Germination kinda stopped....

I've never grown before and got some seeds from a friend and I am in the germination stage. Last Monday I soaked them in some water overnight to see which ones floated and sunk. All but one sunk, so I moved em to the paper towels and dampened the paper towels and placed the seeds about 1 inch apart. Used the two plates and made a dome around them. Within two days they cracked open and a tiny taproot appeared about half the size of the seed. I've been keeping the paper towels damp with distilled water and being careful not to over saturate them, but it's been a while now and the taproots haven't grown any bigger. They are exactly the same as when they opened up. I'm checking the temperature of the plates too and making sure they stay between 70-80°F. My buddy says to give them more time but I don't know, it just seems like they've stopped completely. Three of them are auto lapse he said. Maybe I'm just too new to this and not being patient enough. I don't know. Any suggestions or anything is appreciated.

Put them into dirt before you accidentally dry out your tap roots. You'll know if you messed up in a few days

Neuhisstihr said:

I've never grown before and got some seeds from a friend and I am in the germination stage. Last Monday I soaked them in some water overnight to see which ones floated and sunk. All but one sunk, so I moved em to the paper towels and dampened the paper towels and placed the seeds about 1 inch apart. Used the two plates and made a dome around them. Within two days they cracked open and a tiny taproot appeared about half the size of the seed. I've been keeping the paper towels damp with distilled water and being careful not to over saturate them, but it's been a while now and the taproots haven't grown any bigger. They are exactly the same as when they opened up. I'm checking the temperature of the plates too and making sure they stay between 70-80°F. My buddy says to give them more time but I don't know, it just seems like they've stopped completely. Three of them are auto lapse he said. Maybe I'm just too new to this and not being patient enough. I don't know. Any suggestions or anything is appreciated.

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Seeds cracked, tap roots showing, plant them. That is my advice. The seeds are doing their job and the tap roots want to dig down into soil. Good luck.

Rsawr said:

Put them into dirt before you accidentally dry out your tap roots. You'll know if you messed up in a few days

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They can still dry out in damp paper towels?

Neuhisstihr said:

They can still dry out in damp paper towels?

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If one forgets to water them, yes. Some days get busy.

Doug Dawson said:

Seeds cracked, tap roots showing, plant them. That is my advice. The seeds are doing their job and the tap roots want to dig down into soil. Good luck.

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Okay. I was just wondering because all of the "how-to's" on germinating cannabis I've seen showed the taproots an inch and half long or so. I still have a couple seeds that haven't cracked yet.

I've had seeds pop and then puke out like that - even in the best of conditions.

You might just have some old, bad or non-viable seeds.

Seeds should have enough stored energy to crack, create a small tap root and spread the cotyledons without any additional need for nutrients.

Good Luck!

Rsawr said:

If one forgets to water them, yes. Some days get busy.

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Gotcha. I've been keeping them damp though. I check on them every morning and once again in the evening. Unless they might be too damp? Could that be the issue possibly?

GreenGuy_1995 said:

I've had seeds pop and then puke out like that - even in the best of conditions.

You might just have some old, bad or non-viable seeds.

Seeds should have enough stored energy to crack, create a small tap root and spread the cotyledons without any additional need for nutrients.

Good Luck!

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My buddy says they were good, same batch of seeds he's growing with. But I'll be mindful of that. Thank you.

Neuhisstihr said:

Gotcha. I've been keeping them damp though. I check on them every morning and once again in the evening. Unless they might be too damp? Could that be the issue possibly?

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It is possible to drown seeds, but I doubt your towels are soaked. It is best to handle little seeds as little as possible, so a lot of folks just suggest you right into a cup of your chosen medium

Rsawr said:

It is possible to drown seeds, but I doubt your towels are soaked. It is best to handle little seeds as little as possible, so a lot of folks just suggest you right into a cup of your chosen medium

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Okay. I appreciate the input. I've heard some people say to saturate the soil a bit with a squirt bottle prior to placing the seeds in.

Neuhisstihr said:

Okay. I appreciate the input. I've heard some people say to saturate the soil a bit with a squirt bottle prior to placing the seeds in.

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Yup, keep the dirt moist but not swampy

Rsawr said:

Yup, keep the dirt moist but not swampy

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Awesome, thank you. The seeds that have not yet cracked, should I give them more time or do you think they're most likely duds?

I would plant them all. It's not much more waste to add a few solo cups and dirt to the room. Then you may have some extra seedlings

Rsawr said:

I would plant them all. It's not much more waste to add a few solo cups and dirt to the room. Then you may have some extra seedlings

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Okay, cool. Thanks for the help!

Plant them and give them light. If they grow they grow. But they're not going to do anything in a wet paper towel.

Good luck.

Neuhisstihr said:

I've never grown before and got some seeds from a friend and I am in the germination stage. Last Monday I soaked them in some water overnight to see which ones floated and sunk. All but one sunk, so I moved em to the paper towels and dampened the paper towels and placed the seeds about 1 inch apart. Used the two plates and made a dome around them. Within two days they cracked open and a tiny taproot appeared about half the size of the seed. I've been keeping the paper towels damp with distilled water and being careful not to over saturate them, but it's been a while now and the taproots haven't grown any bigger. They are exactly the same as when they opened up. I'm checking the temperature of the plates too and making sure they stay between 70-80°F. My buddy says to give them more time but I don't know, it just seems like they've stopped completely. Three of them are auto lapse he said. Maybe I'm just too new to this and not being patient enough. I don't know. Any suggestions or anything is appreciated.

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Hello Neuhisstihr
I bought some White Widow seeds from a well known Canadian place (TrueNorthSeedBank), from the brand Canuk. I started the seeds with the Scott towel method, and seeds did exactly as you describe, tap root came out, and then completely stopped growing. I also got some Afghan seeds from the same supplier, and those germinated no problem. I told them about it, and they were kind enough to replace the 7 seeds that I had bought, and the seeds stopped exactly like the first time. I thought I got a bad, old batch of seed, but they assured me they check each batch, and their seeds are top quality!
I then ordered some White Widow from Amsterdam (AMS), with witch I had great success in the pass, the goddamn seeds are doing the same thing.
I'm an experience grower, I been doing it for more them 30 years. I know how to grow well from seeds to buds. I seen and know how to solve many problem , pests, fungus, etc, and know all solutions.
I'm starting to thing I'm on some kind of energy knot, I know there is water lower under ground, and I have a steel roof, cell don't work in my house.
I tried keeping the seeds germinating temperaure around 22c, now I'm trying at 28c, I told myself, and I know some seeds need warmth to germinate properly. It's not working, I'm desperate to understand what the hell is happening?
Am I going to have to germinate them at a friend's house?

I need somebody advice, from a professional, somebody that has seen this before, and knows what to do to fix it. I have another 5 seeds left, from that White Widow genetic that everybody LOVES, and I don't want to wast them. it's like $15.00 per feminized seed!
You can be sure that I will keep a mother when I finaly get one plant going.
Thanks,
mikmaq