Problem Germinating. It's been 34 Hours and No Sign of Popping

Hey guys,

I ordered my first seed (Lowryder 2), wrapped it up in a damp but not dripping paper towel, then placed it in a glad tupperware container, sealed it up, and placed it in my cupboard.

Well it's been almost a day and a half and it looks the same as it was before.

Should I just leave it there or should I try it again with warmer paper towels? Or should I just plant it in soil and see what it does then? I was also thinking about dropping it in a glass of water and seeing if I can get it moving along.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!

never tried that method, i like the old natural way, i soak them for a few hours in a shot glass of water, make sure they sink, then pop em in soil and into my grow cupboard. most of mine pop in 3-5 days no problems

Patience, Grasshopper. This can take a few days. Keep those paper towels moist, not soaked, in a nice dark place. I've never sealed mine, dunno if that makes any difference. Check em once or twice a day, but otherwise, don't fuss with em. Good luck!

make sure to keep the paper towel damp. Can you see moisture on the lid of your container? You can try scuffing the seed with a nail file, helps to absorb water, also place container on a heating pad.

Thanks guys. I went ahead and heated some water up to where it was barely warm to my finger, soaked a new paper towel in it and placed the seed in that. I didn't use warm water before.

You think that should be OK?

I've bad luck sealing mine in a air tight container. Also some bad luck using cheap paper towels, quilted paper towels work the best. From my experience it seems to work best if you let them breath.

Hey I'm in the middle of germinating some seeds too. How long should I wait before I first check them? I've read 12 hours, some say wait a day. Is checking on them at 12 hours to make sure the paper towels are still damp okay? Or can exposure to light be harmful too early?

I have mine between two paper towels... I would call them between moist and wet. I squeezed out excess water but not so much they would dry out quick, placed them into a ziplock bag, which I left unzipped and placed on top of a folded towel, which is on top of a seedling mat in a cupboard. Directly on top of the seedling mat seemed a little hot, so I put the towel between them so they would be a little warm nut not cooking them.

Anyway I want to check on my seeds and the moisture of the paper towels but wanted to make sure I won't harm them by exposing them to light. It has been twelve hours.

They're reservoir sour diesel in case you were curious.

Thanks for any advice!

Germination is pretty simple, here is a surefire method that gets me a 95% success rate. First you take a large ziploc bag it anything that is air tight so it doesn't lose moisture if the seed dries out it can seriously lower your chance of success. Next take your paper towels and get them wet but not dripping wet I like to have 6 layers total and put the seeds in between them on the third layer to ensure both sides have even moisture. After you sandwich your seeds in the paper towel put the paper towels into the ziploc and store in a dark warm area seeds require heat to germinate usually around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Just make sure you have the moisture dark and heat those are the necessary requirements for germination.

moisture, heat, and darkness. get some warm water and make sure its a good ph between 6 and 6.5. pour the water on the paper towels ring them out then fold it up and put the seeds in between. put in a ziplock bag and in between some plates. i keep the plate in my grow space with lights OFF and a little space heater blowing on it. you can also put just the paper towel in a ziplock bag and on a heat register in your house. it doesnt really matter you just want that paper towel to stay damp dark and warm

Well it's been 56 hours since I first wrapped my seed up in a paper towel. 15 hours ago I moved it to a closet and sat it on a heating pad to keep it nice and warm.

I just checked it and it hasn't popped yet...

What should I do now? Should I just keep it there or put it in a shot glass now?

d burg said:

Well it's been 56 hours since I first wrapped my seed up in a paper towel. 15 hours ago I moved it to a closet and sat it on a heating pad to keep it nice and warm.

I just checked it and it hasn't popped yet...

What should I do now? Should I just keep it there or put it in a shot glass now?

Click to expand...

What kind of seed is this? If its a bag seed it may not be viable if you ordered it from a site I would contact them or just let it go.

It's a Lowryder 2 seed I ordered from Attitude...

d burg said:

It's a Lowryder 2 seed I ordered from Attitude...

Click to expand...

It's possible that the seed is not viable even though you ordered it from them, drop it in a shot glass filled with water and tap it under the water gently. And let me know if it sinks or.floats

Can I just plant it directly in soil?

OK...I decided to just plant it in soil cause I'm thinking the ph of the water I was using was too high perhaps...plus I was getting paranoid about handling it too much.

I just dampened the soil, put it in about 1/4 inch deep and put a little light on it to keep it warm...

NOO!! Seeds are never supposed to be put into soil! Soil is like wicked bad for seeds!

Seriously though it can take a few days or longer. I see no benefit in putting seeds in paper towels to germinate them, or soaking them in any water (unless they were old). Only thing with putting them right into soil or a soil-less mix is that you need a bit more patience. If you keep fussing with the poor seed it is less likely to germinate. I start seeds in a soil-less mix, moisten before putting the seeds in and then water thoroughly. Seeds are placed pointed end down, this is where the tap-root comes out although a seedling can orient itself. Then I put them under HO fluorescent lighting which helps keep them warm. I do not use a dome or anything for seeds, not necessary. Just don't let them get totally dry. Use a container at least 3 or 4 inches deep.

Thanks Nullis,

I just planted it in about 1/4 inches into the Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil I had, lightly watered it, and then put two 26 watt CFLs on it. I feel better about not having to unfold towels and handle it so much.

You think I did the right thing?

I know this is all simple shit, but for the first time to date I am having a really hard time with seeds.

I got 10 blue gods and 10 really good dopes from VSB, and only like 5 cracked, and 2 of those didn't survive to be 1/4" long. Using RO water, in a seedling dome @70*F, between paper towel that is damp. think this is just a bad batch of seeds? maybe they got too hot when I wasn't there to monitor temperatures, would that kill seeds? I don't think the heater goes above like 95*

i just did the paper towel in a plastic container method left it in the warm dark basement for 5 days and they sprouted very well and now i planted them i have a flourecent light on them so far for a whole day and watering them twice a day the shell has just a tad left to fall off unno what strain they are or m/f so either way its my first grow so if it works it works if not cant say i dint try