Many indoor AF grows over years sparaticly. I forget in the time.
But I have no confidence in seed germination total process. I just fail mostly.
I just did another 12 seed in 2:1 peroxide soak for four hour.
- Then paper towel the seeds in my starter dome.
- This time I used a lighted magnify glass to see the seed cracked and minimal sprout. I don't want to wait for long tap root, because I fail trying.
-So I position mini seed tap root down into soaked grow pods in dome.
? Now I am confused again. Do I put the dome in the warm sunlight now ? My guess was yes. But not positive.
I rarely get good long tap root. I do struggle with excess water issue, afraid of going dry, makes me over wet. issue.
I can't understand why I fail to master this germination start up process.
Ok for one, ive only heard about spraying seeds with a 1% hydrogen peroxide solution, and only on old seeds just to soften the shell, spray not soak. But I dont suggest this.
If you're getting seeds from banks they should be good. Of course there will be duds though. With that said germinating seeds does not need to be as over complicated as you are making it. Think about it this way. Cannabis is a weed. In nature when the plant is pollenated and the flower produces seeds the flower dies and drops the seeds. They get rained on and eventually sprout all by themselves.
With that said, your best bet to increase your pollination rate is to simplify. Ive always had good luck with peat disks, or the paper towel method works too.
Peat discs are easy, you soak them till they expand fully and push the seed in the top about an inch down. The tap root uses microscopic hairs to sense gravity and grow downward so thats nothing to worry about. Peat is more acidic than most soils so it can inhibit nutrient uptake by a little so its good to transplant the disc into its final container after it sprouts and gains its first set of serrated leaves. It may take up to a full week but keep the peat disk moist not soaked and in a humidity dome sonewhere warm. Preferably in the upper 70s to low 80s. Do not check to see if it had a tap root distrubing the seed can kill it or stunt its growth.
The paper towel method is a favorite among growers new and experienced, but I only did this with my first grow as it requires a little more diligence. Start by taking either 1 or 2 sheets of paper towel depending on how many seeds you plan on germinating. I like to keep them spaced out a bit and i really only suggest doing 3 to 5 at a time. The key here is to wet the paper towel initially not so its dripping, just till its saturated to the point were if you add more it will be. Place beans in the paper towel in the near the middle so you can fold the paper over the seeds to completely cover them. I like to fold the edges over to so they dont slip out when you put it in a small ziplock bag. Zip the bag leaving a small section open for fresh airflow as they need oxygen to develop the tap root. Store in a dark warm place like on top of a fridge or ive even put it on top of a water heater. Check the paper towel daily to make sure its damp but not soaking wet by giving it a spritz from a spray bottle, but do not open it for at least 48 to 72 hours. After that you can peek and see if you have any tap roots developed yet. They dont need to be long if the seed has cracked open and you can see a root poking out that is good enough. Plant into its final container an inch deep, again the root will know which way to grow by sensing gravity. But it does help to take a sanitized tweezers and place it root down.
My final tip is do not handle seeds bare handed. The oils on your skin and bacteria can be deadly to the seed. Especially if you have a tap root developed. My guess is you might be over handling, or getting a little overzealous with water. Seeds become permiable after sitting in a moist environment for a few days allowing it to grow.
Happy growing, and remember sometimes less is better. No hydrogen peroxide it really isnt needed and its not proven to help germination.
