Problems with seeds sprouting

[Coco0503]

Hey everyone, I've got a few grows under my belt but am having difficulty with getting this latest batch of seeds to sprout.

Using the paper towel method I got all 4 of my feminized Blue Dream to crack and show their tap roots. Unlike my previous grows where I just tossed them in, this time I read that you should point the taproot up so I carefully did this with each seed. 2 days later I have one sprout that is looking very healthy. 2 days after that I decided to carefully check out what each seed was doing.

The 3 seeds that did not sprout yet had some crazy twisting of the tap root almost like it couldn't figure out which way was down. I very carefully untwisted the taproot and popped them back in and sprinkled just a bit of soil over them (1/8"-1/16"). The day after (today) I got another sprout beginning to come up and another seemed to begin its push upwards.

The last seed still isn't showing any signs of surfacing and it has been about 5 days since the original planting. I'm wondering if she just isn't going to make it. How many more days should I give it?

To replace this seed I was thinking about just prepping another seed and depending on how far along the other plants are just topping the 3 larger plants and leaving this late one untopped at an attempt to keep the canopy even. What do you guys think of this plan?

I'm sure that I shouldn't have been digging around after only 3 days anyways and likely killed them myself, but I have some questions:

1. How long do you wait after popping a germinated seed before checking on it?
2. Is there any reason that the tap roots looked so wrapped up?
3. Which way do you place the tap root when planting a germinated seed?

 

[lawlrus]

I've had seeds surface in less than 24 hours and seeds take over a week...after about 10 days I give up, but even then, I remember one in particular that I had forgotten about in a closet which ended up sprouting after nearly 3 weeks. The issue there was that it was too wet to begin with and needed to thoroughly dry out. Getting the medium too wet is the most common mistake of a new grower, so make sure that you're not "killing them with kindness" by being too attentive and watering too often.

One other caveat: please don't waste your time using paper towels to "sprout" seeds before planting them. If the seed is viable it doesn't need that, and there are way more issues than benefits with a paper towel anyways, not the least of which being that if you leave them just a bit too long you'll have seeds growing into the paper towel which can then be damaged when you try to remove them. Again, if you have viable seeds, they need a 24-48 hour soak at the most before dropping them in, and even that is totally unnecessary, it just helps to speed the process up a bit and also can give you a very general idea of overall viability in a batch (i.e. seeds that float often will not germinate while seeds that sink usually do).

So to sum up my post based on your three questions:

1.) If you have planted several seeds and only one or two have not surfaced while the rest have -- give it a few extra days (say, 3-5) and then if you really feel the inclination, you can try to dig it up and see what the deal is. Don't make a habit of digging up seeds in general as you generally will do more harm than good. Chances are you planted the seed a bit too deep or when you watered it you pushed the seed down further than you intended so it's fighting its way to the top. There's also a good chance that, as I mentioned above, you are over-watering these to begin with and that is slowing the process (or killing the seed). Less is more -- you are much more likely to kill your seeds with too much water (and attention) than too little.

2.) Could be any number of reasons but I promise you that the seeds know what they are doing and will find their way above the surface if they are viable and if you don't drown them to where they die from damping off.

3.) Don't worry about which direction, the seed will correct itself as necessary. All the crap you read about the benefits and negatives to planting them "tail up" or "tail down" is just that -- crap. Remember that 40% of what you read on the internet about growing pot is outright wrong, 40% is either exaggerated or outright bullshit from pathological liars who don't even grow weed, and if you're lucky, the remaining 10% can be sifted through to find some good info. You need to have a healthy amount of skepticism to get the most out of forums like this.

Good luck!

 

[dgthumb]

Personally, I've never used the paper towel method. I've just dropped them into a small cup of tap water, usually within 24/48hrs up to 72 hours (depending on genetics) they'll sink down then crack open. Once they crack I plant them, typically root down, but eh I'm not digging around to make sure. *curious why they'd say tap root up though, seems backwards if you're going to pick a way to put it*

Usually within about the same roughly 24 to 72 hours they'll pop through the surface and off they go. So seed to sprout 24 hours to a week.

I have seen some take longer, after a week I'll dig and check, if no signs of root I write it off, if there's a root I'll let it grow.

 

[Alienwidow]

I've had seeds surface in less than 24 hours and seeds take over a week...after about 10 days I give up, but even then, I remember one in particular that I had forgotten about in a closet which ended up sprouting after nearly 3 weeks. The issue there was that it was too wet to begin with and needed to thoroughly dry out. Getting the medium too wet is the most common mistake of a new grower, so make sure that you're not "killing them with kindness" by being too attentive and watering too often.

One other caveat: please don't waste your time using paper towels to "sprout" seeds before planting them. If the seed is viable it doesn't need that, and there are way more issues than benefits with a paper towel anyways, not the least of which being that if you leave them just a bit too long you'll have seeds growing into the paper towel which can then be damaged when you try to remove them. Again, if you have viable seeds, they need a 24-48 hour soak at the most before dropping them in, and even that is totally unnecessary, it just helps to speed the process up a bit and also can give you a very general idea of overall viability in a batch (i.e. seeds that float often will not germinate while seeds that sink usually do).

So to sum up my post based on your three questions:

1.) If you have planted several seeds and only one or two have not surfaced while the rest have -- give it a few extra days (say, 3-5) and then if you really feel the inclination, you can try to dig it up and see what the deal is. Don't make a habit of digging up seeds in general as you generally will do more harm than good. Chances are you planted the seed a bit too deep or when you watered it you pushed the seed down further than you intended so it's fighting its way to the top. There's also a good chance that, as I mentioned above, you are over-watering these to begin with and that is slowing the process (or killing the seed). Less is more -- you are much more likely to kill your seeds with too much water (and attention) than too little.

2.) Could be any number of reasons but I promise you that the seeds know what they are doing and will find their way above the surface if they are viable and if you don't drown them to where they die from damping off.

3.) Don't worry about which direction, the seed will correct itself as necessary. All the crap you read about the benefits and negatives to planting them "tail up" or "tail down" is just that -- crap. Remember that 40% of what you read on the internet about growing pot is outright wrong, 40% is either exaggerated or outright bullshit from pathological liars who don't even grow weed, and if you're lucky, the remaining 10% can be sifted through to find some good info. You need to have a healthy amount of skepticism to get the most out of forums like this.

Good luck!

All this ^^^^

 

[thumper60]

always plant seed side way crazy shit about pointing up who the heck came up with that one point down is fine to

 

[Coco0503]

Awesome. Thank you for the very thorough answers!

 

[testiclees]

I've had seeds surface in less than 24 hours and seeds take over a week...after about 10 days I give up, but even then, I remember one in particular that I had forgotten about in a closet which ended up sprouting after nearly 3 weeks. The issue there was that it was too wet to begin with and needed to thoroughly dry out. Getting the medium too wet is the most common mistake of a new grower, so make sure that you're not "killing them with kindness" by being too attentive and watering too often.

One other caveat: please don't waste your time using paper towels to "sprout" seeds before planting them. If the seed is viable it doesn't need that, and there are way more issues than benefits with a paper towel anyways, not the least of which being that if you leave them just a bit too long you'll have seeds growing into the paper towel which can then be damaged when you try to remove them. Again, if you have viable seeds, they need a 24-48 hour soak at the most before dropping them in, and even that is totally unnecessary, it just helps to speed the process up a bit and also can give you a very general idea of overall viability in a batch (i.e. seeds that float often will not germinate while seeds that sink usually do).

So to sum up my post based on your three questions:

1.) If you have planted several seeds and only one or two have not surfaced while the rest have -- give it a few extra days (say, 3-5) and then if you really feel the inclination, you can try to dig it up and see what the deal is. Don't make a habit of digging up seeds in general as you generally will do more harm than good. Chances are you planted the seed a bit too deep or when you watered it you pushed the seed down further than you intended so it's fighting its way to the top. There's also a good chance that, as I mentioned above, you are over-watering these to begin with and that is slowing the process (or killing the seed). Less is more -- you are much more likely to kill your seeds with too much water (and attention) than too little.

2.) Could be any number of reasons but I promise you that the seeds know what they are doing and will find their way above the surface if they are viable and if you don't drown them to where they die from damping off.

3.) Don't worry about which direction, the seed will correct itself as necessary. All the crap you read about the benefits and negatives to planting them "tail up" or "tail down" is just that -- crap. Remember that 40% of what you read on the internet about growing pot is outright wrong, 40% is either exaggerated or outright bullshit from pathological liars who don't even grow weed, and if you're lucky, the remaining 10% can be sifted through to find some good info. You need to have a healthy amount of skepticism to get the most out of forums like this.

Good luck!

Bro do you find that temps are important for successful germination?

 

[lawlrus]

Bro do you find that temps are important for successful germination?

Definitely. High 70's and humidity to match -- 70-80% RH -- are ideal conditions for most mediums in terms of starting seeds.

 

[Coco0503]

Just peeked in at the seeds and I've got 3 sprouts. I just popped another one of my Pineapple Express seeds in a glass of water and dug up the last one that didn't sprout. The tap root was shriveled up and dead. Once I throw it in the soil im going to put seran wrap over the top of the pot to keep that RH up.

 

[lawlrus]

Just peeked in at the seeds and I've got 3 sprouts. I just popped another one of my Pineapple Express seeds in a glass of water and dug up the last one that didn't sprout. The tap root was shriveled up and dead. Once I throw it in the soil im going to put seran wrap over the top of the pot to keep that RH up.

You can also use regular sandwich baggies (Glad bags) with a rubber band . Or, if you're using coco as your name maybe suggests, you really don't need the bags at all.

 

[dgthumb]

Just peeked in at the seeds and I've got 3 sprouts. I just popped another one of my Pineapple Express seeds in a glass of water and dug up the last one that didn't sprout. The tap root was shriveled up and dead. Once I throw it in the soil im going to put seran wrap over the top of the pot to keep that RH up.

Make sure to wrap it loose, lift it daily to allow fresh air in, once it sprouts take the wrap off.

 

[Hessam]

No fuckin' paper towels, no pre soaking, no jiffy peats, no scratching! Just plant them half an inch deep, straight in a good substrate. Instead of focusing on fucked up methods, just focus on providing your seeds with the right pH, right temperature and right level of humidity. I always germinate my seeds in coco and I have 100% germination rates, unless something is wrong with the seed itself, which is rare! Remember that high quality fresh seeds have ENOUGH water in their cells which keeps them viable. When you soak fresh seeds in water, water will penetrate the hull of the seeds and their cells will absorb water until they rot and die from oxygen deprivation. So don't do that! But don't get me wrong. There are lots of plants that need soaking as a seed to germinate, but cannabis ain't one of them! For my current grow, I have germinated about 25 seeds so far from 9 different breeders, straight in coco. They all popped. Not a single problem. (DON'T JINX IT! )

 

[Hessam]

Once I throw it in the soil im going to put seran wrap over the top of the pot to keep that RH up.

Exact same mistake as soaking fresh seeds + great opportunity for algae and fungus to grow in your medium and destroy your seedlings + very high chances of damping off!

 

[lawlrus]

Exact same mistake as soaking fresh seeds + great opportunity for algae and fungus to grow in your medium and destroy your seedlings + very high chances of damping off!

I've been following your posts recently and you make an awful lot of absolute statements. You should be careful telling new growers things in such black and white terms when things are not that simple. If he does not have appropriate RH in his environment, there are not a lot of ways to provide that humidity without doing something like he mentioned, which is perfectly fine if he allows it to breathe as necessary.

 

[GreenLegend420]

Personally, I've never used the paper towel method. I've just dropped them into a small cup of tap water, usually within 24/48hrs up to 72 hours (depending on genetics) they'll sink down then crack open. Once they crack I plant them, typically root down, but eh I'm not digging around to make sure. *curious why they'd say tap root up though, seems backwards if you're going to pick a way to put it*

Usually within about the same roughly 24 to 72 hours they'll pop through the surface and off they go. So seed to sprout 24 hours to a week.

I have seen some take longer, after a week I'll dig and check, if no signs of root I write it off, if there's a root I'll let it grow.

This exactly if it doesnt come up its a bad seed

 

[Hessam]

If he does not have appropriate RH in his environment, there are not a lot of ways to provide that humidity without doing something like he mentioned

Dude, germination process has absolutely nothing to do with RH in the grow area! I think everyone should know that! The humidity that we are talking about here is the humidity level in your soil, not in your environment! The only environment that seeds know while germinating is the substrate. That's why you put heating mats under your tray or pot, because it's only important that you maintain the right temperature within your soil, not your environment! As far as you keep your substrate moist, but not soaking wet, you don't need to worry about any other factors in your grow room! p.s. good air circulation around your medium is one of the most important things that accelerates germination. You should allow fresh air to penetrate your medium constantly, because seeds need oxygen to germinate! Soil needs to breathe!

 

[J Bleezy]

I like to soak mine in diluted peroxide for about an hour, then plant straight into coco, just in case any pathogens came with the beans. I'm paranoid though.

 

[lawlrus]

Dude, germination process has absolutely nothing to do with RH in the grow area! I think everyone should know that! The humidity that we are talking about here is the humidity level in your soil, not in your environment! The only environment that seeds know while germinating is the substrate. That's why you put heating mats under your tray or pot, because it's only important that you maintain the right temperature within your soil, not your environment! As far as you keep your substrate moist, but not soaking wet, you don't need to worry about any other factors in your grow room! p.s. good air circulation around your medium is one of the most important things that accelerates germination. You should allow fresh air to penetrate your medium constantly, because seeds need oxygen to germinate! Soil needs to breathe!

Look, I agree with you on all of the salient points here, but what I'm getting at is that you're not considering the reality of the situation. Few of these folks who need to ask this question in the first place have dialed in rooms or spaces and their temperatures and RH are likely fluctuating constantly. You can have a pot full of the ideal medium in terms of moisture level, drop the seed in, and all that is a moot point if they're dropping into a super arid room with the temperature out of whack one way or the other. That's why humidity domes are helpful for some in terms of leveling the playing field and unnecessary in other scenarios, such as my own (I start seeds in plain coco at 1/3 strength solution with no humidity dome). All of what you mentioned is important but I stand by my statement that there are ideal environmental conditions in addition to to your stated ideal media conditions. Again, it's not that you are providing incorrect information, it's that you are not considering all sides to the story and making things seem dangerously black and white to someone who is trying to soak up as much info as possible to make an objective decision for their grow.

Bottom line, I want to encourage you to use that knowledge and passion to help inform rather than proselytize.

 

[green217]

Exact same mistake as soaking fresh seeds + great opportunity for algae and fungus to grow in your medium and destroy your seedlings + very high chances of damping off!

I always had mixed results trying to plant directly in soil. Since switching to paper towel method, I get at least an 90% germ rate. I haven't' stopped with the paper towels yet. I don't do any pre soaking though. I have suck seed directly in soil with no problems, then on other occasions only 1 out of 5 would pop. I save a lot more money letting them sit in a dark warm closet for 48=72hrs in a damp paper towel in a airtight tupperware dish. Drop them in RR' s and they always take right off. Some ways work better for some of us and not so much for others.
Point your tap root down, that is where it is trying to go, phototropism will eventually bring the root down, but I always drop my tap roots facing down and the seed facing closest to top of soil/RR.

 

[jeroly]

Six hours in lukewarm water with just a drop of dish detergent in a shot glass (soap improves the binding of the water to the seed case to improve the germination process), then a quick, light, rinse-off before putting straight into a 'solo cup.'