Ok so before anyone calls me a noob let me explain my situation. I got a free feminized G13 ww seed which I am trying to sprout along with a lowlife ak47xblueberry seed. I have read that doing the paper towel method isnt the proper way to sprout a seed because the little hairs will infuse into the paper towel and rip off. So I put the seeds in a cup of water and let them soak for about an hour and planted them into tiny cups of decent soil and made sure the soil was wet but not soaking. I have read that you dont need to use lights on them until the seed comes above soil and the best thing to do is to put tops on the cups and put them in a nice dark warm place. Well its been 4 days since I planted these seeds, so I gave up and moved the dirt away from the seed so I could check the status of it and they havent even cracked. So I buried them back in the soil and while doing all of this I realized the soil was a bit on the cold side. It wasnt freezing but it wasnt warm either. So now I have the little cups under my lamp shade to absorb some of the heat from the light bulb. So now that you have read this I have 2 questions... 1. How sencitive are seeds sprouting under differnet temps? Like does the soil have to be warm to the touch?? 2. Did I fuck up by digging the seeds up to check the status on them? I hope seeds arent that sensitive, because i didnt even touch the seed, i just moved the soil from the top part of each seed and then put the soil back over top of the seed to re-bury it. I realize it can take up to 2 weeks for seeds to sprout so I havent given up hope yet, I just hope I did the right thing by putting them close to a light bulb to get some heat in the dirt.
for starters, i do the towel method, and i get 99.9999999999999 to germinate. its if you leave the taproot to long germinating it will eventually root into the towel, which is almost impossible, i've even left some a little longer than i should have (waiting on the rest to germinate) and they even shed there shell in the towel and that did them no harm. 1. sensitive? well heres a story for you. 2 months ago i had an idea my house was going to get busted, because i was seen taking a few fella away from a scene of a crime (long story). anyway, a few days before this my brother wanted me to germinate a seed for him and starter it off for him, i had the seed germinating on top of my router/computer, taproot was out about 5mm or so. a friend of mine was round having a few beers while i was on the computer. a knock came to my door and i could see a figure through the door with a wire coming from his hear (police), i took the seed/towel over to my mate and told him that i was expecting the police and for him to eat the seed if the police have come to search the house. cut a long story short, the police searched my house for over 2 hours while my mate drank and smoked fags. when the police were gone, my mate asked me do i want this thing back, i couldnt believe it, where did he have it? IN HIS MOUTH the hole time. that plant now is 2 weeks into flowering and is as healthy as can be. beer, fags and siliva getting sucked up through the taproot still didnt do it any harm. i wouldnt recommend germinating seeds like this but... you shouldnt tamper with a seed when its germinating, and yes, it may take longer than 4 days to germinate. by the way i'm stone, and i thought i'd share that little story with you.
HAHA WOW. That's the first I've heard of the tobacco/beer/saliva method of germination. Sounds crazy! Desperate times call for... you know. To the op: if you were digging around in the soil and the seed hadn't sprouted its taproot yet there's no chance you messed it up. If it had a taproot it's quite delicate, if you break the taproot chances are it will die. I soaked my seeds in water for a half hour then planted them in soil. After 3 days 2 of them came up. Still waiting on some of 'em though. It can take a long while for them to get out of their soil, shorter if they are nice and warm. If it's too cold they may never come out, chances are they are just taking their time. If it's chilly where they are, get an electric heating blanket under them and keep it on medium or so. That could help (it's how I'm keeping mine). Edit: scratch that last, after 3 days 4 of 6 have sprouted!!!
I am a newbie just like you and I used the paper towel method and it worked like a m'fer. I had 10 Kaya fem'd seeds and 9 of them germinated and are now planted and growing like they should. get an emory board/nail file and a small matchbook and put the emory board in the book and put the seeds in it and shake em around and scuff up the seeds a little bit and then soak em overnite and then do the paper towel method and it should work 99.99999999901% of the time, good luck.
Keep the soil moist, slightly warm (a few degrees above room temp is fine), and just give it more time.
Jeez, I totally give up. Now this is why noobs LIKE using paper towels, they just cannot leave alone, they love unwrapping their paper towel and playing with their new toy. Experienced growers have learnt some patience, and let nature take its course.