germinating debate

So I have been reading about germinating all day and everyone seems to have there own way

I came accross this bloke on youtube who uses a greenhouse way with soil and argues against the paper towl method.

Good watch.
Thought I'd share! Had some very valid points.

I just soak them for 36~ hours in water and they will pop if they are viable and then plant directly in the medium. I have had instances where I don't keep the paper towel moist enough or even too moist and it screws things up. KISS

There's more than one method to germination. The paper towel method is fine. Just make sure to keep it moist. There's germination in straight to soil. Some people also submerge the seeds straight in tap water. I'd usually prefer to use distilled water with a pH of 6.0. You can also buy Jiffy Greenhouse that comes with peat moss pellets. Using the greenhouse method allows you to germinate with an easy transition to vegetation. Plus transplanting to a container will be easy.

I pop mine straight into soil. They've been germinating like that for millennia, so I figure they must know what they're doing...

Also if some seed don't germinate, they're not dead. Get a piece of sandpaper and rub the seeds. Then pop them back into the soil or whatever germination method your using. The reason why some seeds wont germinate is because the seed coating may be a little thick for the water to permeate through.

as above nature has been germinating in soil for millenniums

ugorg said:

as above nature has been germinating in soil for millenniums

Click to expand...

My reply is based off of reading Marijuana 101 by Professor Lee. He's been growing for 20+ years. There different routes to the same destination.

some routes take longer but you get there in the end

Some of those crazy ass "hippies" back around 50 years ago would use an old, damp, oil rag from out in the garage, toss in some bag seed, wad it all up and toss it over in a corner. Not very scientific or anything, but they usually looked like they were pretty f**ken ripped.
So they say, anyway.

I have been successfully germinating by submerging the seeds for 2 to 3 days in RO water.

i used to use the paper towel method and it worked on most viable seed
but i lost a few because they dried out and i got a little bummed haha

so i switched to the pre-soak for a day or two in RO water, and when i see a decent taproot plant carefully in a light soil mix and keep it moist until i see the sprout usually within a day
under a t5 light that isn't too powerful

this method seems to get me close to 90% sometimes 100% germination rates from good seeds
whichever works for you is really the best way
have a good day all
happy gardening!

VIP Grower said:

There's more than one method to germination. The paper towel method is fine. Just make sure to keep it moist. There's germination in straight to soil. Some people also submerge the seeds straight in tap water. I'd usually prefer to use distilled water with a pH of 6.0. You can also buy Jiffy Greenhouse that comes with peat moss pellets. Using the greenhouse method allows you to germinate with an easy transition to vegetation. Plus transplanting to a container will be easy.

Click to expand...

Why pH? There is no nutrient to uptake at all.

sworth said:

I pop mine straight into soil. They've been germinating like that for millennia, so I figure they must know what they're doing...

Click to expand...

Can't possibly work. Not nearly complicated enough.

^^^^ True that! ^^^^

I use 1.5" rockwool cubes because they are sterile, have an optimum air/water ratio, and won't dry out too quickly. Because seeds can be hard to get, I take the extra step of working up some rockwool flakes with a toothpick and placing them over the top of the seed. If the seed is viable, germination is 100%. Also have them in a vented humididome, T5 flourescents, and a VERY weak nutrient solution. Cubes are soaked overnight in the solution and then pH is adjusted. When well-rooted, they go into either bigger rockwool cubes or Pro-mix BX.

One caution: when transplanting to dissimilar materials (i.e. the Pro-mix), you have to be careful that the Pro-mix doesn't draw all the water off the rw cube...initially.

Keep it simple. I just germinated in soil earlier this week. It took three days for my baby to pop out. Had it in a mix of ffof, ffhf, and black gold peatmoss under 200w optic cxb led. just wet the soil before you put the seed in cause you might push it down further than it needs to be

Trying this method now, the one in the video that is. Will post results soon

If you're using paper towels, you are 100% a cretin.

Liked the vid. Q? I go the old soak for 24 hours and drop in a wet rockwool. I get extremely high germs. Like well into the 90s.

After a week it hasn't popped so I dig the seed out to see whassup. It had a hole in the bottom of it. I always look the seed over a bit so it wasn't there before I started.

Anybody know what that means? I am thinking the seed was a dud. I think this happened to me twice.

Any input?

So let my seeds sit over night in the water (12hrs)

Now there in the mini greenhouse.



Come on my little babys!