Germination method

[Northernbud]

What method do you all use for germinating seeds?

I'm doing a top feed DWC setup following the guide on this site, and have rapid rooter cubes. The guide recommends starting them directly the rapid rooter.

My seeds are from Crop Kings, and they say to use the glass of water then wet paper towel method.

I want to follow the seed supplier instructions but I also like the idea of not moving the seedlings at all.

I'd love to know how you guys do it.

Thanks!

[Gingerbeard]

Paper towel with H2O2 and water.

[FlyingDutchPaddy]

I soak in water + fulvic acid + seaweed.
65ml water, 2.5ml fulvic, 1ml seaweed.

soak for 24 hrs, then to paper towel dripped with the soaking water.
paper towel between 2 saucers in a warm place.

2 days later, seedlings with a taproot of about 2cm long, say an inch.

once they have a taproot of an inch, i drop straight into the clay pebbles (also prepared beforehand).

[Ell]

water soak a few hours or overnight , then straight to dirt.

[RFheavy]

I'm pretty bad at germination and growing in soil. Could you go into further depth, please? After you throw it in soil, just keep the soil moist until it sprouts?

[SmashGuitar]

Hi Northernbud, i followed the website on how to germinate seed and it gauarantees a 80% succsess rate. This is the link https://weed-seeds.ca/wp-content/upl...n-Guide-V4.pdf

[smoorman]

This time I took the round expandable peat plug (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and fatten (soak) it up in PH'd water 6.0. In that same water I add 1/4 tsp (per gallon) of MYCO+ (any myco source would work I think). Leave the plug wet but not soaking wet when you put the seed in a hole about 3/8" deep made with the end of an ink pen. Loosely cover seed with peat from the plug. Slice the fabric on the plug in a few places. Keep the plug and seed in the small container the plug came in or other enclosed container in a warm place. But not too warm. This has got to be the healthiest most robust looking seedling I've had.
All that being said, I think every way mentioned above will work and I've tried most of them.

[Eliot Pryor]

I start them where they are going to grow. Rapid rooters have performed well for me.

[s62]

My method is in soil, so maybe not so useful for you. But, I start my seeds in their final destination in a 3g smart pot. I use germination bags (as I learned about from Weed Pharma) to help retain moisture. I water-in the soil, then in go the seeds. I put a small paper cup (plastic is probably better) over the germ bag to help retain moisture (also learned from Sir Pharma). 100% germination rate . . . sample size n=5 LOL. We’ll see if I keep doing it this way or no, but so far, it’s been good!

[Northernbud]

Thanks for the replies.

I went with the crop kings directions, which is to soak 14-18 hours then transfer to wet paper towel on a plate until tap roots develop. All water is bottled spring water.

1 of 2 seeds popped yesterday and has a tap root nearly 1 cm. I transfered that one to a rapid rooter under a clear cover and I'm anxiously monitoring the second seed. The second seed is significantly smaller than the first.

[Northernbud]

How long do I wait on this second seed before germinating another? Same seed order, same strain, same conditions, but slightly smaller seed and has not popped. The first seed has had a tap root for about 2 days now. I first soaked the seeds 4 days ago.

I'm set up for two plants and don't want too much gap between the two, so if this one isn't going to work out I want to start another seed ASAP.

[FunkyButtLovin]

If the 2nd seed hasn't at least split open a bit, I would go ahead and start another one but wait for a couple more days with the small one before counting her out. If you end up with 3 sprouted just raise the 3 together in small pots for a while and give away or cull the weakest later.

[Jsao32]

NorthernBud. I have an awesome video for you for exactly this purpose. I like your way of thinking in not having to disturb the seedlings too much (I'm guessing you because you don't want to cause any damage to the roots). Anyway, here is what I was sent a while back from someone who's been doing DWC since before it was even a thing. https://youtu.be/DUbxTqWlnFQ. It Should help you in your little experiment.

[Jsao32]

When it comes to germinating, I NEVER follow what crop king says. Yes, a lot of their stuff is spot on, but when it comes to germinating, I find their directions are for those who have nothing but time to sit and monitor their seeds. This is my method, and I've have 100% success rate since I started (I use soil and this is my method, you may have to adjust for DWC). This isn't the only way, but I've found it works GREAT for me. Take it or leave it...it's all about having fun and trying new things:

1) Soak your seeds in water for NO MORE than 24 hours. Keep the water warm with a heating pad underneath (low setting, you don't want to boil them). Keep the glass covered in plastic wrap to prevent evaporation.
2) After soaking, most of the seeds with have sunk (this is a good thing)
3) Grab two pieces of super absorbant paper towel. lay them one on top of the other.
4) Dump the water onto the paper towel. The water should be saturated, but not dripping (takes a little bit to figure out the perfect amount)
5) Place your seeds on one half of the paper towel.
6) Fold the paper towel in half to cover the seeds
7) Place paper towel/seeds into Ziploc bag.
8) Breathe into the bag, puff it out (don't worry, there's enough oxygen in there to keep them happy)
9) Place Ziploc bag on heating pad to keep your seeds warm (not too warm, we don't want them to fry) and cover the seeds on a thick towel (to keep the light out, they're like mini-vampires)
10) Within 24-48 hours, the tap roots will start to sprout. When they do, pay attention to them...the little bastards start growing like weeds...ironic right? If you notice the paper towel is drying out around the edges, spray it with some water. Every once in a while, there may be a leak where some moisture escapes (it's sneaky like that), which cause the bag to deflate. Don't worry, you can always fill it up by breathing into it again...Ah, the breath of life!!!
11) When the tap root is about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inches long, it's time to plant the seeds (they look like super-magnified sperms now...gross) into your medium
12) If planting in soil, make a hole about 1/2 inch into soil (make sure it's moist but not soaking wet, you don't want to drown the little guys).
13) cover the seedlings with a bit of soil, not too much, since a lot of energy is used in growing. If there's too much soil, there won't be enough energy for the seedlings to break through the soil...work smart not hard. Give the soil a light misting to moisten the surface.
14) Place the seedlings in a humidity dome. not much need for light right now since the seed are buried. But keep them warm (if they're warm, they will grow...it's like a weird "field of dreams" thing)
15) Within a day or two, your seedlings will start to sprout. Keep them warm, put some light on them, and keep them moist
16) And there we go, after that, it's all up to you. Proper light, proper heat, proper humidity. The right ratio of everything comes with time and experience.
17) UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DO YOU START GIVING ANY NUTRIENTS FOR THE FIRST WHILE. WAIT UNTIL THE 2ND SET OF SERRATED LEAVES START FORMING. When you do start, give the nutes at 1/4 to 1/2 strength. New seedlings burn super bad and super easily.

[Northernbud]

Thanks for the responses! I'm going to start one more this evening if I don't see any action from seed #2 by end of day.

Still debating with myself over the exact method though, everybody seems to have a slightly different way. I'm leaning towards going directly into a rapid rooter cube under a humidity dome in my warm dark room. Possibly after soaking overnight in a glass of water.

The good news is that my first seedling is growing like crazy. I may put it into the DWC setup tonight...

[Northernbud]

I soaked the seed for about 20 hours in bottled spring water, then transferred to wet paper towel in a warm room like the first two.

48 hours total and I had a tap root poking out.

Now I'm planning a series of motivational speeches to encourage her to catch up to her big sister.