Germinating Seeds in Rapid Rooters

Okay so I placed my seeds in water until they sank, but I also turned on a heater on the containers to get them hot (no heating pad).. the water got pretty hot for about an hour. Could that have been bad for the seed first off/killed them.

The seeds cracked so I placed them in damp paper towel in an enclosed tupperware bin. The tails haven't showed yet (could they be dead) It has been two days.

I placed them in small rapid rooter plugs (dunked them in 6.0ph water then rang them out) and put a small humidity dome over the top.

Also cut off a small piece of the plug and gently placed over the holes.

They are under 2 23w CFL's.

Is this going to work?

yes they might b dead, and no it probably wont work. if there cracked and not sprouted they are dead. next time put the seeds right in the soil in a cup. it is the least amount of stress on the seeds and they usally wont die unless you over water the way to much.

Doc, your just going to wait and see. If they don't come up in a week start over. I've always used rooter plugs and almost everything has germed. I soak seeds in the dark for <24hrs some may still float. I soak the plugs for a couple of hrs. I put the seeds into the plug, push them down a little and cover the hole w/ a piece of plug. No paper towel step. Then into a domed tray. I use a heat mat but you could use the top of the refrigerator or some other warmish area. Just don't set it directly on the heater vent or a radiator. Make sure plugs are always kept moist check several times a day. After they sprout is when you need the light and I use cfls for that. Good Luck!

Rapid Rooters are in truth not ideal for starting seeds, they are too small. When the tap root emerges it immediately wants to grow down several (~2-3) inches. For this reason, and to prevent the media from drying out very quickly, it is recommended to start seeds in a container at least 3.5-4 inches deep. This way the tap root has sufficient room to stretch out from the outset. The seedlings also wont have to be handled so much. You can use Rooters to germ Cannabis seeds, but you're going to want to transplant them into a larger container relatively soon after they sprout. Right after they sprout you should see a taproot hanging out of the plug, which isn't really a good thing.

Rooters/plant plugs are awesome for cuttings, but for Cannabis seeds it only seems like a slight step up from paper towels to me.

Finally I have never had to use a dome to germinate Cannabis seeds, and I know at least one of the breeders of a few strains I have grown specifically advise against using a dome, or paper towels. High humidity\constant moisture increases the risk of damping off diseases, various plant pathogens which can kill seedlings and prefer different temperatures. The media just has to be moist for the seed to germinate. Relatively fresh\healthy Cannabis seeds (less than a few years old) should germinate easily without the need for soaking.

I germinated seeds in a covered mug of water. I placed the mug on top of the cable TV box which gave it a tepid heat boost. I knocked the seeds down and they germinated in a day to a day and a half. When they sprouted a quarter inch of white root, I placed them in the rapid rooters and under my 300W LED light. After a week when they grew tall enough, I put the neoprene disks on them and found the rapid rooters too tall for my 2" net pots so I pulled and trimmed some of the rapid rooters to fit the into the pots. I had basically destroyed 2 out of nine seedlings but I put them into the net pots and my aeroponic sprayers. They looked really dead for about a week. On one, the short single root started to discolor but I kept them under the lights and the plant started to grow new roots and came back from the dead. I guess they are truly weeds as they survived the trauma.

DrFelterpus said:

Okay so I placed my seeds in water until they sank, but I also turned on a heater on the containers to get them hot (no heating pad).. the water got pretty hot for about an hour. Could that have been bad for the seed first off/killed them.

The seeds cracked so I placed them in damp paper towel in an enclosed tupperware bin. The tails haven't showed yet (could they be dead) It has been two days.

I placed them in small rapid rooter plugs (dunked them in 6.0ph water then rang them out) and put a small humidity dome over the top.

Also cut off a small piece of the plug and gently placed over the holes.

They are under 2 23w CFL's.

Is this going to work?

Click to expand...

"use a rooting solution instead of water"
Soak the seed in your solution until they sink 12-24hrs. (don't soak your seed until it cracks, that's to long)
Moist Paper towel in a zip-lock bag. Put it in a warm dark place, like on top the water heater or on top the fridge 24-48hrs. (you should have germination by then)

or you can skip all that, and sow to soil or a grow plug 1/8-1/4" deep. (use a tweezers, never touch your seed, you have oils, and salts on your skin)
I put my grow plugs in a solo-cup of perlite, under a light.
You can grow them in the perlite for a couple of weeks or the whole Grow.
Use a cloning/rooting solution to feed them. "Rapid Start" by GH is the one I use.
Transplant to soil or hydro or CoCo or anything you want.

Good Luck on Your Grow.

I use some good germination mix in 3x3 containers, moisten the medium, pop a little hole with a pencil, drop the seed, nudge some soil over the seed, stick it on top of my fridge with some saran wrap draped over the container, and 3 days later bingo. Very simple process, and I let the plant develop in that container until finale transplant. Works great.

sativa indica pits said:

yes they might b dead, and no it probably wont work. if there cracked and not sprouted they are dead. next time put the seeds right in the soil in a cup. it is the least amount of stress on the seeds and they usally wont die unless you over water the way to much.

Click to expand...

I have always had much more success just keeping it simple and leaving them be..... I agree I think storage plays a big part how do you guys store tour beans still haven't found a effective method