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Best Seed Starting Process

papasan

papasan

New member
For years I germinated seeds with the paper towel method. It works fine but it is very easy to damage root when putting into grow media and it is a hit and miss thing and you have to really keep check on moisture levels in the towel. I have tried rockwool with some success but it is really hit and miss, but it is a good grow media for hydroponics. I have read on Grow Weed Easy that the Rapid Rooter Cubes are very good for germinating and hydroponic grows. I have no experience with these cubes and wonder just how good they are in real life and not hype. How many of you folks use trust and like the Rapid Rooter Cubes?
 
I use paper towels and distilled water. Also, I put it all in a Tupperware container. I mean think about it, how much oxygen does a tiny seed need to sprout? Not much. There's plenty inside a sandwich sized Tupperware container.

Then I put the container on my DVR, which is slightly *warm* to the touch, and use a handheld laser thermometer to make sure the temp stays around 75-80F.

Works every time. In 48 hours when the tap root is about an inch long, they go into the soil. Couldn't be easier.
 
I've used rapid rooters with success. I've planted a seed directly into a rapid rooter and I've used the paper towel method to pop the seed and then slice the RR open as Nebula suggests and used it that way. Both ways worked for me. I've since moved away from them as I want to start seeds directly into the medium they'll be growing in. But Rapid Rooters work and are easy to work with. IMHO.
 
I soak the beans in tap (well) water for 24 hours, then drop in coco/perlite that has been saturated in a solution containing calmag at 10ml/galon and pH adjust as needed. Keep the coco moist until they break the surface.
 
Hey ya’ll, I have I improved quantity of the bud through what I’ve learned on trimming but thanks to this site, I was trimming too much!!! This question makes me feel like at total idiot but here goes, in the tutorial and what I’ve read, it says trim as little as possible but to trim around bud sites, is that before it goes to bud or should I trim the leaves blocking where the lite hits? Just need a clearer understanding. 🙄 Thanks for any help, I’ll try to add a photo
 

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I use a combination of the three. I first let seeds floating in a cup of clean water for a day or two. Not disturbing them so they don't sink to the bottom. Once they're cracking open I put them into a moist paper towel inside a Ziploc bag. Once they're about one cm long I place them in a floral foam (oasis cube) and place the cube in a solo cup with coco all around it and bellow
 
I’m at 100% for over 30 seeds (some 2 years old no refrigeration), using paper towel soaked with well water, in a 1 gal zip lock ballooned out a bit, sitting on a seedling heating mat w/controller set to 80f, and then covered with a towel to block ambient light. I then sow into soil and do not use rooters. Typically 24hrs sprout and 60ish seedlings. Best 30 bucks I spent on grow equipment!
 
I agree here. I’ve never tried hydro, and not planning on it. But if I did I’d do my method below into rooters.
 
I've used the paper towel method reliably for many years. I now use a vertical germinator that incorporates the paper towel method and I get better tap root growth.

One of the things I learned using the paper towel method is to use the cheapest paper towel I can find. Usually at the local Dollar General or Family Dollar. I want the paper towel to be able to disintegrate once I plant it. I also tear away whatever part of the towel doesn't have any roots grown into it.

vert germ sprouts top.jpg
vert germ sprouts.jpg
 
Can a seed be to old to germinate?
I have some seeds from Amsterdam that have been stored in a test tube since the pandemic.I soaked them for 24 hours in some filtered water and then placed them in the paper towel on a heating mat set to 75° After 1 month i gave up because the seeds are not sprouting, I don't know what to do next. any suggestions?​
 
A couple years should be fine so I would contact the seed company and tell them what happened. They might send you more seeds.

It could also be the way you stored them.

The method that bdeegan mentioned is the way I used to do it except for using well water I just used city tap and I used a smaller zip loc. I didn't put a heat mat under mine. I would usually just stick them in a cupboard and check on them once a day. Mine would usually sprout within a few days.
 
Thanks for the reply. Quick question. Are you folding the paper towel over on top of the seeds or are you just placing the seeds on the paper towel uncovered?
 
Are you folding the paper towel over on top of the seeds or are you just placing the seeds on the paper towel uncovered?
 
What I would do is take a dinner plate and fill the center with water. Lay the paper towel over it to suck up the water and hydrate the towel without it being too wet. The towel should be wet enough so that it is completely saturated but not floating in water. I divide the towel into four quadrants and place the seeds in the bottom left quadrant about 2/3 from the bottom to give the tap room to spread. Some like to plant at first sign of tap root. I like to let them pop a little more so that there is more tap root to bury.

I fold the paper towel in half covering the seeds and again so that it fits in a zip loc sandwich bag. You could cut the paper towel in half as you only need to cover it once.

I put them in a cupboard because roots don't like light so anything I can do to get them to keep growing I do. Use the shittiest paper towels you can find. I use the ones I get from the local Dollar Genera. You want the paper towel to be strong enough to support the seedling but still breakdown once you plant it in the soil. I usually cut away whatever towel doesn't have any roots growing in it and plant the rest. Bounty and other brands weave in cotton yarns so that the towel doesn't fall apart when you are using it to wipe stuff up. You want the towel to fall apart.
 
I typically use cheep non print no frills towels. I fold them in half twice and then open it so the seeds sit on and get covered by a “doubled up” paper towel.
 
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