Greetings Grasscity Community, I am a newbie grower having problems with the germination stage. My seeds are almost 2 years old but they were kept in a cool, dark place. I have 2 mediums; paper towel (3 seeds) and a glass of distilled water (4 seeds) maintained at 28 degrees Celcius (I live in a avery hot country) were the techniques/mediums I've used. It has been 48 hours and the seeds being germinated in the glass of water has not sprouted at all. For the paper towel medium, it has been 24 hours and still also no signs of growth. I was told that within 48 hours, there should be signs of growth. If not, it means the seeds are useless? Are there any mistakes in my procedures? Comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Well what I did for mine that were old was I cut a square of sandpaper and rolled it up, used my fingers as stoppers. Put the seeds in and gave them a good shake for about 10 seconds. By doing this it scares the seeds shell just a little bit, enough to scrape it but gentle enough to not damage the embryo then I put the seeds in a glass of water. By scarring the seed first before the shot glass method it allows the water to penetrate faster. I only kept it in the water until it sank or for about 6 hours just so that the excessive water didn't damage the seed. After that I stuck it into my growing medium which was a soilless mixture. I got the most results out of this. I tried the paper towel method before and it damaged my roots or it took a lot longer to sprout. As for the whole if it doesn't taproot within 48 hours it's dead thing, mine took a lot longer than 48 hours. It took about 4 days, all seeds are different some just take longer you'll just have to wait it out. I would as soon as they sink put it in your growing medium because you can plant it and forget about it so you have less stress about it. I micromanaged mine and I was going mad until I finally just planted them and 4 days later it broke ground without me even knowing let alone stressing over it. It's all about trial and error. Just find something that works for you. Just give it time.
Thanks for the advice! Could i still do the sandpaper method even after the seeds have been soaked? Or is it too late as it will stress the seeds out? Every when do you water your seed in a seedless mixture?
No don't do the sandpaper because they're already soaked and soft using the sandpaper may damage the embryo. As for the watering cycle some people wait until the medium is dry to water again, but when I'm trying to get them to sprout I do a full watering until I get runoff, that's day 1. Day 2 and 3 I mist the top to keep it from drying out completly and no water on day 4. Then I start again. Once it sprouts I cut out the second day of misting and just do a 3 day cycle. Once again this is just my watering cycle, everyone is different. Also remember if your planting in soil/soilless only plant them around the depth of a eraser on a pencil. Covered up fully but don't press down, let the water do that. Also watch out for watering to much at a time it will wash up your seed to the surface. Before you plant your seeds make sure you pre water your medium first, then plant, then add a teaspoon of water on top to stimulate the seed and to naturally pat down the medium. Also look into using a humidity dome, some people swear by them but some think they're pointless. Seeds germinate better in a 50-70% humidity zone that's warm, Hence why some people use a humidity dome or a half of a water bottle.