Damn, well i'm a seed killer I guess. I've grown before and was successful through veg and flowering. But I have a really hard time sprouting seeds. I get all of the to germinate. But then plant it in soil and only a few come up. Here's exactly what I do. Soak the seeds in distilled water or paper towel until they pop open. which is usually less than 24 hours with quality seeds. I've used miracle grow and a lot of different brands. But now I only use fox farm light warrior and ocean forest. Crumble the soil up if it's clumpy, and put it in a solo cup with plenty of drain holes. Water the soil, then let it drain until nothing's coming out anymore. Poke a shallow hole about 1/4 an inch, put the seed in root down, and lightly cover and lightly pack the soil around, probly one touch with my clean finger. Then stick them under some t5 fluoros about 6 in. away. And a couple will pop up in 1-3 days usually. I let the others go for about a week before I get frustrated and dig them up. And none are dried out or anything. I usally get 100% sprouting if I stick the cups outside in the sun, but that's not an option for me anymore because I moved to an apartment. I've tried fluoros, mh, and hps. The hps and mh I fucked up though because I baked the seeds under the light. Maybe it's too cold in my closet? Usually 65 in the morning to 75 highest point during the day.
bagseed ex: I had 16 bagseed lying around. So i decided to germ them. 10 germed so and planted all 10. only 1 sprouted This time I tried not using any light until they popped up. Also: Soil ph is perfect 6.5-6.8 The seeds that do sprout never have any signs of over ferting, so that's not the cause either. Well aerated, but not too much not clumpy, or compact
It seems that you're doing everything right. In fact, the paper towel method is the same that I use when germinating. Soil isn't too much of an issue at this stage, unless it happens to be very dense and clay-like (which is no-good for tiny sprouts trying to push through). The only thing that I can think of based on the information you gave is the direction that you place the seeds in the soil. That is to say, when you place the seeds in, is the taproot pointing down or up? Make sure its down. Otherwise what you might have happening is some of your seeds don't know which way is up, and won't ever surface. Also, when you DO germinate, let the taproot grow until about 1/2 inch. Keep the soil moist. AND, you might be able to move the light a little closer. Maybe 4 inches? Sounds too close, but flouros aren't too terribly hot, so you should be ok with that. If you've already one all that, just ignore me, haha.
ha. thanks. Yeah I put the seeds in taproot down. I'll try lowering the light and letting the seeds germ until the tap root is longer. I usually drop them in right when they crack open. thanks.
here's an idea for you: seeds like a ton of water when they are first starting out. once you plant it, cover the top of the cup with plastic wrap. use a rubber band to keep it secure around the cup. this holds the moisture in. as soon as those seedlings come out of the soil, take the plastic wrap off. i guarantee better results with plastic wrap. it works for me every time.
Hey Bro, try doing the rockwool solution. Once they sprout and look healthy then you can take the rockwool cube and transport it to your permanent grow site. This is how I do all of my seedlings, and lights on in this period because the little sprouts are looking for the light. But other than rockwool cubes your doing the right thing because thats how all of my friends do thier seedlings is the papertowel method. Any more questions bro let me know.
wth. Anyway, rockwool works great and so does the saran wrap. I use both no lights, and lights. Both seem to work well either way. Just make sure you put light on them once they sprout
I have about an 85% success rate from just throwing seeds in a cup of water.1 to 2 days and i have taproots.
