Quote Originally Posted by Rusty Trichome
Just because you have problems with it does not mean it's a bad method. I understand your eagerness to share a product that works...but...why blast a germination technique that works?
Yeah it works, but just not very well. Paper towels damage those small, fine hairs that are growing on a freshly-cracked taproot. It provides, IMO, nothing beneficial compared to a soil-start, only negative aspects such as light exposure, rough handling, and a guaranteed transplant within the first days of life.

Besides, look the the flip side, why wouldn't you support a germination technique that has had (in my personal experience at least) a 100% success ratio? -Or- why choose a method that doesn't work as well? Nature chose the soil method, and it's been working wonderfully for thousands of years now. :wtf:

Quote Originally Posted by Rusty Trichome
Possibly due to improper handling, or old/bad genetics...?
Possibly, it is also likely that the fine hairs on the taproot were sheared off, due to using the paper towel method.

Quote Originally Posted by Rusty Trichome
I'm real doubtful this is really the case, and will continue to be doubtful without some proof.
As with every grow technique we use, the more you understand the mechanics of what you are doing, (and why) the easier a technique should get.
Of course, we can't tell now. I do personally believe though that the paper towel method will give you a higher ratio of males; simply due to stress. It has been theorized that higher levels of stress on a plant will lead to higher ratios of males to females. Lets compare numbers....how many of your last 10 (non-feminised) seeds have been female/male?