Help now~~germination rate like 10%

Uncle Ben said:

Good for you! I've got what you've got going on plus berries, wine grapes (that I sell), pecans, pomegranates, olive, and much more. Bit off more than I can chew and am now a slave to my plants.

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Sure sounds like it, I have several different fruit trees don't know the names Costa Rican fruit trees, several variety of fruit bushes, 7 different types of citrus, avocado, fig, peach, apple and 6 variety of guave. I too sir am a slave but a very willing one.

My method has been near 100% i use room temp distilled water wet paper towel don't soak it it will stick together and rip. place seed close to middle fold over and cover seeds, wrap in a sandwich bag an lick the tab for a nice seal then store in a dark warm space i use the cupboard above my stove. 1-5 days and they usually all pop

Uncle Ben said:

Nice! 5 acres, that's a lot to take care of. Is that your primary source of income? Just curious, as it's tough to make a living that way unless you have cheap labor and a good market that pays high dollar. Of course with the organic marketing thing going on, you can sucker your customers and charge 3 times more, as long as it has the buzzwords "organic and natural" attached.

I grow tropical fruits in a greenhouse, citrus and avocado which I grafted to rootstock that I started from scratch. A dwarf mango is going in next.

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Crazy you said that. I've been wanting to plant mangos. Do you think starting from seed is worth it or should I buy aone already started. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to growing them but I LOVE mango and I think raising my own would be pretty cool

I use in conjunction with a paper town a small plate with some water on it and throw in a water heater bottle and put that inside an Esky / food cooler. That way the boiling water in the water heater stays hot for hours and brings the heat up in the water cooler a bit and makes it humid and moist. Seemd to work really well for all my seeds.

I found this method online before I started my last germination and it worked AMAZINGLY well, all popped within 2-5 days:

"REQUIRED PARTS

1. A 2 -3 gallon clear plastic storage tub ($3)M
2. A smaller, sandwhich sized tupperware plastic box ($2)
3. A cleaning size antibacterial sponge, ($2)
4. A self setting aquarium heater ($7 at WalMart)
5. An aquarium thermometer, ($1.50)

The larger tub is fillled 1/2 way with water and the aquarium heater is placed in the larger tup and allowed to heat the water to a temp of 76 degrees, confirmed by your aquarium thermometer which is also in the larger tub. The little preset heater is set for 76 degrees. It seems thats the temp for fish as well.

The sponge is cut in half or buy 2 and the seeds will be placed in between the 2 sponges. The sponge unlike paper towels, allows air to the seed and keeps water away from them. The seeds are subjected to moisture between the sponges but not water. The sponges should be saturated but not dripping.

The sponges go in the sandwhich tupperware box and the top placed on it and then it is place floating in the 76 degree water. In short order, the sponges and the moistrue in the sponges are also at 76 and thats where the seeds are at.


The consitent temperature, water and air will quickly germinate any viable seed placed in it. With this method, 90% of indica seeds will germinate and pop within 18 hrs and all will have popped within 24. Long flowering equatorial sativa's which are very hard and moisture resistant can take up to 72 hrs but most will pop within 48.

This little contraption is the most important device i own. I can buy single seeds and pop them all day long."

Dboi87 said:

Crazy you said that. I've been wanting to plant mangos. Do you think starting from seed is worth it or should I buy aone already started. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to growing them but I LOVE mango and I think raising my own would be pretty cool

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Needs to be grafted, of proven wood. Here's a great place to order from if you're in the states. http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/mango/

Pickering is a dwarf.

Uncle Ben said:

Folks, for the hundredth time, there is a reason why conventional horticulturalists, pros, DO NOT use a fuckin' paper towel to germinate their seeds, even for water culture! Here's my archive......

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Hate, Hate, Hate. I always use a paper towel hell even used paper before, no loss of vigor and it is not that hard to pick up a seed and plant it without damaging the taproot. 100% germ rate with quality seed stock, over the last ten years. Go grow your own weed and stop trying to act like your some guru. You're not. Who gives a a dime what you say. Go write a book and see how well it sells.

thenotsoesoteric said:

Hate, Hate, Hate. I always use a paper towel hell even used paper before, no loss of vigor and it is not that hard to pick up a seed and plant it without damaging the taproot. 100% germ rate with quality seed stock, over the last ten years. Go grow your own weed and stop trying to act like your some guru. You're not. Who gives a a dime what you say. Go write a book and see how well it sells.

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Hate, Hate, Hate.

i soak ceeds overnight, put in damp paper towels, place in boiler room, and they crack withn 24 -48 hours. i have done it this way for many years and it works. may or may not be the best way, but it works for me.

maybe mother nature doesn't do it like this, but that why mother nature releases a countless number of ceeds and gets a far far less germ rate than i do compared to the number of ceeds dropped and the ones that actually grow. think of all the ceeds that get eaten, do not survive the winter, or even pop but do not survive because they are sitting on top of the ground or a rock.


just think if mother nature used a paper towel method, it would be a jungle out there.

Anyone can get a "ceed" coat to crack. All it takes is the application of warm temps and moisture and you can use any means you want. That's not the issue as I previously stated.

Only time I have had ceeds not germinate is when I soaked them first or when I just put them in the dirt, rock wool, peat, and whatnot. Maybe not thousands of ceeds in my 10+ years but hundreds for sure and sitting pretty on success rates. After all it is not rocket science as some would have the new guys believe.

There is more than one way to skin a cat.

You will notice that some people like myself do not resort to verbal obscenities but will happily and maturely debate issues. Good day, sir.

Reminds me of an older thread, time to point out the obvious again:

Sativied said:

AimAim said:

Yeah I ever for the life of me understood why you would sprout a seed on a paper towel.

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Well then let me clear that up for you: it's because teachers in school show kids how seeds germinate, by putting them in paper towels they don't have to mess with "dirt" in classrooms... Somehow that stuck with (too) many people as some sort of clever way to germinate... which it is not.

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thenotsoesoteric said:

You will notice that some people like myself do not resort to verbal obscenities but will happily and maturely debate issues. Good day, sir.

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Excuse me?

thenotsoesoteric said:

.... Go grow your own weed and stop trying to act like your some guru. You're not. Who gives a a dime what you say. Go write a book and see how well it sells.

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Yes, I commented on your post in which you posted "Do not fucking germin....". That was my reference to obscenities. No need to curse about every little thing.

And to Sativied, I haven't been to grade school in over 25 years and the only seeds we grew were thrown straight in to dirt. But I love the logic.

Hope you guys have a good day.