Can't get my seeds to germinate!

Hello everyone, I'm very new to growing and have researched a whole bunch, but I'm still having problems. I'm using the damp paper towel technique, I am keeping them in a dark, warm place, yet after almost 5 days the only change I see is that they are a darker color. I am trying to germinate 5 seeds so I was hoping at least 1 of them would sprout, please help and thanks in advance for any support.

The longest it took me to germinate was 3 weeks. Just remain patient.

Thank you for the quick reply, it's good to know that it might take more time because I was pretty sure I wasn't doing anything horribly wrong. One last question, is the darker color a good or bad sign? Or does it not matter?

ok dude... this is newbie proof... but just to let you know... 5 days in dampness isn't a good sign, especially if the seeds are just getting darker... they're about to rot... by you using the word damp, i think you used too much water, because you're suppose to just moisten the towel...

this is how i did it the very first time and still do.... after you have already placed them in the paper towel.... let the water run on warm and keep one of your hands in the water for like 5 sec.... then pat the paper towel with the seeds inside with the wet hand... keep doing it like this on both sides of the papertowel until its MOISTENED, NOT DAMP.... or you can use a spray bottle and spray until its moistened... these 2 methods prevents you from overwatering the papertowel, which results in you destroying the seeds....

oh yeah... the hand method is good too, because of the warmth from the hands.... seeds likes warm soil... i usually get them to crack between 1-3 days....

place the paper towel between two paper plates, place the paper plates inside of a black plastic bag (for darkness and to hold the moisture in a little, while the seeds gets oxygen) then wrap the plastic bag inside of a sweater/sweatshirt....

i do it this way because i don't feel like looking for a warm, dark place...so by wrapping it, you're basically making your own

I barely wet the paper towel, I used a spray bottle, and used rain water.

took me 2 days, i put them in a tea towel moistened it with tap water, -> put it in between 2 plates -> then in a warm place. 8 have cracked nicely. Normally i just stick a few in a pot and leave them out doors and see what takes.

yeah, thats what i use also....

when the paper towel dries out, do you moisten it again?

sorry dude... wish i could tell you more... they usually crack pretty quick for me, just like the other guy said... patience...

try the plasic bag and shirt thing...never know.. it works for me....

i do what needhelp said minus the packaging! put them in moist paper towels between two plates ontop of my pc tower for warmth.. last time it took 2 days for large tap roots to show.
Grade

threaten them...

tell those sons-of-a-biotches if they don't get to work... get the fuck out... no freeloading

I dont like the sound of them becoming dark...sounds like rotted seeds to me. Where did you get them?

Moist paper towel is almost fool proof as long as you keep them moist, dark and warm. You could try pinching the sides of the seeds until you hear it crack. Then put them back in the paper towel. If that dont work then try over with some good seeds.

Good news! I just checked a seed I planted in soil a couple days ago after thinking the paper towel wasn't working and it sprouted! One question though, is it bad that i took it out thinking it hadn't sprouted and then put it back in? I was careful not to damage it in any way.

omg the BEST WAY is put them in some water,,,(Warm)
........ALWAYS germs for me EVERYTIME.
hjust throw them in water..and then let them do the rest

(TRY THIS) Get some new seeds dont pay a shitload of money\ask some friends for seeds out of their bags or use some u already have that hopefully came from somethin descent.Put seeds into green plastic cup with about 1 inch of water.
after a day or so seeds will sink-take em out and plant just under the surface of dirt,rockwool or peat moss.
Within another day or two u should see sprouts.


I actually use my fish tank filter media.I have a bio sponge that i cut 4 slits in to the top and slip the seeds in point up.It works great i have about 97% germination rate.I think it is due to my water having so much oxygen,plus a constant flow!
After germination and roots form simply cut out squares around roots being careful not to cut the actual root.You can then plant bio media [about $2.00 for 28inches dont worry about cutting it]and all straight into dirt or rockwool,if u have fish in your tank do not use rockwool in filter.The filter i use is very inexpensive [walmart-$10.00] simply hang on a five gallon or smaller bucket and watch the magic happen.Also the nitrogen content in "fish" water supposedly makes for more females[i dont see a differance]A friend of mine actually grows smaller size plants directly in his filter but his was more expensive at about $50.00
and it only holds 2 /12-15inch plants.