First time for everything

Just like everyone once wa this is my first time trying to grow. Over the past 2 months I have collected 29 bags seeds. Some of the seeds I found in bags where even blue. But non the less I have had them germinating in water for 24 gours them now a wet paper towel and plate for 3 days now and nothing has happened yet. Just because of the amount I have. I did sacrifice one and cracked it open an it is still white inside. What time frame am I looking at for germination.

I see tap roots in 24-36hrs after soaking in water.

The method I use is the soak and paper towel method also.
May be better ways but its what has worked for me for over 15yrs.
I soak the seeds in water till the seed cracks and you see the tap root peaking out. <- I always see tap roots in 24-36hrs if they dont show by then they dont germinate.
After that I place them in paper towel till the seedling is free of the seed shell.
Then I transplant carefully into soil.

Like I said their may be better ways but that method gets me 100% or very close to 100% germination every time.

Seeds should be fat, round and tiger striped. Other seeds will not germinate.

If your paper towel is damp and you have it in a dark warm place it would germinate in 1-3 days even without soaking in water first.

Something's not right.

I used to go straight into paper towels to germinate with 100% success rate but it got fiddly trying to get the tap root untangled from the tissue because it had dug in. I tried water this time just put them all in checked in 24 hours gave the a prod with a plastic spoon and watched them sink, the next day taproots were barely visible and within 36 hours they were into soil 1 of the 3 I did has sprouted today I expect the others to follow in a day or so. The seeds were planted two days ago.

Oh and one huge mistake new growers make is make sure the paper towel is damp NOT wet.
A seed that is too wet will rot very quickly.

It has been damp I'm very good about that. And they are still dark brown but some are almost dark enough to be black. Any down side in not germinating and just putting in soil

You can germinate in the ground, thats how things normally work. People like the glass of water and paper towel method so they can actually see things happen, it does however create some risk since you will need to handle the seed more than the straight to soil methods.

Hbbum use a straw to scoop up the seed or even a deep spoon I've found it doesn't matter which way up they land as they'll grow upwards regardless, unless of course the tap root is twisted or wrapped around then you'd have to position it with precision. This has never happened to me thankfully!! As I said before I have gone straight from the glass into the soil, I skipped the tissues. These tricks will minimise any oils from the skin being transferred. However it's advised not to leave a seed in water for over 3 days you must either plant it or transfer into tissue, Prolonged exposure to water could cause problems down the line with he plant being susceptible to mould and disease, or you may end up drowning the seed.

I grow from clones, I have some seeds but have not gotten around to planting them(I have limited space) but I do grow a bunch of other things from seed. Either straight to soil, or if I have questionable ones, I may toss them in water for 12-24 hours first.

budfever said:

I see tap roots in 24-36hrs after soaking in water.

The method I use is the soak and paper towel method also.
May be better ways but its what has worked for me for over 15yrs.
I soak the seeds in water till the seed cracks and you see the tap root peaking out. <- I always see tap roots in 24-36hrs if they dont show by then they dont germinate.
After that I place them in paper towel till the seedling is free of the seed shell.
Then I transplant carefully into soil.

Like I said their may be better ways but that method gets me 100% or very close to 100% germination every time.

Click to expand...

I agree paper towel method works well, I have come to find too that if you use one seed per paper towel and ball it up put it in a zip loc and place on something warm works much quicker. Try not to use to many seeds altogether, I feel like balling the paper towel up lightly not super compact and putting it in a ziploc and then on warmth allows for an almost natural feel for the seed. Anyways good luck to ya mate!

BluJayz said:

Seeds should be fat, round and tiger striped. Other seeds will not germinate.

If your paper towel is damp and you have it in a dark warm place it would germinate in 1-3 days even without soaking in water first.

Something's not right.

Click to expand...

I must call bs on this, look at my forum now, I have ordered tiny white seeds, that i doubted would be good, no tiger stripes and were almost soft and they germinated in about 18hrs

Fair enough man the latter part of what I said was more general information for the thread owner and any one else interested. The first part was just an alternative to transferring oils from your fingers to the seed.