Please help! Germinating problems!

TommyBlanco

Active Member
Please help! I'm worried my seeds haven't turned into seedlings. I have some hindu kush seeds from sensi seed bank. I germinated them on some toilet paper until the tap roots were about 1-2.5 centimeters then I placed them in some rooting pots. They have had good warmth and a 225w flourescent light pretty close to their humidity tank. But I planted the germinated seeds on Tuesday. It's now Sunday and not 1 has shown life above the soil. Have I done something wrong???:-?
 

SSTUBBZZ

Active Member
How far down into the soil did you plant them?

Maybe your soil is to hard and the seedling cant break through......
Normally they sprout within a day or two??????
 

tusseltussel

Well-Known Member
did you buy these seeds???? it sounds like your doin everything right. did you put the tail down and not touch it i would suggest practicing on free bag seed b4 you buy seedsand then ruin em by never doing it b4. i never pre germ, i soak the seeds overnight in a cup of watter that i set on top of my water heater(i have a big square one not like the round one your used to seeing, it keeps em nise and warm) and plant em in soil or rockwool or whatever you use, in soil i just plant em in the pot their gonna be in for the rest of their life:peace:
 

Twistyman

Well-Known Member
Please help! I'm worried my seeds haven't turned into seedlings. I have some hindu kush seeds from sensi seed bank. I germinated them on some toilet paper until the tap roots were about 1-2.5 centimeters then I placed them in some rooting pots. They have had good warmth and a 225w flourescent light pretty close to their humidity tank. But I planted the germinated seeds on Tuesday. It's now Sunday and not 1 has shown life above the soil. Have I done something wrong???:-?
I don't use TP..toilet paper dissolves to easily..paper towel.
I plant about 3/8" deep.. (and I touch them ???)
I don't give any light till they break soil, then only sun for a day or two..
then into the spa.....
You may have left them germ too long..... its hard to say why..
too soon..
too hot..
I've done it that way for years and have a 90% germ rate.... Luck..:peace:
 

NoobRyder

Well-Known Member
im going to guess that you've planted them too deep.

check out my journal, i orginally planted mine 2 inches deep like a dumbarse and had to dig them up to replant before they had even broken the surface by themselves.

luckily they are still growing, but i know myself that it is a very easy noob mistake.
 

K1Ng5p4d3

Junior Creatologist
did u use a heating pad or heat the seeds in any way when u were germing them?? its possible that you might have overheated your seeds during germ and killed them. they would still show the tails, but the rest of the seed will be moosh inside the shell. my advice would be to gently dig into your soil n look for the seed. dont mess with it or anything, but look for the shell of the seed, and check to see if it has taken root into the soil, or if the taproot is still the same size it was when you put it into the pot.


i know most of you are gasping right now at this advice, but if he doesnt check, hes gonna sit there for another week waiting for it to sprout, when he could be germing another seed to replace it. just dont touch the seed, dig around it GENTLY with your fingers, n just be careful man. ive done it a few times and have never had problems. you just have to be delicate, thats all man.
 

artemisinked

Active Member
Rather than your fingers, I find that it's effective to use a chopstick or like implement to gently dislodge the soil around where you planted to check to see if there's growth. If the seed is doing it's job, you should be able to see if there's any growth that is just taking longer to break the soil. Usually this will appear as something that looks like a tap root curling up toward the soil (in reality, it is the cotelydons before they unfurl that you will see under the soil surface). Try to avoid touching the seed. Germination happens quickest in conditions of high humidity- as a result, in the future you may have quicker success if you have a humidity dome over your newly planted seeds. This can be done by purchasing a seedling tray with a dome (Park Seeds has a good one) OR you can loosely tent the tray with cellophane wrap (saran). This traps the moisture and the seed germinates quicker.

A seedling heat mat can be helpful as well as roots travel down to seek the heat source. These can be purchased for approximately $30 from Amazon or any gardening supply store online. They're not easy to find at home garden centers though, so you'll have better luck online.
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
I still dont understand why peeps use toilet paper,its full of chemicals,colours and bleached,not to mention most people damage the root tips when trying to pick them up.

I have a very good success rate on all of my seeds and all i ever do is soak them in a jar of water for 48 hours in a dark warm place and then tip them all out onto a bed of soil in a propagator and use tweezers to gently and carefully pick each one up and plant it into its hole.
Never touch the seedlings with your fingers,always plant them root tip facing down and imo never use bog rollbongsmilie
 

LUDACRIS

New Member
pop the seed in a moist peat pellet 5 mm deep put the pellet in a propogator stick it in a warm dark place(21-23*) and as soon as it sprouts give it light.it usually takes me 72 hrs to get them popping the surface and i never touch the seeds just roll them from the packet straight into your 5mm holes in your pellets from the bag cover slightly and you dont have to worry about the taproot because it will always grow downwards.i used to use paper towels and they work but i like the cleanest less stressfull method.
 

TommyBlanco

Active Member
Thanks everyone. This was my 1st attempt and think I made a fair few mistakes.
Apparently my mate has a seed incubator he has used for just general seeds. Do you reckon I should try that next or just plant them after soaking them? I think I'm pretty careful but I have never grown anything before so should I just avoid as much human contact as possible and plant them?
Also, should I definitely keep them in the dark until they grow above the soil? Doesn't the 1/4" of soil keep them in darkness??
 

LUDACRIS

New Member
dont pre soak them just plant them 4-5mm deep and gently cover with medium and mist in.and no the soil is not a good enough light deflector.keep in total darkness by covering pots untill they break the soil(check every 12-18 hrs) then give it light.
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
Well i always presoak and everyone i know does and i have also tried not bothering.
Presoaked seeds,for 48 hours,split more quickly in the soil and begin to grow more quickly.
This methoid also allows you to site duds quickly.
If they havent begun to at least split within 48 hours then they will probably suck as you are looking for vigour from seed to weed.
Slack seeds dont get grown in my setup anyway.
As you have said presoaking is not paramount,just a preffered method,for speed and indentification of vigour:blsmoke:
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
Just watched the video that you posted as well and they guy on the video is basically spouting almost exact lines from an old book that i read years ago and he did presoak the seeds but he then touched them with his fingers and poured them onto his skin,duhh,lol:mrgreen::blsmoke:
 

LUDACRIS

New Member
if the medium is nice and moist and the pot is sealed like a greenhouse with no light the seed will sprout from the surface at 72-80hrs (always with good seeds)planted 4-5mm deep.
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
I still dont understand why peeps use toilet paper,its full of chemicals,colours and bleached,not to mention most people damage the root tips when trying to pick them up.

I have a very good success rate on all of my seeds and all i ever do is soak them in a jar of water for 48 hours in a dark warm place and then tip them all out onto a bed of soil in a propagator and use tweezers to gently and carefully pick each one up and plant it into its hole.
Never touch the seedlings with your fingers,always plant them root tip facing down and imo never use bog rollbongsmilie
And as i said on the previous page " propagator ",Never touch the seedlings with your fingers.
LOL:roll::mrgreen:bongsmilie:eyesmoke:
Just in case you didnt know that a propagator is a mini greenhouse,you do now,hahaha ;)
 

LUDACRIS

New Member
pop the seed in a moist peat pellet 5 mm deep put the pellet in a propogator stick it in a warm dark place(21-23*) and as soon as it sprouts give it light.it usually takes me 72 hrs to get them popping the surface and i never touch the seeds just roll them from the packet straight into your 5mm holes in your pellets from the bag cover slightly and you dont have to worry about the taproot because it will always grow downwards.i used to use paper towels and they work but i like the cleanest less stressfull method.
this is how i do it and i dont presoak the seeds or touch them.works perfect.
 
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