Germinating - Paper Towel Method

Weedler

Weedler

Well-Known Member
Never really had any issues with doing it this way but its been 30 hours and the two seeds have not cracked yet. I know I am doing it right but I guess my question is when should I toss these two seeds and pick 2 more to start trying? What is the maximum time that you can keep seed in paper towel before needing to scrap them and try again?
 
If your seeds haven't cracked after 72 hours, chances are they're never going to; assuming your towel isn't too wet or too dry and your temps are in the 80's.
 
make sure your towels are always moist, and that you have them in a dark warm place. I put mine in a tupperware container, wrap them with a black tee shirt, and stick them in my entertainment center and my electronics keep them nice and toasty.

If your spot is dark and warm, and your towels are moist, i would just try some new seeds.
 
It's room temp but outside temps are low it is winter I placed them in larger ziplocks and put them ontop of my grow tent it is dark and not wet but moist temps. Good idea about entertainment center most of my seeds crack after 12 hours so I started scratching my head with these.
 
Canon said:
While most are under 48 hrs., I've had them take up to 5 days. Never knew why, but happens.
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I do as well here is a way you can prevent this from happening and really open up seeds that naturally would not open most of the time i found this way to be easiest, takes a bit longer than usual but it works!

Most seeds that fail to start germinating do so because their shell is too hard to break open and allow water to seep in. At the end of your germination period you may have found that 25% or more of your seeds have not managed to pop out. You can help these seeds to grow by using a method known as Scuffing.Simply get a small box, like a matchbox. Line the inside of the box with sandpaper. Place the seeds into the box. Cover the seeds with more sandpaper. Close the box and shake the seeds in the box for a few minutes. Now the seeds are scuffed and their outer shell should be easier to pop open. Plant these seeds in soil and they should be able to germinate.

The reason mine take longer is instead of putting them in paper towels i put them in a small shot glass of distilled water and watch them sink and sprout open either way works
 
Exodus434 said:
I do as well here is a way you can prevent this from happening and really open up seeds that naturally would not open most of the time i found this way to be easiest, takes a bit longer than usual but it works!

Most seeds that fail to start germinating do so because their shell is too hard to break open and allow water to seep in. At the end of your germination period you may have found that 25% or more of your seeds have not managed to pop out. You can help these seeds to grow by using a method known as Scuffing.Simply get a small box, like a matchbox. Line the inside of the box with sandpaper. Place the seeds into the box. Cover the seeds with more sandpaper. Close the box and shake the seeds in the box for a few minutes. Now the seeds are scuffed and their outer shell should be easier to pop open. Plant these seeds in soil and they should be able to germinate.

The reason mine take longer is instead of putting them in paper towels i put them in a small shot glass of distilled water and watch them sink and sprout open either way works
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This is excellent advise. Something that I may do if they are real reluctant to crack is I use a razor blade and "score" the edge of the seed where it splits. I just run my razor around them and it usually helps me get the stubborn ones to germ.
 
I t seems most of you dont know shit about beans and how to germinate them, but not all of course...just wait a little, everything does not happen so fast always, i have had a bean in moist towel about 7 days until that bitch cracked...Give it some time, or just do id as most of pro breeders do, just drop into pure soil and some of them will pop up, just takes a little longer !
 
All beans aside i was only trying to help him, he seems like he is looking for a method that will make his seeds pop faster as this may be a quick grow turnaround hope that helps all +rep is appreciated
 
Thanks for all the info guys will be hitting you all up with rep later today. If they dont sprout tonight I will try sandpaper method then back to moist paper towel I usually have quick results must be some stubborn seeds lol
 
Weedler said:
If they dont sprout tonight I will try sandpaper method then back to moist paper towel I usually have quick results must be some stubborn seeds lol
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Have some patience. Wait at least 3 days before you try any alternative methods.
 
in the meantime you can do this to the other seeds of this strain you have and compare results ;) That would be nice to see my method in action
 
I have not germinated that many seeds myself, maybe a dozen or so. Most of mine have germinated in just 2-4 days but I did have some that showed nothing for at least a week, then germinated fine.
 
Guys, I am happy to report that I have hit you all up with + rep for positive inputs, I placed the two seeds in a box and on top of my surround sound, 4 hours later the Great White Shark has sprouted a tap root and has already been placed into the rockwool cube. Much thanks the added heat did the trick I keep the house cool right now because of the cool temps outside so maybe that is what is throwing me off.

Here's a shot of the little girl (Feminized GWS)

IMG_4201.JPG

Had the rockwool presoaked in a solution and she is under the humidity dome for another 12 hours before being exposed to the T5 and my artificial sun lol

I am still waiting on the stubborn Pineapple Express seed to open up I placed it back in the bag and paper towel I will check it again in 8 hours
 
the scuffing works well and should be done, however germinating in paper towels is a bad idea all together. while yes it does work, the small seed with a tiny tap root exposed can stick to the wet paper towel and become damaged once pulled from the cloth. leaving it more vulnerable to infection or stunted growth. A easier way is after scuffing, matchbox works well, fill a small glass with distilled water and drop the seeds in the glass. roll them around gently between your fingers to pop the little air bubbles that attach themselves to the seed. leave overnight in a warm dark place and depending on the age and quality of the seeds the viable ones will sink to the bottom of the glass normally within 24 hours. And then generally within another day or two you should see the seed coat pop and a tiny white tap root should be coming out.
 
Trevor Ellis said:
the scuffing works well and should be done, however germinating in paper towels is a bad idea all together. while yes it does work, the small seed with a tiny tap root exposed can stick to the wet paper towel and become damaged once pulled from the cloth. leaving it more vulnerable to infection or stunted growth. A easier way is after scuffing, matchbox works well, fill a small glass with distilled water and drop the seeds in the glass. roll them around gently between your fingers to pop the little air bubbles that attach themselves to the seed. leave overnight in a warm dark place and depending on the age and quality of the seeds the viable ones will sink to the bottom of the glass normally within 24 hours. And then generally within another day or two you should see the seed coat pop and a tiny white tap root should be coming out.
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i mentioned this already ;)

oh wait nope i didnt not in this thread in another one ;)
 
Wooo hooo... Came home and have a tap root... Have both the ladies going thanks again for all the support! The grows will be detailed, follow the links in my signature. I have 2 ladies going right now while these veg out to 6 weeks
 
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