so I have some tips on germination. you will needs some paper towel/Kleenex a bowl ( an eating bowl..) another bowl or some saran wrap seeds a music c.d so I'm not going to bother explaining how germination works, read other threads for that. Since we need to keep the paper towel constantly moist, we are going to create a closed environment for our seeds. we can accomplish constant moisture by doing the following. Place a bowl in "eating" position place a couple tablespoons of water in the bowl. place a c.d in your bowl. the c.d acts as a shelf. ( make sure your water level is lower then the c.d place your (already) damp paper towel onto of the c.d then cover everything with a piece of saran wrap on top on other bowl thats upside down. we have just created a closed environment. by doing this you will never have to check your paper towels moisture level. give it a couple days and viola.
Cool man, thanks for posting. Best way (in my opinion) is just tossing your seeds into a glass of water and waiting a few days. They'll crack, sink to the bottom, and its tap root time. Paper towel works but I've heard of people breaking the taproot trying to peel it off of the paper. ~Experimentalist
If you are intending to grow in soil, I have never found any advantage whatever in germinating seeds in paper towels, it just adds a totally unnecessary extra step. When I was a noob, I once germinated my seeds in paper towels, I had read in forums like this that was the way to do it. As I pulled my sprout off of the towel, I could FEEL the tiny hairs that had grown into the towel being ripped off. I thought, this is a STUPID method, I am damaging my delicate sprout, and have put my seeds directly into soil ever since. I have also read about new growers mistaking the root that first grows for a shoot, and putting their sprouts in soil upside down, where they will often die. I have heard of towels being put in airtight containers, where the seeds rot, and towels being allowed to dry out, and then so does the sprout, and dies. In fact, there are so many disadvantages to putting your seeds in paper towels, I wonder why this is still being advised. And nobody has yet been able to tell me of any advantage in doing it. Seeds need moisture and warmth, 75 – 80 F, to germinate. I find this best achieved by placing your seed in a pot of compost mix (1 seed per pot) about 4 mm deep, keep them in a warm place, a gardener´s heat pad can be good, they pop the surface in 1 to 5 days. If you were growing tomatoes or cacti you would read the instructions on the packet and put them straight in soil - why treat MJ differently??
I have found myself damaging the taproot using paper towels only because the towel itself dried out after the taproot had already protruded. using this method I find as long as the towels are constantly moist (which they are) you won't have much trouble with the root sticking to the fibers of the towel. i agree with both of you cantharis - i use this method when i don't have proper materials available to me. i agree, this plant sprouts like any other plant why not treat it as such. i think depending on the situation you are in with your seeds can determine the method you use to germinate. No question the BEST way is to plant straight into soil but for people who do germinate in towels (because there are threads on it) i figured i could touch upon basic improvements on that technique. SOIL FTW
i totally disagree. paper towel method is a great way to get the seed started, and to make sure the seed is even going to sprout. if you plant a bad seed in soil you could be waiting a week without knowing the seed isnt even going to sprout. with the paper twel method you will know in a day or 2 if it gets stuck to the paper towel then you waited to long. if you plant the seeds when the taproot first pops, no longer than 1/4", there should be no rick of sticking. by germinating them first, you can also see which way the root will grow, so you can place it in the soil correctly. i use the paper towel method in a tupperware container with the top on, but not sealed. i place it on my external hard drive for warmth and have NEVER had problems doing this. just because you couldnt figure out how to germinate a seed correctly doesnt make it stupid, in fact the only thing stupid was your comment
Totally agree - any time in a paper towel is too long. If you are planting in soil anyway, why put them in towels at all? Using a paper towel just introduces a totally unnecessary extra step and confers no advantage whatever - the seeds do not germinate quicker, neither is the germination rate improved. As outlined, there is even a risk of severely damaging the sprout. Newbs who just like to fiddle and can´t stop looking at their seeds just love to do this, though.
Sorry, that is not correct. Seeds placed in soil will ALWAYS grow the taproot downward, it is called geotropism - the seed is sensitive to gravity. I have however heard of noobs who used towels and planted their sprouts with the taproot sticking out. They dried up and the plant died. Another disadvantage to the towel method.
Yes, do what works for you. But please do not go advising new growers to use a totally unnecessary technique that can harm their expensive sprouts.