In having less than stellar germ rates these days, than it dawned on me maybe I'm suffocating the seeds?!?! I put them in moist not wet paper towel than where I think I may be messing up is I than put in Tupperware container and close the lid, maybe opening only once a day to check... Could there not be enough air?i also put on seedling mat. Should I leave the lids cracked opened a bit?
Yoda
aside other factors have you continued to use the same type of paper towels the whole time
people tend to assume that they are all the asme which is not the case really
some hold more oxygen/water in their fibers depending on the way they were manufactured and others can still have a high ratio of chemical residue used to "bleach" pulp white in the manufacturing process
fresh seeds should always be put in the freezer overnight to help "crack the permiable layer of protective shell that hasn't dried enough to ensure a brittle outerlayer
some even scuff thicker seeds w/ some sand paper alittle when fresh to help avoid this
the issue is once the seeds is soaked enough to activate the cycle of life it starts to grow and expand but the outside has been moistened as well and gives the shell a more elastic shell entrapping the emerging baby and holding in moisture then cutting off oxygen and the wetter the medium used the more the shell will wick from the papertowel but the fresh seed doesn't have a drier weak point in the shell yet because it is so fresh the seed hasn't had to rely on eating the stored starch energy which basically breaks down the wall
once seeds are on container on wet towel the container should be tilted side ways and allowed to dripp off any pooled moisture
a couple drops h202 on the towel daily will help sterilize possible towel contaminates and ward off damp fungus and add saturation of essential oxygen /hydrogen to permiate shell till tails sprout
could be some water issues as well but that would be alittle rarer overall but still a possibility sometimes overlooked
