Trouble with germination

My grow has been delayed while I've been having trouble figuring out why my seeds can't get past germination. It has been a long process of trial and error, so I'll just jump in to it.

Try 1:
2 White Rhino seeds in glass of water in dark warm place
-Root tip peaks out, drop seeds tip down in to rockwool cubes
-Rockwool soaked for 12 hours in ph adjusted distilled jug of water
-Placed by window for two weeks, no growth
Pulled the rockwool apart, seed didn't grow past root tip.

Try 2:
8 bagseed in glass of water dark warm place
-Tips peak out, drop in cubes
-Process above repeated
2/8 sprout
Not good enough for expensive seeds

Try 3:
3 bagseeed in soaked paper towel, in plastic bag, on top of tv box, under magazine. (regular water used, not distilled this time)
-Long root tips break out over night
-Place tip down in to rockwool
-Place rockwool in veg box under humidity dome
3/3 sprout over night

Figured I had it fixed, so!

Try 4:
Method above with 1x NY Ryder and 1x blue widow
Used distilled water again because I'm stupid
Same results as Try 1

Try 5:
2x Autoflowers, Try 3 Method with regular water
1 of 2 show root tip
-It has been 24 hours and the tip is just peaking out, no super growth like try 3. Expecting Try 1 results again, but hoping otherwise.
-Planting in rockwool later today


What the hell am I doing wrong? This isn't my first grow, but it is my first time with nice seeds and rockwool. I need to use the rockwool because I'm going top drip/dwc, and I think I'll have better luck with this than straight in to clay pebbles.

Temps 70-80F.moist R/W not saturated.Dome to retain moisture.

ECP said:

My grow has been delayed while I've been having trouble figuring out why my seeds can't get past germination. It has been a long process of trial and error, so I'll just jump in to it.

Try 1:
2 White Rhino seeds in glass of water in dark warm place
-Root tip peaks out, drop seeds tip down in to rockwool cubes
-Rockwool soaked for 12 hours in ph adjusted distilled jug of water
-Placed by window for two weeks, no growth
Pulled the rockwool apart, seed didn't grow past root tip.

Try 2:
8 bagseed in glass of water dark warm place
-Tips peak out, drop in cubes
-Process above repeated
2/8 sprout
Not good enough for expensive seeds

Try 3:
3 bagseeed in soaked paper towel, in plastic bag, on top of tv box, under magazine. (regular water used, not distilled this time)
-Long root tips break out over night
-Place tip down in to rockwool
-Place rockwool in veg box under humidity dome
3/3 sprout over night

Figured I had it fixed, so!

Try 4:
Method above with 1x NY Ryder and 1x blue widow
Used distilled water again because I'm stupid
Same results as Try 1

Try 5:
2x Autoflowers, Try 3 Method with regular water
1 of 2 show root tip
-It has been 24 hours and the tip is just peaking out, no super growth like try 3. Expecting Try 1 results again, but hoping otherwise.
-Planting in rockwool later today


What the hell am I doing wrong? This isn't my first grow, but it is my first time with nice seeds and rockwool. I need to use the rockwool because I'm going top drip/dwc, and I think I'll have better luck with this than straight in to clay pebbles.

Click to expand...

This is likely due to the fact that you pH adjusted the water for the rockwool. I know, I know... everybody and their mother says you should pH adjust the water for the rockwool. From my vast experience, I have never had good germination this way. The best thing to do is use tap water soaked rockwool.By any chance , are you getting orange algae on the rockwool surface after a few days?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch9WJSk-_jw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLyYY72mGKM
of course one precious seed per cube.Important:shake off excess water.

problemsolver said:

This is likely due to the fact that you pH adjusted the water for the rockwool. I know, I know... everybody and their mother says you should pH adjust the water for the rockwool. From my vast experience, I have never had good germination this way. The best thing to do is use tap water soaked rockwool.By any chance , are you getting orange algae on the rockwool surface after a few days?

Click to expand...

No algae. It seems like the seeds are dead right as they hit the rockwool, or maybe even dead before they even reach it.

Rockwool is in its second soak right now. Peaked back in on the seeds. Still half a cm a root tip on one. Other one has split, but I don't see any root.

Following dalek method at this point. Running low on seeds, really need to get this op moving.

Hi Dude, I dont know much about this whole thing yet, but let me say Ive done the same thing. Ive spent about 160.00 on seeds just to get a very small return. I have 5 working now but killed at least 12 seeds before I got it down.
I know nothing about rockwool or coco. But this is what I did, I read a web site that said soak the seeds for two days until they crack and then bury them 1/4 inch. Becuase I was using a new soil aora 707 or something like that, I did not know how much water to give them and so the new soil was holding alot of moisture.....in short I was drowning everything. Some seeds looked like the roots where disolving after the 2 day soaking before they even got in the ground.. period. So I saw this video of a lady throwing 50 seeds in a paper towel and lightly spraying with spring water then she put them in a bag on the hotwater heater, and like, all them where 2 inches long in 48 hours. She untangled them and then push them down in a loose soil mix with a pencil.
So I tried that, still know luck. Then I saw the paper towel technique done again where the guy warned to besure to blow air in the baggie. So I tried again with a very lightly spray of water on three paper towels in three bags filled with Air, with the paper towel folded up part on the water heater (they like a little heat). In 48 hours my big budda auto was so long I had to cut it out of the towel. I then took them and put them in my solo cups with my good soil and I also lined the hole that I made with my pencil with lighter peat moss. Ive had 5 in a row work since i started this. you can then remove them in a few fays after the tap roots gets going and put them in your hydro products.

My big mistakes where two much water. no air in the bag, after they sprout use very little water after you transplant. ( you can see this from how little you need on your paper towel)...

I know how stupid this sounds, cuz nobody but you and I have problems Germing, But once I quit drowing the paper towel and started blowing air into the bag..... Voila............................................. good luck dude ...I have one beautiful La diva ready to harvest...

I soak for 12- 24 hours dark, flip to moist paper towel dark and then once the sprout is about 1 cm long i very carfully place the seed in the rockwool cube pointing down about 2mm below the surface.

Now place the two rock wool cube (damp not wet ) in the dome with two extra soak rockwool cube for humitity.
now every 12 hours i take the extra cube and squeeze a bit of water like a table spoon over the seed sites and in two days babys.

I have had problem in the past with germination and what i came down to was bad seeds, how the seeds are stored before you get them are anyones guess, stick to the bank that garranty germination or they will replace the seeds, that what i do, seems good after i made that switch.

Just my two cents

Peace

Have the cubes only about 50% wet at all times once you plant the cracked seed, yours are too wet and this is why your strike rate is shithouse.
If this carnage continues try jiffy pellets if not going into hydro system.