Hi. I recently purchased some female Seeds C99 feminised and of 4x went to germinate 2x. One produced a root in a week, the other went 3 weeks and i gave up, the first which i planted when the root was about 10mm decided it didn't want to grow and in 2 weeks of nothing happening i prised it out of the compost showing not much more root growth than the 10mm i planted at and pulling the seed hull apart, found the cotyledons had died, were a brown colour so i threw it away as a no hoper. So i went to germinate the last 2x seeds but this time i added about 1ml of rocket fuel, aka H2O2, aka Hydrogen Peroxide solution @ 6%in 20 volumes, i did this to add more oxygen to the 7 Fluid ounces of water in the cup which i knew would boost the seeds. This time both seeds germinated in a week with slimmer roots but roots which quickly reached about 13mm, i prised the seed hulls apart to expose the cotyledons and planted them, a couple of days later i saw the cotyledons were also dying so i carefully prised the cotyledons apart to expose the tiny pinhead size first true leaves. This did the trick, it took 2 weeks for the tiny true leaves to catch up and reach an appreciable size but are now growing nicely. As C99 seems to be a bit tricky to germinate with not much information available regards germination, thought i'd articulate this recent experience with C99 seeds as a tip for others to follow. Bit of H2O2, few drops or 1ml into a cup/glass of water with about 7 fluid ounces of water, and help them along a bit when root grows to 10-13mm by pulling seed hull apart and prising the cotyledons apart so first true leaves get light, easy. Peace! (Mods, if you think this should be elsewhere, just move it for me, cheers.)
For anyone who is reading this hoping to learn about germinating seeds, it never has to be this complicated. The likely reason for the high mortality rate on his seeds was because of the overly complex and intrusive method of germination. Put seeds a centimeter deep into light/fluffy seedling soil and keep moist with a hand sprayer. Keep them room temp or a bit warmer and keep them moist. Voila! The seeds will grow. Don't fuck with the seeds or give them fertilizer or other additives.
^^ I normally just leave them in water and they do just fine but i found the C99 seeds i first germinated one of two, didn't do that well just waiting for a root to develop in water, as i said, i planted without any 'intrusion' and two weeks with no growth, found the cotyledons had just died in the seed hull with no more root growth from planting at 10mm root showing after germinating. I have AfghanxHaze seeds i made in 2012 and Thai/Haze/SkunkxHaze i made in 2011 which germinate within a week in a glass of water and plant those and they do just fine, i have female seeds Lemon Kush and Easy Sativa i purchased at the same time as the C99 and didn't need to frack with those either, C99 i did need to else the other two would have died, if you read what i said, the cotyledons started to die back when i planted them which is why i prised the cotyledons apart to expose the tiny first true leaves and this worked. I wrote this because i found the C99 seeds proved difficult, so to save the cotyledons dying back to the true leaves developing as in the first seed which germinated, i decided to help them and this has proved successful. Aguy, have you actually tried to germinate C99 yourself, they are not easy! And @ southlandgrower, yes, i let my roots get to about 10mm then i plant them by dibbing the compost with the end of a paint brush and gently moving the root into the hole, a method which has served me well since 2008. My AfghanxHaze seeds grow roots very fast and once germinated they reach 10mm in days and it saves the seeds all the effort of pushing their way through the compost. 10mm is one cm and isn't actually that long. Peace.
Yes, I've grown C99 (see below) as well as a number of others from Female Seeds Company and various other breeders. I've had a 100% success rate germinating seeds. Every seed I've ever planted. I don't mean to sounds like a dick but there is no good reason to make germination complicated.
^^@ AGuy^^ Well, yes there is when one of the first i planted died in it's seed hull and the other never even put out a root, if i had planted the next two in soil as you suggest, directly into the soil, i am pretty sure nothing would have happend, i would have waited and waited and the seeds wouldn't have germinated and pushed to surface and grown, but they would have instead died in the seed had i not helped them along. My helping the next two of 4x worked and both are doing nicely. I would prefer not to mess about too much with seeds, i usually just germinate in a glass of normal water and plant seeds into a dibbed hole with heads just showing and so far that method has served me well since 2008 so see no need to change, the C99 though, required help or they too would have died as did the first. Thanks.