A Germination Mystery to Solve

Hi there,

I hope you and all your loved ones are all well and safe.

I have an interesting problem that i havent been able to solve and I'm hoping to get some feedback on this problem.

So the issue is I cant seem to germinate any seeds. This is my second grow, but I bought the seeds about 3 years ago . They were stored in a black glass jar, with no humidity or temp control. Have gone through multiple seasons, Extreme heats upto 40C, and lows 18C.

So far i have tried to germinate 12 seeds, and i have not seen a single tap root. They all end up turning black and for some reason hollow. I removed a few seeds after they failed to germinate and put them under a microscope... it was like they were hollow. .So the seeds opened but got liquified? Whaaaaat? Some didnt even open.

ALL SEEDS ARE AUTO. Every Try has new seeds.

First Try : 3 Seeds, Amnesia Haze, Sour Diesel, Super Lemon Haze.

1. Pre-soak Mineral Water only, Ph 8, 18 Hrs - Darkness
2. Moved to Paper Towel, Humidity Dome, Sprayed PT with Same water. Darkness , Temp 22C
3. Three Days later, The seeds are black, No Sprout - Game Over
Concerns: Maybe the PH was high, or the TDS

2nd Try. New Seeds, Same 3 as above

1. Pre-Soak 18 Hrs, RO Water, PH 6 - Darkness
2. Moved Directly Grodan cubes, unsqueezed, Humidity Dome, Sprayed cubes with Same water. - Darkness- Temp 24C
3. 5 Days later, I dug in , The seeds are black, No Sprout - Game Over
Concerns: Could it be fungus, mold? Are these drowning?

3rd Try. Royal Jack (RQS), Moby Dick

1. Pre-Soak 14 Hrs, 0.15% Hydrogen Peroxide , PH 6 - Darkness
2. Moved to Paper Towel, Humidity Dome, Sprayed PT with Same water. - Darkness- Temp 26
3. Three Days later, The seeds are black, No Sprout - Game Over
Concerns: Maybe soaking in Hydrogen peroxide for that long is not a good idea.

4th Try- Royal Jack

1. Washed seed in 0.15% Hydrogen Peroxide , then shot glass with RO water PH 6 / 26 Hrs- Darkness
2. Moved to Paper Towel, Humidity Dome, Sprayed PT with Same water. - Darkness - Temp. 22
3. Four Days later, The seeds are black, No Sprout - Game Over
Concerns: Am i drowing them?


5th Try - Pink Diesel +Amnesia, Durban Poison, Auto AK

1. NO PRE-SOAK , RO Water, PH 6 , Direct to Paper Towel, Humidity Dome, Sprayed PT with Same water. - Darkness - Temp. 22
2. Its been three says, No Change. This one is currently running...

Well, I guess thats about it. I cant figure out what the problem is. I'm a noob but this is supposed to be not that difficult.

So many possibilities, Old Seeds? Bad Seeds? Bad water? Fungus, Mold? Ph too high or low?

If anyone can tell me where im being stupid, I would appreciate it. If you have questions, please throw them at me.

Thank you!!

G.

I think you are being impatient and fucking with them to much

You do realize every try had new seeds right ?

groweed1974 said:

You do realize every try had new seeds right ?

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I doubt they are viable given the wide temp swings
I keep mine in a sealed plastic container in my refrigerator for decades

Herb & Suds said:

I doubt they are viable given the wide temp swings
I keep mine in a sealed plastic container in my refrigerator for decades

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That would be the right thing to do. But i gave up on growing , never though i would get back into it. Just ordered some new seeds. Hopefully they will sprout... Im just trying to troubleshoot before they arrive so i dont kill them as well.

They are autos. Just dump them all and get some new photo seeds.

Your temps (22-26) could be a little too low. I try to keep mine around 30...just so a little condensation forms on the dome/container.

Mak'er Grow said:

Your temps (22-26) could be a little too low. I try to keep mine around 30...just so a little condensation forms on the dome/container.

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Hi. Yes, I thought about that, but every single youtube video said to keep them "warm", and then said About 72 Degrees. I was like , well that's not warm. So I put some seeds in 30C, the same thing happened.

From what i gathered. The seeds are very hard and need some help opening up. I did an autopsy on the seed and the tap root was developed inside. almost begging to be released. So i just opened up the seam a bit to help it. . Theyre in paper towels now. Will know more in 12 Hrs or so when I check the water/moisture. I should also mention that during this whole process, i also tried scarification with sandpaper, but didn't want to risk the seed by stratification. I don't know what would extreme temps do to the seed, even though there's enough data to support it helps. Maybe that could be next.

Merlin1147 said:

They are autos. Just dump them all and get some new photo seeds.

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You know what, you're right.. Im thinking the same thing. Maybe switch to photos. I do have some light issues which i need to figure out but that could be a good alternative going forward. I just want to rescue whatever i can before giving up on these babies.

Herb & Suds said:

I doubt they are viable given the wide temp swings
I keep mine in a sealed plastic container in my refrigerator for decades

Click to expand...

Noted. I think i should do the same. Thank you for suggesting. Any particular temp?

Did you try scarification of the seed coat? Line a container with fine sand paper and give them a few shakes. Also you could try Gibberellic Acid.

Have you tried just dropping them in your medium? Sounds crazy right. Then you leave them alone and let them pop. That’s what I’ve done with all my seeds that didn’t germinate with paper towel. From then on I realized I’m interfering too much. Let nature do it’s thing.

Earlier someone said you’re too hands on. I second that. While it’s a hobby there isn’t always something to do. Drop your seed in soil and water properly. It’s really that easy. Not sure why you want to over complicate by using anything other than soil and water.

And stop timing everything. This much soak for this many hours. It’s all unnecessary. Drop and properly water and it will grow. Not sure where you got info for all those different things you tried. Try water and soil. And leave them alone for a week. Not dig them up. Not using a microscope. Just be patient.

Wattzzup said:

Have you tried just dropping them in your medium? Sounds crazy right. Then you leave them alone and let them pop. That’s what I’ve done with all my seeds that didn’t germinate with paper towel. From then on I realized I’m interfering too much. Let nature do it’s thing.

Earlier someone said you’re too hands on. I second that. While it’s a hobby there isn’t always something to do. Drop your seed in soil and water properly. It’s really that easy. Not sure why you want to over complicate by using anything other than soil and water.

And stop timing everything. This much soak for this many hours. It’s all unnecessary. Drop and properly water and it will grow. Not sure where you got info for all those different things you tried. Try water and soil. And leave them alone for a week. Not dig them up. Not using a microscope. Just be patient.

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Planting directly into soil, what a crazy idea lol.
ive only ever had problems with trying to germ them in paper towels, i think it must be to do with hydroponic growing and keeping the germed seeds soil free. but as stated above, too much messing around keep it simple, make a hole pop it in cover and wait.

I’ve done both. What I’m saying is even the seeds that didn’t germinate by soaking, then paper towel, and I thought were bad, ended up germinating when I dropped in soil and came back in a few days.

He said he’s prying seeds open etc. just drop and walk away. It’s soooo easy

Wattzzup said:

I’ve done both. What I’m saying is even the seeds that didn’t germinate by soaking, then paper towel, and I thought were bad, ended up germinating when I dropped in soil and came back in a few days.

He said he’s prying seeds open etc. just drop and walk away. It’s soooo easy

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c'mon, what the effe does mother nature know, that bitch.

Another "paper towel germination problem" thread.

Ditch the soaking and paper towels and either plant direct or use rapid rooters. Last time I looked there weren't paper towels in nature.

No brainer......I get nearly 100% germination rate.

I just soak in tap water for 24 hours . Poke any floaters after around 12 hours to make them sink and after 24 hours has gone by, I just put them in the pots 1/2-1" down and spritz them with a spray bottle every day a little bit

Hi All,

Thank you so much for all the info. Yes, I did think about growing directly in the medium, but I'm going the DWC route. I had a bunch of stuff lying around that i would like to use. I have access to Bluelab Guardians and PH controllers, which will make my life super easy as i am out of the house for extended time periods.

About rapid rooters, I have space issues so i can only grow a couple of girls at a time so the remaining rapid rooters would just end up mouldy after a few weeks after being opened up. My go to medium is Gordan cubes as i have had a v successful grow 3 years back.

I will however take your advice and put them in the soil and do one soil and one dwc. Same strain. It will also let me note the differences.

Yes, I am very hands on and this corona thing has not made things any easier. Not much to do.

I would like to thank each and every one of you. Rakin, Herb and Sudz, Nizza, MickFoster, TeddyBonkers, Wattzup, Go go Kid, Merlin.

Thank you.. I will make the necessary changes and report back .

groweed1974 said:

Hi All,

Thank you so much for all the info. Yes, I did think about growing directly in the medium, but I'm going the DWC route. I had a bunch of stuff lying around that i would like to use. I have access to Bluelab Guardians and PH controllers, which will make my life super easy as i am out of the house for extended time periods.

About rapid rooters, I have space issues so i can only grow a couple of girls at a time so the remaining rapid rooters would just end up mouldy after a few weeks after being opened up. My go to medium is Gordan cubes as i have had a v successful grow 3 years back.

I will however take your advice and put them in the soil and do one soil and one dwc. Same strain. It will also let me note the differences.

Yes, I am very hands on and this corona thing has not made things any easier. Not much to do.

I would like to thank each and every one of you. Rakin, Herb and Sudz, Nizza, MickFoster, TeddyBonkers, Wattzup, Go go Kid, Merlin.

Thank you.. I will make the necessary changes and report back .

Click to expand...

You don’t have to change your medium just grab those rapid rooters and get started. I wouldn’t worry about wasting a few because right now you’re wasting seeds

groweed1974 said:

About rapid rooters, I have space issues so i can only grow a couple of girls at a time so the remaining rapid rooters would just end up mouldy after a few weeks after being opened up.

Click to expand...

You've been misinformed........I have rooters that are 3 years old and I still use them without issue.