Problems with Germination

I am a new grower to this community and I'm having problems with germination (indoors). Ive been researching on ways to germinate but i cant find to seem to work for me. I not sure if its the seeds or what, but i do presoak seeds for 24 hours in distilled water. Ive tried paper towel but only 1 seed came with a root and its in potting right now. I tried another one with the green house affect with good watered potting soil ( miracle grow ) and plastic clear wrap over the pot. I checked it today and mold (I'm 100% its mold ) had grown all over the surface of the soil, is this normal? I'm also using a heating pad for the greenhouse affect.

I'm going to be getting a lot of more bagseeds today from friends and i figured it would take some experience before i really could germinate without a problem.

If there is any newbie guides out there for germination i would love to see them.

Thanks :jointsmile:

Just put your seed in a small starter pot, in a good drainage, starter soil.
To do this use, your pinky finger to make a hole about half the distance to the first line on your finger. Drop the seed in, water gently in the spot of the seed. In 5 days you will have a baby plant.
Be sure not to completly drench your soil.

I'm sure there are a lot of guides, but you don't really need them. I've tried many methods of germination, and by far the most successful for me has been to simply put the seeds in soil. No transplanting, no wetting paper towels, no nothing, except normal soil farming.

Real simple and real effective:

1) Get some quality seedling soil, or add 5-10% vermiculite to potting soil.
2) Get some small containers, such as yogurt containers.
3) Plant your seed about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. Don't worry how it's oriented, it will sprout unless it's a Church seed.
4) Flood your containers with water and a small amount of B1 supplement of your choice.
5) Put a small fan on them. This will dry them out a little faster, but it will also prevent mold.
6) Do not let the part of the soil that holds the seed dry out. Watch carefully. This means that you'll need to water about every other day until there are some roots, then perhaps once every 4 or 5 days.
7) Once the plants get leaves, just watch daily for the first signs of thirst.

That's it, except for the transplanting into bigger containers after a couple weeks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Forwhat420

Be sure not to completly drench your soil.

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I disagree with this. After planting your seed, you should drench the soil completely, then not water again unless the part of the soil that holds the seed starts to look dried out. Be careful to gently water though, so you don't dislodge the seed.

Just curious, why would you not saturate the soil with water?

hi there this is my first grow also i got to tea cup saucers and wet kicthen roll and put the seeds in and coverd with more roll then put the saucers on top of one another keepin the seeds inside in the darkness then i got cling film and sealed it and put it in a warm dark place and after 36 hours they all had popped thing is i dont no whether to keep them in the dark in rockwool or give them light:)

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Originally Posted by bigbill1690

i dont no whether to keep them in the dark in rockwool or give them light:)

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Once your seeds get a tap root, they should be planted and farmed as normal.

What if i soaked my seeds for 24 hours in a glass then put them in a small container in a dark place till they came up? Should i place plastic wrap and rubber band on top? Do i need a fan hitting the soil and keeping it dry ( but keeping it wet enough where it wont dry out hard, moist ). I'm mold will come back and run all the plants.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Garrett

What if i soaked my seeds for 24 hours in a glass then put them in a small container in a dark place till they came up? Should i place plastic wrap and rubber band on top? Do i need a fan hitting the soil and keeping it dry ( but keeping it wet enough where it wont dry out hard, moist ). I'm mold will come back and run all the plants.

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Mate just place some tissue paper on a saucer put your seeds on it then cover with more tissue and soak,then place them in cupboard.

The seeds will sprout anytime from 24hours to 5 or 6 days...

I've had 100% success rate using this method.

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Originally Posted by Raftastic

Mate just place some tissue paper on a saucer put your seeds on it then cover with more tissue and soak,then place them in cupboard.

The seeds will sprout anytime from 24hours to 5 or 6 days...

I've had 100% success rate using this method.

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By far the above ,is one of the preffered methods by growers.
the biggest problems with sprouting seeds is:
1. temperature temperature temperature 78*
2. soil to hot (ferts)
miracle grow has started selling a seedling starter mix




:hippy: :hippy: :hippy:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by veggii

By far the above ,is one of the preffered methods by growers.
the biggest problems with sprouting seeds is:
1. temperature temperature temperature 78*
2. soil to hot (ferts)
miracle grow has started selling a seedling starter mix




:hippy: :hippy: :hippy:

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I do nothing extra,heat humidity nothing

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Opie Yutts

I disagree with this. After planting your seed, you should drench the soil completely, then not water again unless the part of the soil that holds the seed starts to look dried out. Be careful to gently water though, so you don't dislodge the seed.

Just curious, why would you not saturate the soil with water?

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Hey there Opie,
You are right you can drench the soil. I really don't have a problem with it. I just said it because he has a problem with mold growth. It just depends on how fast the soil dries out. Personally in my seedling/vegging area, when I drench the soil it takes too long for mine to dry. So I just tend to water directly where the seed was placed enough to give the seed what it needs to germinate. Then by the time it gets its first set of leaves another just enough watering.
For my particular situation this works out well. Giving the seed just enough prevents any possiblity of mold, without a fan (less electricty going), and prevents overwatering, which all of us have done in the beggining:jointsmile:
Other than that those other "germination" methods are just playing games. Weed seeds fall of the plant into the soil in its most natural state, so why not just place it into the soil? The only time I germinate is when I have seeds that over a couple years old.
To do this I do just like stinky, placing them in a small glass tube, giving them just enough water to collect around the bottom of the seeds, being sure not to close the top completely so that they recieve air. (If you close the top completely it will give off a nastily intresting smell). Sometimes replacing the water. I use Aquafina because it is perfecly balanced about 6.0

WOW THIS BUD IS GOOD. :pimp: sry for the ramble

Alright thanks guys, ill try theses methods and let you guys know how it goes.

:jointsmile:

What if i soaked my seeds for 24 hours in a glass then put them in a small container in a dark place till they came up?
Many people do this and have good success. However, I find no need for the extra step, since they will be soaked in the dirt.

Should i place plastic wrap and rubber band on top?
No, unless you like battling mold.

Do i need a fan hitting the soil and keeping it dry
Follow my steps above and you will not get mold. If you are worried about it, after watering, spray the soil with Serenade or some other anti fungal and repeat every other day or so. A fan is important for several reasons, though I have had several success stories with out them. If you have very low humidity and at least a little air flow throughout the grow area you may find that you can get weed without a fan. However if you can keep your plants gently rustling in a breeze they will be much stronger and healthier overall. Some studies indicate that your plant will grow twice as well if you have a strong breeze on it at all times.

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Originally Posted by veggii

temperature temperature temperature 78*

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I've read in a few places that higher plants in general like a soil temp of around 92 degrees for proper germination rates. They will sprout at much lower temperatures, but both lower and higher temperatures drastically start to decrease both quantity and rate of germination. That's why I usually put a heat mat under my germinating seeds. They usually pop in 24-48 hours, maybe double that without a heat mat. While soil temps should be around 92, environment temps should be around 82. (Ultimately your looking for leaf temps of 80, but you need a laser thermometer to measure that [<$35U.S.].)

[quote=Forwhat420]Hey there Opie, You are right you can drench the soil. I really don't have a problem with it. I just said it because he has a problem with mold growth. It just depends on how fast the soil dries out... I just tend to water directly where the seed was placed enough to give the seed what it needs to germinate. Then by the time it gets its first set of leaves another just enough watering.
Ah, I see. That makes sense if you don't want to use a fan. I guess I never really thought of trying that.

Other than that those other "germination" methods are just playing games. Weed seeds fall of the plant into the soil in its most natural state, so why not just place it into the soil?
Darn tootin'. Each to his own, and you gotta do what you gotta do, but for me the KISS method is a goal, and all that other stuff is just extra steps. It makes no difference if you keep em warm and moist in a paper towel, or glass of water, or dirt, or jo mamma, they will sprout if they're good seeds.