germination not working.

i have 5 bagseeds i got from a friend for a cigarette that he said he got from a oz. of headies. One of the seeds was oldish looking so i didnt expect it to germinate. Also this is the first time useing a heating pad, its a regular one though not a seedling one. I have the class with the heating pad over it. One started to crack after one day untill late i checked adn it looked as though the emergeing tap root rotted. so i took the two remaining seeds and did the paper towel plate way adn placed it on top of the heating pad and nothing has happenened. If anyone has had like a root rot experiance from germination tell me please.

I just throw mine in a wet paper towel, into a plastic bag, and into my desk drawer. I dont even check them the first 2 days. Ive had about 80% success rate, which is fine for me, as ive collected over 200 seeds the past few months, and have labeled many of them. Sometimes I toss the seeds and paper towel into the microwave for 8 seconds or so. It seems to start the germination process faster, but i haven't done a lot of testing with that method.

If you traded a cigarette for some seeds... maybe the seeds arent any good. Just buy an 8th off of someone, theres bound to be some seeds in it, and its perfect for practicing/starting. No need to order seeds for your first grow, imo.

thanks man i actually just checked the paper towel plate ones and they are already out of the seed shell in less then 24 hours.