Germination Techniques...

[marimbas]

1.- put the seed inside a water glass for 24 hrs
2.-scratch the sides with a blade, or sandpaper
3.- put the seed again 24 hours in water (the root tip will set free)
4.- once you see the tip plant it, tip facing down

[montyd]

heres the way i use with nearly 100% germ rate.
i use tap water but put through a water filter. i then heat water in microwave for 2 mins.
i plant seeds in half pint cups upto 1cm from top.
plant seeds in wet soil and cover cups with cling film then put cups on a reptile heat mat 48hrs later seeds are up..
this time i just germed 5 seeds straight into jiffy pellets in a propergator on the heat mat.
once again 48hrs later 100% germ rate..

[raman]

sorry i have no idea what reptile heat mates are - ive let my seeds soak in quite a lot of water which was boiled and then cooled to room temp.

does the seed need heat at this stage, its been 24hours and they look the same as yesterday...

hopefully ill see something and be able to plant them in soil tomorrow!!!

[JohnnyPotGrower]

3 days later and still no luck. Damn these seeds are really stubborn! I am going to change the water, check out the seeds, and possibly try scratching off another layer... does it ever get to the point where the seed begins to rot from being in water for so long? When do I give up on these fuckers and dish out more money for new ones?

[M1557]

I would say after a week or 2, if you have no signs of seed growth, ditch them and start again...

The whole idea of scratching the seeds is to emulate conditions in the seeds natural environment.

Its almost like a fail safe...

Some seeds wont actualy open untill they are subjected to a certain temperature / condition.

Try taking to them with a tiny bit of heat, or rub them on glass paper to take off a few layers of the outer shell.

::M1557::

[JohnnyPotGrower]

Just updating again, changed the water and put them near the ovens pilot light to try to see if some more warmth will coax them out. Not sure what else is going to work but I dont feel like waiting 10+days for an order of seeds to come to I'll keep trying... until then anymore advice would be great, thanks

[raman]

im in the same boat as johnnyP - ive had the seeds in water for 2 days and REALLY need to plant them so something starts to grow. so far looks as though a few have enlargened but nothing major and waiting for weeks seems like too long - could i just plant them into some compost now? would it be worth it?

[marimbas]

As i said before the seed crust can be too thick so if its not germinating scratch it some more, but just be carefull into not killing it...

Raman you can plant it, but only god will know if that is gonna work

[killerb]

im in the same boat as johnnyP - ive had the seeds in water for 2 days and REALLY need to plant them so something starts to grow. so far looks as though a few have enlargened but nothing major and waiting for weeks seems like too long - could i just plant them into some compost now? would it be worth it?

I wouldn't keep it more than a day in water. I was having problems and found that when I put them in a warmer part of the house, like on top my PC case, I had two out of five sprout in a matter of a few hours. I guess the house temp of 65 - 70 was just not warm enough to simulate spring.

[JohnnyPotGrower]

Another update

I took one seed and scratched through the entire shell so the very tip was slightly exposed... Ive planted that one and hope it will sprout, over night its done nothing. A second seed that I scratched, I put in between wet paper towells, but no change over night. The other 3 are still sitting in water so they soften up a little... this is torture.