# How Long does Germinating Cannabis Seed's (Wet-Paper Towel Method) take?



## CaliBoy93 (Mar 22, 2012)

Hello, Im very very new at growing. I have alway's been interested in growing, but never really had the urge to try. I put 1 Pure Kush seed in a glass of water at Room Temp. 24 hours later the seed sank. I gave it one more FULL day in the glass and then i moved it to the wet paper towel method. It has been in the paper towel for about 4 days now and still no root or crack? I was just wondering if this means the seed is dead? or does it just need a little more time? Someone told me it takes around 2-3 days. TOTAL. And my seed has been germinating for about 6 days total. 2 in the water cup, 4 in the paper towel. Any thoughts?


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## brotherjericho (Mar 22, 2012)

Once it sank you should have taken it out. You likely "drowned" it.

I've had great success with the water method, 100%. Once it sinks I go directly to soil. 3 days later, sprout.


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## CaptainTripps (Mar 22, 2012)

2-3 days is typical, they can take longer. I doubt you drowned the seed either, some people germ seeds just letting them sit in water, I know they can continue to grow after they pop submerged in water. Is the paper towl being kept fairly warm?


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## CaliBoy93 (Mar 22, 2012)

CaptainTripps said:


> 2-3 days is typical, they can take longer. I doubt you drowned the seed either, some people germ seeds just letting them sit in water, I know they can continue to grow after they pop submerged in water. Is the paper towl being kept fairly warm?


At first, i had the paper towel on a plate, and put a plastic bowl over it to keep in the mostiture. But I dont think it was staying very warm the first few days. Now I have the paper towel in a little black box and I put the box above my water heater and now the paper towel feels warm.


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## delvite (Mar 22, 2012)

ive just popped 5 big bang - they took 2 days


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## montanachadly (Mar 22, 2012)

Each strain is different i have a few seeds that took 12 days i gave up on them thank god i checked on them 5 days after i gave up. I put my seeds in a plastic baggy sealed in a wet paper towel under my tv and almost have 100% with germination. After these seeds germinated and popped soil they took off. Hopefully it is a good seed you have there if you have anymore try them too but beware growing is very addicting i got addicted almost to like heroin addiction here with my growing i eat sleep love my plants and cannabis its horrible


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## CaliBoy93 (Mar 22, 2012)

montanachadly said:


> Each strain is different i have a few seeds that took 12 days i gave up on them thank god i checked on them 5 days after i gave up. I put my seeds in a plastic baggy sealed in a wet paper towel under my tv and almost have 100% with germination. After these seeds germinated and popped soil they took off. Hopefully it is a good seed you have there if you have anymore try them too but beware growing is very addicting i got addicted almost to like heroin addiction here with my growing i eat sleep love my plants and cannabis its horrible


Haha yay! that gives me some hope then. Next round of seeds ill try your method. I think the problem was mine werent being kept warm.


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## kodiak7 (Mar 22, 2012)

yea dont give up man some seeds take longer. next time try putting the paper towel in a plastic baggie and then put that somewere war and dark. personall i use jiffy peat pellets. i had one out of a batch of 12 that didnt sprout recently and the best thing is you can put the pellet straight into the soil.


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## CaptainTripps (Mar 22, 2012)

CaliBoy93 said:


> Haha yay! that gives me some hope then. Next round of seeds ill try your method. I think the problem was mine werent being kept warm.


The might pop then if they were being kept cold... I have nothing but problems trying to germinate without heat. You also dont want your paper towel to be too wet... just damp no dripping water.


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## brotherjericho (Mar 24, 2012)

Any luck yet?


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## operationkush (Mar 24, 2012)

CaptainTripps said:


> The might pop then if they were being kept cold... I have nothing but problems trying to germinate without heat. You also dont want your paper towel to be too wet... just damp no dripping water.


They need to be warm. My method is glass of water until sunk. Into paper towel damp, not dripping wet. Fold it twice and place into plastic bag. I set the bag ontop of my router, its a nice warm location that doesnt get too hot. Just be sure to FOLD the paper towel, the extra layers are protection from too much heat and also from the light if your router is in the light(which mine is). My last germination attempt was on 34 seeds, 17 widow, 17 blueberry. Had 100% germ on the seeds. They were non fem from BCSeedKing.

Just my 2 cents.


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## polyarcturus (Mar 24, 2012)

it can take 1 day up to 2 weeks. glass of water is fine it will not drown as there is o2 in the water after it sprouts a little tail (another day after it pops) remove it from the water as there will now be a slight risk of it drowning.


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## ReignboCloudz (Aug 31, 2012)

I have 4 Orange bud seeds and 1 seed I found in some purple.. they all sunk now I'm.waiting for them to sprout in paper towels. 1 has even gotten green not mildew but a wet flower green no sprouts in a apt so Where is the bed place for good heat.. in paper towel inside plastic bag in side a black plastic bag and inside a drawer... Been 6 days now.. should I just pop these in miracle grow?


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## bigsteve (Sep 1, 2012)

I use the papertowel method. I don't look at them until after 48 hours. I usually see most with small roots. 24 hours later and 95+%
will have a 1/2 inch root or bigger and ready to go into dirt. Remember to keep the soggy papertowels sealed air-tight, especially
after the 48 hour check.

BigSteve.


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## Kordz85 (Sep 2, 2012)

I'm new to growing herb but not to gardening. I don't use the shot glass method as I've had a 0% success rate but using the paper towel method i place the towel between 2 paper plates and set it on my cable box(warm and constant) 2 days later maybe all but 1 pops half inch tails. I was away for 3 days once and a few had shed their seed casing and had embryo leaves and grew into the towel, but I just cut around the root and planted the into my grow medium(paper towel is biodegradable) and they grew just fine.


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## KT420 (Sep 2, 2012)

ReignboCloudz said:


> I have 4 Orange bud seeds and 1 seed I found in some purple.. they all sunk now I'm.waiting for them to sprout in paper towels. 1 has even gotten green not mildew but a wet flower green no sprouts in a apt so Where is the bed place for good heat.. in paper towel inside plastic bag in side a black plastic bag and inside a drawer... Been 6 days now.. should I just pop these in miracle grow?


green isn't good.. . I sed to use paper towl on a plate on top of the TV, back when Tv's where thick enough to set stuff on, heh, but I felt the evap from the plate cooled too much, so I switched to paper towels in a small (6 quart) sterlite with lid on, and set it behind computer tower so the exhuast fan blows on it. Watch TV on the computer now too, heh


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## ReignboCloudz (Sep 2, 2012)

KT420 said:


> green isn't good.. . I sed to use paper towl on a plate on top of the TV, back when Tv's where thick enough to set stuff on, heh, but I felt the evap from the plate cooled too much, so I switched to paper towels in a small (6 quart) sterlite with lid on, and set it behind computer tower so the exhuast fan blows on it. Watch TV on the computer now too, heh


 It's not bad green it just look like a fresh seed green I have them in a damp not dripping paper towel on top on of a lamp. The lamp is.a desk lamp with a hard glass like shade its keeping it warm not hot we shall see. I.still.have hope 5 of these babies something has to.give or ima.just pop them in soil and hope for the best


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## rixter1986 (Sep 10, 2012)

Just pop tha bitches straight into the soil lightly water and pop some cling film over the pot put in worm dark place 2-6 days later whalha got a seedling neva mind paper towels and glasses of water


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## dieselmj (Mar 27, 2013)

I wouldn't use the paper towel method. Your seeds will be alot better off if you germinate directly in soil. what I do is soak the seeds in plain water for 12 hours prior to planting to hydrate them, which will speed up germination. It's also possible that you may have a batch of bad seeds...in general, good seeds will sink, bad seeds will float. Here it's some resources on how germinate marijuana seeds:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MECb92he8M
http://www.marijuanadoctors411.com/lighting-cycles.html
http://www.mandalaseeds.com/Guides/Germination-Troubleshooting-Guide


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## Menfee (Nov 14, 2013)

I dont grow any of the good shit like any kids of kush or what in florida its all called dro but i mainly grow high grade mids cause I think its the cheapest and easiest way to grown weed other then just throwing them bitches in dirt and hope they grow. but anyway when I germinate my seeds I take a paper towel put two seeds on it fold it over pour water of it put it in a bag and that the seeds do their own thing when they start to sprout i give in about another day or two (or until the roots have grown at least an inch) then i put them in little starter pots and put them outside until the grow about a foot them in my closet with a fan and two led lamps (i only grow for personal use) it takes about about 4 months sometimes sooner before they are ready to harvest


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## tigerdope (May 23, 2014)

1st you should've used purified bottled water with enhancement minerals then when they sunk that's progress you should've left them like that and then you should use the paper trowel method with the bowl on top


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## Born Again Vegan (May 23, 2014)

CaliBoy93 said:


> Hello, Im very very new at growing. I have alway's been interested in growing, but never really had the urge to try. I put 1 Pure Kush seed in a glass of water at Room Temp. 24 hours later the seed sank. I gave it one more FULL day in the glass and then i moved it to the wet paper towel method. It has been in the paper towel for about 4 days now and still no root or crack? I was just wondering if this means the seed is dead? or does it just need a little more time? Someone told me it takes around 2-3 days. TOTAL. And my seed has been germinating for about 6 days total. 2 in the water cup, 4 in the paper towel. Any thoughts?


Hey dude i skip putting seeds in water and just put them straight into moist paper towel inna tin ontop of my light or boiler. Usually around 30 degrees C. Seeds sprout over night to a week.


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## newguy1 (Mar 12, 2015)

I have some blue mago seeds that have been in a paper towel for about 3 days and nothing but my Diesel have sprout it in a paper towel within 24 to 48 hours


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## saffron tyme (May 16, 2015)

CaliBoy93 said:


> Hello, Im very very new at growing. I have alway's been interested in growing, but never really had the urge to try. I put 1 Pure Kush seed in a glass of water at Room Temp. 24 hours later the seed sank. I gave it one more FULL day in the glass and then i moved it to the wet paper towel method. It has been in the paper towel for about 4 days now and still no root or crack? I was just wondering if this means the seed is dead? or does it just need a little more time? Someone told me it takes around 2-3 days. TOTAL. And my seed has been germinating for about 6 days total. 2 in the water cup, 4 in the paper towel. Any thoughts?


Hi there...it depends on the seed but usually about 3-4 days to have a nice tail ....I usually wait until the tail is about an inch and or the leaves are pushing the seed off. You may have to much water and the seeds may have rotted...only need a damp paper towel and cover it so it won't dry out...


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## ISK (May 16, 2015)

saffron tyme said:


> Hi there...it depends on the seed but usually about 3-4 days to have a nice tail ....I usually wait until the tail is about an inch and or the leaves are pushing the seed off. You may have to much water and the seeds may have rotted...only need a damp paper towel and cover it so it won't dry out...


the post you replied to is 3 years old, and CaliBoy93 has not logged for near 2 years....so don't hold your breath for a reply


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## Jhopkush (Jun 14, 2016)

So I got two girl scout cookie and two nexicans and I put them in water for about 12 hours and then put them in paper towels and in a bag and put them under my light and my roots were coming out and I went to sleep went to check and they were going back in why is that


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## OZWOMBAT (Jul 31, 2018)

rixter1986 said:


> Just pop tha bitches straight into the soil lightly water and pop some cling film over the pot put in worm dark place 2-6 days later whalha got a seedling neva mind paper towels and glasses of water


Agree!! I'm sorry but in 20 yrs I have just put mine in soil, cover with plastic and boom. All these methods of paper towel bags times, where when .. Blaaa SEEDS HAVE GROWN OUT OF THE DIRT B4 THE DINASAURS WERE CRAPPING.


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## ANC (Jul 31, 2018)

Just drop them into the moist soil as said above... seeds can take 10 days or more to pop.


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## Poontanger (Jul 31, 2018)

you can leave a seed in a glass of water until U see a tap root emerge, sum tmes 48 hrs sumtimes longer , but I just drop em into a bit of seed raising mix & let nature do its stuff


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## Tim1987 (Jul 31, 2018)

rixter1986 said:


> Just pop tha bitches straight into the soil lightly water and pop some cling film over the pot put in worm dark place 2-6 days later whalha got a seedling neva mind paper towels and glasses of water





OZWOMBAT said:


> Agree!! I'm sorry but in 20 yrs I have just put mine in soil, cover with plastic and boom. All these methods of paper towel bags times, where when .. Blaaa SEEDS HAVE GROWN OUT OF THE DIRT B4 THE DINASAURS WERE CRAPPING.





ANC said:


> Just drop them into the moist soil as said above... seeds can take 10 days or more to pop.





Poontanger said:


> you can leave a seed in a glass of water until U see a tap root emerge, sum tmes 48 hrs sumtimes longer , but I just drop em into a bit of seed raising mix & let nature do its stuff


Agreed.


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## StrawberryYields (Jul 31, 2018)

I use the peroxide trick. Just popped 2 tap roots in 3 days.

Capful of hydrogen peroxide in 20oz of water. Wet paper towel with solution, fold in half over seeds. Put that in a baggie and in 2 or 3 days a viable seed will produce a taproot.

I looked it up out of curiosity and the peroxide helps deteriorate the outside layer of the seed and help the root poke through.

Also make sure you let the baggie breathe. Seeds need oxygen.


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