Ordered some white widow seeds from here tried to germinate first using the water in the shot glass it sank so I planted it nothing came up. Now i've Been germinating a new seed using the paper towel inbetween two plates for 5 days now and still no sprout. Just want to know if my seeds are bogus or i'm just a really bad farmer
is cannabisseeds.com a good sight to get seeds??
- Thread starter tuerto84
- Start date
Jogro
Well-Known Member
First of all, it can take a week, or even longer in some cases, before seeds show external signs of germination, so don't give up yet.
There are plenty of ways to skin this cat, but the main thing in germination is to keep the seeds:
a. Moist (that's means not totally immersed in water, and not dry), and
b. Warm (70-84F is plenty warm enough, and I wouldn't go higher).
That's it. No heat mat or other tricks should be necessary unless you're trying to germinate your seeds in a colder than room-temperature place.
Some people like to dunk the seeds completely in water, but I never saw the point of that. If they float, you're just going to toss them? I wouldn't. In my view, a water soaked paper towel gives them all the water they'll need without becoming soaked/drowned, and no additional water should be necessary. If you accidentally forget about the seeds, or something unexpected happens and you can't get to them for an extra few days, you're going to be better off in the moist paper towel rather than the shot glass full of water, I think.
Its also perfectly fine to just cover your seeds lightly with dirt and water, either misting daily and/or covering with plastic wrap to keep the soil from drying out. Kind of "old school" but it eliminates any chance of further damaging the seed with improper handling down the line. The only problem there is that if they *don't* germinate quickly then you start to wonder what's going on, and digging up the seeds isn't really practical (because you can damage them), etc.
This is what I suggest:
1. Label paper towel with strain and date using sharpie or other label, (helpful if you're germinating more than one kind of seed at once), fold over several times, then soak with water. Squeeze out excess gently. You want the towel wet, but not sloppy wet where water is dripping out.
2. Place seed(s) on towel, and fold over ONCE (to make a 'sandwich'). One strain per towel.
3. Place towel inside of plastic sandwich bag to keep from drying out. Some people use tupperwares, etc to accomplish the same thing. If you have the tupperwares and space, that's fine. You could use a plate or two, I guess, but using a plastic bag or other sealed container eliminates any possibility the towel/seeds will dry out.
4. Place bag in warm place. Wait 24-48 hours.
5. Inspect for signs of germination. If you didn't fold it too many times, you should be able to see the seed right through the wet paper towel, if you hold it up to some light. If you can't for whatever reason, you can unfold the towel to inspect. There is NO need to actually touch the seed. If seed has NOT germinated, replace, and reinspect after one more day. Don't toss the seed until/unless ten days have elapsed.
6. Once the seed has germinated, and the "tail" is 1/4" long or longer, you can consider planting it into PROPER soil or other medium so that the seed itself is loosely and just barely covered with medium.
Some people like for the new taproot to be about 1/2" long first, and even longer is still OK. But in any case, make sure to handle the seed GENTLY. . .the baby seedling is fragile and any damage to the taproot can kill it, or severely stunt growth. You don't actually "need" to, but if you have tweezers/forceps, use them.
There are plenty of ways to skin this cat, but the main thing in germination is to keep the seeds:
a. Moist (that's means not totally immersed in water, and not dry), and
b. Warm (70-84F is plenty warm enough, and I wouldn't go higher).
That's it. No heat mat or other tricks should be necessary unless you're trying to germinate your seeds in a colder than room-temperature place.
Some people like to dunk the seeds completely in water, but I never saw the point of that. If they float, you're just going to toss them? I wouldn't. In my view, a water soaked paper towel gives them all the water they'll need without becoming soaked/drowned, and no additional water should be necessary. If you accidentally forget about the seeds, or something unexpected happens and you can't get to them for an extra few days, you're going to be better off in the moist paper towel rather than the shot glass full of water, I think.
Its also perfectly fine to just cover your seeds lightly with dirt and water, either misting daily and/or covering with plastic wrap to keep the soil from drying out. Kind of "old school" but it eliminates any chance of further damaging the seed with improper handling down the line. The only problem there is that if they *don't* germinate quickly then you start to wonder what's going on, and digging up the seeds isn't really practical (because you can damage them), etc.
This is what I suggest:
1. Label paper towel with strain and date using sharpie or other label, (helpful if you're germinating more than one kind of seed at once), fold over several times, then soak with water. Squeeze out excess gently. You want the towel wet, but not sloppy wet where water is dripping out.
2. Place seed(s) on towel, and fold over ONCE (to make a 'sandwich'). One strain per towel.
3. Place towel inside of plastic sandwich bag to keep from drying out. Some people use tupperwares, etc to accomplish the same thing. If you have the tupperwares and space, that's fine. You could use a plate or two, I guess, but using a plastic bag or other sealed container eliminates any possibility the towel/seeds will dry out.
4. Place bag in warm place. Wait 24-48 hours.
5. Inspect for signs of germination. If you didn't fold it too many times, you should be able to see the seed right through the wet paper towel, if you hold it up to some light. If you can't for whatever reason, you can unfold the towel to inspect. There is NO need to actually touch the seed. If seed has NOT germinated, replace, and reinspect after one more day. Don't toss the seed until/unless ten days have elapsed.
6. Once the seed has germinated, and the "tail" is 1/4" long or longer, you can consider planting it into PROPER soil or other medium so that the seed itself is loosely and just barely covered with medium.
Some people like for the new taproot to be about 1/2" long first, and even longer is still OK. But in any case, make sure to handle the seed GENTLY. . .the baby seedling is fragile and any damage to the taproot can kill it, or severely stunt growth. You don't actually "need" to, but if you have tweezers/forceps, use them.
Jogro
Well-Known Member
To answer your original question:
First, give it ten days.
If that entire time you've kept the seeds warm and moist (but not TOO hot, and not totally soaked), as I described in the post above, and they still don't germinate, then its the seeds and not you.
I'd add that even the better seedbanks and seed sellers will have an occasional "dud", so I wouldn't jump to any conclusions based on your lack of success with two seeds. If none of them germinate, you've got some legitimate issue with the seller.
Remember that in most cases the seed seller is a third party; they didn't create the seeds, they just purchased them wholesale from a breeder and are selling them retail to you. What makes a seed dealer "good" or not isn't whether they occasionally sell bad seeds, its how they deal with it when you ask them to address the problem.