What on earth is wrong with these seeds?

[sharkfinz]

Hi,

I attempted to germinate some bag seeds that I saved from 2005. I have had them on a moist paper towel in a tobacco tin and left them close to the radiator to give them a decent temperature.
Five days have gone by and still NOTHING, not a thing. So I decided to do an 'autopsy' on one of the seeds to see if it had an embryo, and sure enough it did, it also had what appered to be the tap root but they don't appear to want to germinate.

Anyway I have ordered some fresh seeds so I'll try again, but can anyone offer an explaination? I mean they are seeds in ideal environment, going by what I have read they should have popped some days ago..

sharkfinz Reviewed by sharkfinz on 01-15-2008. What on earth is wrong with these seeds? Hi, I attempted to germinate some bag seeds that I saved from 2005. I have had them on a moist paper towel in a tobacco tin and left them close to the radiator to give them a decent temperature. Five days have gone by and still NOTHING, not a thing. So I decided to do an 'autopsy' on one of the seeds to see if it had an embryo, and sure enough it did, it also had what appered to be the tap root but they don't appear to want to germinate. Anyway I have ordered some fresh seeds so I'll Rating: 5

[stinkyattic]

How close to the radiator? Over 80 degrees and you start having to worry about fungus.

Some lines produce seeds with a very thick shell that is often slow or difficult to crack open. Thos seeds could use a light scuff along the sharper edge with a nail file just to give them a tiny bit of advantage.

Old seeds are also slower to germinate or have a lower % germ rate. Give up to 2 weeks.

The rule of thumb is seeds are considered 'good' within 5 years of their harvest date. After that, germ rate may decrease by about 10% per year.

[Weedhound]

Hey Stinky, would scuffing them help?

[stinkyattic]

Hey Stinky, would scuffing them help?

Thos seeds could use a light scuff along the sharper edge with a nail file just to give them a tiny bit of advantage.

...

[gainesvillegreen]

Like Stinky already said, give them a few weeks before discarding. A lot of the seeds have thicker hulls (as mentioned) and others can remain dormant for a few weeks even when in ideal germinating conditions. You said you cracked it open and the innards looked intact (at least enough to discern a tap root from the rest), so it's possible it would have germinated.

As also said by Stinky, higher temperatures run the risk of fungus and seed-rot. My friend throws his in a wet paper towel, into a plastic baggy, into a dark canvas bag (for light protection), and then on top of the ballast for a 4ft. fluorescent. He gets anywhere from about 70-100% germination success on recently purchased (so presumably fresher) seeds.

[sharkfinz]

There appears to be a tiny transparent hair type projection on the very end of one of the seeds (seed is approx 129 hours from attempting to germinate).. am I hopeful to think that this may develop into a deffinite tap root by the end of the day? :rasta:

[Weedhound]

lol, my bad....

[gainesvillegreen]

There appears to be a tiny transparent hair type projection on the very end of one of the seeds (seed is approx 129 hours from attempting to germinate).. am I hopeful to think that this may develop into a deffinite tap root by the end of the day? :rasta:

The tap root should emerge from the pointed end of the seed. Is that where the hair is coming from?

[hybridlove420]

in my experience, ive had much more luck with planting directly into soil. but some seeds may take longer to germinate depending on many factors.

ie: i planted 2 sativa, and 2 indica seeds about 3 weeks back. both sativas arose the same day about a week from planting, 1 indica a week later, and then the 2nd indica litterally broke surface at the 3 week mark. (i figured it was long gone)