cup down gently. Fill to 1" below the cup top - room for the sprout to grow if it comes up when you're not around; and to put in more Pro Mix if the stem stretches. Label each cup with masking tape before putting the seed in. I use different colored cups for different strains as well.

3. With the writing tip of the pen poke a hole in the center of the pro mix, about 1/8". Not deep, just a starter hole. The seed will do the rest of the work.



4. Using good eyes or the magnifying glass find the scalloped (opens) and dimpled (hing) sides of the seed. Poke the scalloped end into the pro mix - I find it easiest to put the seed between the thumb and index finger and gently squeeze it in. Don't push far, just until it stays upright.

Sometimes it's hard to pick out the dimpled and scalloped ends. The dimpled end was attached to the plant and will have a hole where it attached to the bud. The scalloped end will be smooth.



5. Recheck the seed with your magnifying glass to be sure the dimple side is up.

6. Using the open tube end of the pen refill push the dimpled end of the seed down until it is 1/16-1/8" below the surface. Using the pen refill skuff up the pro mix until 1/8" is over the seed dimple. Loose and airy is good.

7. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of distilled water over the top of the pro mix. Do NOT uncover the seed.



8. Rip off a piece of Glad Press and Seal wrap, tear it's length in two so you have a square, and wrap over the top of cup making a complete seal. Or use an discarded fruit cup with a humidity dome. Be sure to not only label your strains, but number the cups of the same strain to keep track for cloning. Label the cups before you plant the seeds, it's easy to get confused once two cups have tops.



9. Place the cup minimum flower distance from your light in your flower room. The heat from the light will act like a steamer with the distilled water and the seed; the (12 on/12 off) cycle of the light will mimic nature; the crinkled Glad wrap will keep the moisture and heat in and diffuse the light.

Bubblegum


Flo (short in front) & Trainwreck (taller). Similar flower period but a bad height combo for the same bucket.


I left this Skunkberry bottom for an extra week to fill out. It went from perhaps a cup cured to +2 cups cured. I usually harvest in stages, even with an 18" plant.


10. After the first day pull back the Glad Wrap a couple of times a day to look for sprouting.

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It's important to plant the seed scalloped end down; dimpled end up. We plant shallow, we don't want the root tip curling up. Sure way to lose a seed.



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The seed opens on the scalloped end, the dimpled end is like a hinge.



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The root curls around.



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If you plant the seed deep in the soil (5 mm or more) you can get away with planting the seed with the scalloped end up, it has room to curl around and grow down. I haven't had the speed or success with deeper planting, hit and miss for me. The one seed I've lost I planted upside down with this method by mistake.

I do not recommend this method though some seed companies swear by it.



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When the seedling breaks the surface the rounded scalloped end of the seed shell points down; the dimpled hinged end up.



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The tap root will spiral down to the bottom of the pot and bud lateral roots.



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Our seeds are planted shallow (to take advantage of heat from the light), the root tip starts down, curls around, continues down. Like a spiral rather than a 180 degree turn.



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Seed sexing is the astrology of marijuana growing - it has an amazing 50% accuracy. Seed sexing is like treating strep throat: If you don't take care of strep throat right away it could last a whole week, but if you get to a doctor and get the right medication you can be rid of strep in 7 days.



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The same clones and plants from seed, a week apart.





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