Seeds that won't germinate

fredkern said:

I got these seeds from a friend, and I was trying to germinate them for him. First, I tried the paper towel method, but I accidentally did not put a second paper towel over the first one with the seeds between them. However, I always kept the paper towel wet, and after about two days I realized that there was no paper towel on top of the seeds, and so I added one. Throughout this time the seeds were kept in the dark at around 70-75 F. After waiting like five days with nothing happening, I gave up.
Next, I tried the cup of water method. I set up around five cups: one unheated with chlorinated water, one unheated with chlorinated water, one in a heat bath (around 80 F) with chlorinated water, one in a heat bath with dechlorinated water, and one in the heat bath with chlorinated water and a small amount of Miracle-Gro. After 72 hours, none of these showed any sign of cracking or having a sprout come out. Nevertheless, they did sink after 24 hours.
What am I doing wrong? Am I supposed to make them warmer? Could the seeds be bad?
Thanks a lot.

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la9 said:

What do you mean by chlorinated water ?

If you have chlorine in your water, then that will kill your seeds end of story. If there was chlorine in the water you used with paper towels, that's the end of the story.

Chlorine kills your seeds and plants.

If you have chlorinated water let it sit out for 24 hours so the chlorine is no longer in the water. Then use it.

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LUDACRIS said:

i have never left water sit out to remove any chlorine and always use bottled spring/mineral water fresh from the seal(or ph balanced tap water straight from source) and its never done my plants any harm(only good).
people preach by leaving water open to the elements to expell chlorine but in my opinion is another myth(bullshit).
chlorine will never kill your seeds or plants and if that was the case i would not be producing dank ass bud with no problems.
do you think that gurilla farmers(in jamica or africa) de chlorinate their water?????????.
i think not.
its only a weed and can take major abuse as i have proved to myself.

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LUDACRIS said:

just do things properly and you will always get results(with viable seeds).

Starting your seeds
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Okay to all you paper towel heads and water nuts. I have been saying this for a long time now but found a site which states it nicely. Read this and don't lose any more of your precious seeds needlessly.

For an optimal germination result the seeds should be planted DIRECTLY into the substrate. We clearly advise against using pre-germination methods or soaking. Please do not place the seeds into a glass of water or in moist paper tissues. Fresh and healthy seeds prefer a nurturing and airy substrate to germinate in – just as mother nature has meant it to be. Cannabis is a plant species originating from semi-arid and temperate biotopes and the vast majority of modern cannabis hybrids contain a substantial percentage of these genetics. Cannabis seeds are not adapted to swampy wetlands, but they are suited for germinating in well drained soil/substrate. In nature they rot if they fall into a puddle of water...and there are no paper tissues lying around either. Taking into account these botanical facts, it is quite logical that by creating germination conditions that are similar to those of the natural habitat one can expect the best results.
What happens if one uses pre-germination methods?
1. Soaking seeds in water/wet paper towels is a method which can be used for old seeds (3+ years) that are drying up and losing germination power; and for pure land race equatorial strains such as from Africa. Both factors do not apply to our seeds. Fresh seeds have a healthy embryo whose cells are filled with water. But excess water causes the cells to bloat, depletes oxygen and leads to the tissue rotting away before the seed embryo can germinate. Old seeds have lost water in the cell tissue, the embryo starts to shrivel, which is why germination rates drop the older the seeds are. Therefore, old seeds (ie. 3+ years) can soak up more water before adverse conditions cause them to rot. This is one of the main reasons why various seed stock reacts differently to pre-germination methods. Especially novice growers make a lot of mistakes with pre-germination methods such as soaking seeds in water for up to 1-2 days. Even if one chooses to pre-germ seeds it has to be done correctly.
It is in a growers best interest to choose a germination method with the lowest risk of complications. Because we want customers to have the highest success rate possible we recommend the most convenient and safest method. This does not mean it is the only option. We simply believe it carries the lowest risk. In fact, planting seeds directly in the substrate is also the most plant friendly method for any type of seed stock. The reasons are explained below in paragraph 2 & 3.
2. Placing healthy & fresh seeds in water/wet tissue can lead to the development of fungi or bacteria on the seed hull. Lack of oxygen and contaminating substances in the water/wet tissue promote fungal growth which can be transported to the substrate later on. Often the seed simply rots away if left for too long in a glass of water, or wrapped up in wet tissue.
3. Once the seed sprouts in a glass of water or paper tissue it already has the taproot growing out of the cracked seed hull. While transplanting the germinated seed it is very difficult, indeed impossible, to prevent damage to the delicate taproot. Many sprouted seedlings handled in this way show retarded development, or even simply fail to appear out of the substrate after transplantation. Handling seedlings this way can impair the health & vigour of the plant for the duration of it’s life cycle - especially if other disturbing factors occur during the early stages of growth.Professional horticulturists rarely use pre-germination methods to actually grow out the seedlings because of the shock suffered from transplanting them. For example, we use the paper tissue method only as a quick test for germination rates of aged seed stock from our genetic repository. This allows us to see beforehand how many seeds we have to put in soil to get the amount of plants we require for breeding projects.
Germinating cannabis seeds is not difficult. All you need is some basic information on what is important and everything should work out fine.

LUDACRIS.



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Damn thats some serious shit I use water in a cup who knows how many times,,,,,,,,ALWAYS works for me, keep it simple, germinating cannabis seeds isn't rocket science just
stick in a cup of water,wet paper towels, wet soil,wet rockwool etc. look at them daily so they don't dry out ,rot or all those terrible complications mentioned above if they don't germinate they are no good that's all.Most times if seeds don't germinate and are good is because people forget to check on them.

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la9 said:

I figure the guerilla growers in jamaca or africa don't use city water, therefore have no trouble with chlorine.

So you recommend adding chlorine to your water before using it ? Is that what you do to your bottled water ?

Letting the water sit out for 24 hours to disperse chlorine is not a myth, you can look it up it is scientific fact.

Here is the science of what it does to your plant:

Chlorine damages cells by releasing free oxygen which combines with cell
proteins causing them to denature. Because the hypochlorite ion forms when
such compounds as sodium hypochlorite (NaoCl; bleach)contact the organic
materials which make up the cell membrane, it is also likely that the
lipoprotein structure is disrupted, causing cytoplasm leakage and killing
the cell. I hope this helps.

I hope that keeps you from wondering about the it all being a myth.

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i never said i added chlorine to my bottled water .

and yes i know people let their water sit in unopened bottles to expell chlorine .

LUDACRIS said:

you quote "so you recommend adding chlorine to your water before using it ? Is that what you do to your bottled water ?"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
i never said i added chlorine to my bottled water .
and yes i know people let their water sit in unopened bottles to expell chlorine .
i did say it was a myth but what i meant is that its unnessesary.
and why would i want to read about the effects of chrorine when it has never caused me a problem????????.
i am just telling you i use bottled water which contains chloride(4.2mg per litre to be exact).
and as for my tap/city water with a ph of 6.8 when i did use it at the start i never once let it sit to expell the chlorine.
i have never had any plant health problems apart from a slight mg defficiency once(caused by my nutes) which i corrected in a few days after giving them a shot of epson salts.
now tell me what harm chrorine has done to any of my previous grows ????.
ABSOULOUTLEY NONE(FACT).
CRIS.

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la9 said:

What do you mean by chlorinated water ?

If you have chlorine in your water, then that will kill your seeds end of story. If there was chlorine in the water you used with paper towels, that's the end of the story.

Chlorine kills your seeds and plants.

If you have chlorinated water let it sit out for 24 hours so the chlorine is no longer in the water. Then use it.

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(or keep dreaming that chlorine is a weed killer ).

CrackerJax said:

The fungus starts in the towel and is transported to the final grow site. many fungus problems originate at the very inception but later on folks don't think about the seed process, they think it came later. Why COMPLICATE things in the end? Simply slip it in the substrate. There is absolutely no ADVANTAGE to paper towel method...none.

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