help germinating seeds

[doomie62]

well i got my seeds from rhino seeds and they are White KC strain, but im having huge problems germinating them they have been soaking in a wet paper for a week and a half and have only cracked slightly. can any one help me on other ways of germinating them faster?? thanks!! :jointsmile:

[M.B.A.]

just takes time sometimes

[doomie62]

i heard germinating can take long but dam, thanx anyways ill leave them a little longer and see what happens.. peace :jointsmile:

[stinkyattic]

If your temps aren't in the mid to high 70s, it's much much slower and may fail entirely.

[CultureCherryPopper]

Ya know, I should have a sticky on seed germination. The best way to do it is thus:

1. First, inspect your seeds. Look for nice dark coloration. Best way to discriminate seeds is by rolling one between your fingers as you firmly squeeze the nut. If it cracks, pitch it.
2. Soak them in a glass of water until they sink. If they don't sink, they probably won't open.
3. Moisten two different layers of paper towels. Make sure it is very damp, but not dripping.
4. Place the seeds between the layers of towel, and place the towels in a tupperware container and stow away in an absolutely dark and stable location.
5. Check after one day. If you got a little root at least a half inch long, plant in your chosen medium. I've had seeds take up to a week to germinate in the paper towels, but most take 2-3 days.
6. Most important: whatever medium you use, only place them about 1/2 inch down and backfill. The reason is that the plant only has so much energy to expend pushing itself up to light and sustain itself until it can through photosynthesis. Any lower and more energy goes to pushing and may cause it to die early on. I can speak from experience. Even placing them an ich or inch and a half down could be devastating. Needless to say, I planted a batch once several knuckles down, only to be reprimanded by a friend. We spent perhaps an hour finding 20 different seeds and removing an inch of dirt from each pot. Despite our efforts some were definitely stunted, mainly, the prime seeds we wanted to grow, but a good lesson learned.
7. Give them a decent watering. Duh.

Doing this has always worked for me, so much that they will literally try and grow itself into the paper towels if you don't take them out. I have always gotten at least 80% seed germination, and it's usually all of the seeds I select. Hope this helps.

[the image reaper]

I would add, plant your seed as soon as you can see the white tip emerge ... although I have seen good growers recommending ' 1/2" tips ', I strongly advise against it ... the emerging taproot is extremely sensitive and fragile, sunlight alone will kill it ... get it in the soil ASAP ... and, don't keep the soil wet, most seedlings die from pythium wilt, (from too-damp soil) ... good luck :jointsmile:

[doomie62]

THANKS GUYS they have just cracked and opening slowly... :jointsmile:

[klondike_bar]

i always plant straight in soil personally

[NaturalALiasClifford]

First i make sure that the room, box, etc. where the seeds will be before they pop is proper temperature. (22-25 degree C for me over here).

1)i takes plastic shot glasses. disinfect with rubbing alcohol and rinse,rinse, rinse.

2)i label shot glasses with a name and date. I put a few mL of room temperature distilled water in each shot glass. i drop 1 seed per shot glass and put them in a secure dark location. careful dont drop anything.

3)wait for seeds to sink in the water. after a seed has sunk/cracked it no longer needs to be submerged.

4)I take the seed that has sunk and pour the shot glass gently into a soup strainer.

i continue to use the shot glass to germinate using "paper towel method" exept instead of a paper towel, i use a moistened jumbo cotton ball.

i find it holds more moisture, and you can play with its texture to make a nice little pocket to drop your seed into. i put the moist cotton ball into the glass and lightly moist a second cottonball to place on top to keep humidity up and seed darkness.

so far ive seen seeds pop quickly and sprout tails in approx. 3-4 days.
make sure temp is comfortable and steady. take care and good luck

[Persi420]

A tall nice glass of water and a B1 supplement and 3 days a root should pop and i just drop em' in dix'e cups :pimp::stoned::rasta::rastasmoke:

[the image reaper]

if you want really easy 100% germinating, try pre-soaking seeds for about an hour in plain tapwater ... put the seed growing-tip down, into a dampened Rapid-Rooter plug ... tear off a tiny bit of the plug, to 'gently' stuff into the hole above the seed ... put ONE drop of Superthrive per gallon of tapwater (chlorine is your friend here, it will help prevent fungus, etc) ... put the RapidRooter plugs into a simple bubble-cloner box, with only faint light, and come back in a couple days, the seedling will be growing already ... I copied Opie Yutts' design for a bubble-cloner, and happily discovered it is AMAZING for starting seeds ... (I had too much water in one of those photos, you don't want the plugs kept that wet, only damp) ... :thumbsup:

[chrisdl805]

if you want really easy 100% germinating, try pre-soaking seeds for about an hour in plain tapwater ... put the seed growing-tip down, into a dampened Rapid-Rooter plug ... tear off a tiny bit of the plug, to 'gently' stuff into the hole above the seed ... put ONE drop of Superthrive per gallon of tapwater (chlorine is your friend here, it will help prevent fungus, etc) ... put the RapidRooter plugs into a simple bubble-cloner box, with only faint light, and come back in a couple days, the seedling will be growing already ... I copied Opie Yutts' design for a bubble-cloner, and happily discovered it is AMAZING for starting seeds ... (I had too much water in one of those photos, you don't want the plugs kept that wet, only damp) ... :thumbsup:

How did you make your clone/seed bubbler? Where did you get the reservoir and lid with dome? I have some air stones and air pumps from my old hydro set-up...I have some seeds i wanna germinate and would love to try your set-up...

thanks

[the image reaper]

(Opie Yutts gets the credit for this project):thumbsup: ... buy two cheap, plastic storage bins at WalMart, etc.. - using hole-saw, cut holes in one lid, small enough to support Rapid-Rooter plugs ... paint the outside of one black, with Krylon Fusion spray paint (made to stick to plastic) ...if light illuminates your reservoir, algae will start growing ... the remaining clear 'bottom' will be flipped upside-down, and used as the humidity dome ... install a small aquarium heater, this is important ... install an airstone (I like those flexible-tubing 'bubble-curtain' types) ... run the heater 24/7, I give the airstone a 'break' every now and then ... put ONE DROP of Superthrive per gallon of water, then throw away the rest of the bottle :D ... (I use tapwater, I like the chlorine for algae/fungus protection, even if only lasts for the first few hours) ... keep water level 3"-4" below the bottoms of the plugs, you don't want them to dry out, but you don't want them kept wet, either ... leave lights OFF first 2 days, then illuminate the clones with soft, indirect lights ... about day 8, you should see rooting thru the plugs, and can then transplant ... easy, no touch ... (I have had poor results when using normal lighting on the clones, darkness and very dim light has given me almost 100% results) ... :smokin:

[chrisdl805]

cool, thanks for the info. will the aquarium heater have a thermostat or you just turn it on? Does this supplement say a heating pad when used with cloning trays? I too have had very little success with cloning so I think this will make it a lot easier. For seeds, would you just soak them in some water and then plant them in a rapid rooter and fill with the same mixture of water and superthrive?