Will this seed germinate? 4.5 days in moist paper towel

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NewGrower42069

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My friend who was helping to grow the first time didn’t wash his hands before handling the seed. He blamed me for it not germinating yet as all of his own seeds have germinated within 2 days.. im still having faith that it MAY sprout though.. got the 24hour water soak then it’s been in moist paper towel for 4.5 days now.. I have a 3rd pot empty so should I just germinate another seed? the ideal time to get a seed germinated is gonna be the next few days to allow ample time to harvest before it gets too cold where I’m from. I’m sort of noticing black dots almost what looks like on the seed is this bad? Should I leave it for another few days before germinating another seed to replace? What do you guys think? is it rotting?
at first I was keeping the moist paper towel in glass Tupperware with the lid CLOSED. My other 2 seeds I did on my own sprouted fine all within the lowest germination times. after 48-56 hours I have been leaving this one with the lid slightly ajar to allow more oxygen? Any suggestions I’m all ears! Should the glass Tupperware’s I moist paper towel germinate in be completely sealed or the lids lightly placed on top?
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NewGrower42069

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I have seen a 24 hr soak drown the seed. Shorten the soak ( or eliminate it) and go straight to wet paper towel.
Should I even bother to see if this will sprout then? Or just start another? My other 2 sprouted perfectly doing 24hour soak before hand but I gotta say those seeds were much smaller in size compared to this one
what’s the maximum amount of time in the moist paper towels i should leave it? Or should I throw it out and germinate another..
it’s really too bad this seed was northern lights auto and only have bubba kush seeds to replace :( I wanted variety.. oh well

like this didn’t even sink after 24hours it went into paper towel for a day or two then I put it in water to see if it sank after 48hours In the paper towel cause I was getting worried. But it immediately sank to the bottom so I took It out, put it on dry paper towel while I prepared fresh Tupperware And moist paper towels it’s now been in paper towels coming on 5 days.. just want to know if I should let it sit a couple more days or is it definitely a lost cause?
 
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NewGrower42069

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when i use a paper towel i make sure to squeeze all the water out. it only needs to be moist.
Very well could have been too moist perhaps.. it’s just so weird the other 2 although different seeds received the same amount of moistening and everything.. ugh maybe this seed is just old or a dud? If its taking this long to germinate is it even WORTH growing it out?
 
D

dean1963

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the instructions that come with my seeds say 14-18 hour soak in bottled spring water at room temp water for what it's worth.
100% sprouts in my vast experience with 5 seeds, lol
 
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NewGrower42069

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the instructions that come with my seeds say 14-18 hour soak in bottled spring water at room temp water for what it's worth.
100% sprouts in my vast experience with 5 seeds, lol
Ok I’ve been using filtered tap water. Guess I’ll get some bottled spring water..or purified water right? gonna germinate my 3rd seed tomorrow then.. after I buy the water..
the 2 seeds that did sprout did fine from 24hours in my filtered tap water.. was wondering if I could just do that again but now u guys making me anxious about that haha!
 
HighRootz

HighRootz

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Spring water, river water, rain water or good old toilet water doesn't matter as long as its not over saturated and causing damping off. I use filtered tap water with no problems
 
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NewGrower42069

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Spring water, river water, rain water or good old toilet water doesn't matter as long as its not over saturated and causing damping off. I use filtered tap water with no problems
Do you 24hour soak then paper towel method? I’m thinking of skipping the 12-24hour soak and going right into paper towels..
im just gonna germinate these tonight using my filtered tap. The only question now is to soak or not to soak! Was thinking of only soaking for 12hours
 
Saul.Goodman

Saul.Goodman

I just wet my plants...
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I mean you could always drop it in a solo cup of soil and mist it with a spray bottle ~10 times. Then put another clear plastic cup over top to hold the humidity in. Remove the top cup every two days for air and then cap again.

I've germinated seeds multiple ways and some seeds just never pop...

Actually, I have never sanded down the shell of a seed before, some swear by this too but I've never had to.
 
quirk

quirk

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Very well could have been too moist perhaps.. it’s just so weird the other 2 although different seeds received the same amount of moistening and everything.. ugh maybe this seed is just old or a dud? If its taking this long to germinate is it even WORTH growing it out?
Give that drowned seed a squeeze. After a 24hr soak and 4.5 days in a WET paper towel it should be mush. If it is still hard, keep in in the MOIST paper towel and give it a couple of more days, but I'd be surprised if it is still viable. The first stage of germination is called imbibition, which is the uptake of moisture through the seed husk causing swelling and the seed to crack. A soak kick starts the process but 24hrs is overkill and you risk damping off or drowning the embryo. 4-8 hrs. is fine, then to a moist towel placed in a plastic baggie to keep towel from drying out to quickly. Better yet, after your soak go to a medium to sprout. Just a suggestion.
 
HighRootz

HighRootz

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Do you 24hour soak then paper towel method? I’m thinking of skipping the 12-24hour soak and going right into paper towels..
im just gonna germinate these tonight using my filtered tap. The only question now is to soak or not to soak! Was thinking of only soaking for 12hours
Older beans I soak for 24hrs in NFTG Zeus Juice then put in a ziploc bag and moisten the paper towel with the nutrient mix. 12-48hrs later I get tap roots. Fresh beans I just put in a moist paper towel and ziploc bag. As stated above, some beans are stillborn and won't sprout. Leave your Tupperware cracked a bit to allow air exchange, maybe she just needs to breath a bit lol
 
Oldchucky

Oldchucky

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Haven’t seen anyone say anything about maybe keeping them warm. Those wet towels can get pretty chilly for various reasons. Five days is Hail Mary time if it’s not mush. If solid, I would probably throw it back into a solo with four to one distilled and peroxide, then put it in a warm dark place and Check it often for a few days. If you want to go through all that hassle for one seed. Just another idea.
 
Deadstill

Deadstill

I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.
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I don't like germinating in paper towels anymore for a few reasons. Number 1 being that once they sprout, the roots tend to grow into the paper towel and become very hard to remove if you do not remove them the same day the root appears. Second being it just seems like too much work with too little reward. These days especially when starting several thousand hemp seeds at once, I just plant them directly into small solo cup sized fabric pots with Pro-Mix. Soak the pots after the seed is in place, stick it in the grow room and wait.

I only germinate seeds for hydroponics- i.e. my homemade NFT system, otherwise just plant them and move on.

Sometimes I'll use the scarification method, which seems to get seeds to germinate faster than anything. That's where you take a knife or something and make a small chip in the seed to help water penetrate the shell faster.. I have a method of doing this which I take a razor blade in one hand and seed in between 2 fingers in the other hand, and carefully and gently make a small cut along the top seam of the seed, being careful not to cut too deeply. It takes a few extra seconds which could end up being hours when you're talking 1k+ seeds, but I've gotten seeds to pop in less than 12 hours doing this.
 
bongsmoker421

bongsmoker421

267
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I don't like germinating in paper towels anymore for a few reasons. Number 1 being that once they sprout, the roots tend to grow into the paper towel and become very hard to remove if you do not remove them the same day the root appears. Second being it just seems like too much work with too little reward. These days especially when starting several thousand hemp seeds at once, I just plant them directly into small solo cup sized fabric pots with Pro-Mix. Soak the pots after the seed is in place, stick it in the grow room and wait.

I only germinate seeds for hydroponics- i.e. my homemade NFT system, otherwise just plant them and move on.

Sometimes I'll use the scarification method, which seems to get seeds to germinate faster than anything. That's where you take a knife or something and make a small chip in the seed to help water penetrate the shell faster.. I have a method of doing this which I take a razor blade in one hand and seed in between 2 fingers in the other hand, and carefully and gently make a small cut along the top seam of the seed, being careful not to cut too deeply. It takes a few extra seconds which could end up being hours when you're talking 1k+ seeds, but I've gotten seeds to pop in less than 12 hours doing this.
i use to just bite on the edges on the pointed end of the seed until just a small seperation happen at the tip, leaving the rest of the seed intact. i figured surface tension on the seed from oil, dirt and debri wouldnt allow for water to penetrate. and yes they sprout very fast this way, the longest root i had over night was nearly as twice the length of the seed overnight. it was the surest way to know which seeds had any juice left and which ones didnt
 
JKash

JKash

Can you out GRAV The Gravmaster???
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My friend who was helping to grow the first time didn’t wash his hands before handling the seed. He blamed me for it not germinating yet as all of his own seeds have germinated within 2 days.. im still having faith that it MAY sprout though.. got the 24hour water soak then it’s been in moist paper towel for 4.5 days now.. I have a 3rd pot empty so should I just germinate another seed? the ideal time to get a seed germinated is gonna be the next few days to allow ample time to harvest before it gets too cold where I’m from. I’m sort of noticing black dots almost what looks like on the seed is this bad? Should I leave it for another few days before germinating another seed to replace? What do you guys think? is it rotting?
at first I was keeping the moist paper towel in glass Tupperware with the lid CLOSED. My other 2 seeds I did on my own sprouted fine all within the lowest germination times. after 48-56 hours I have been leaving this one with the lid slightly ajar to allow more oxygen? Any suggestions I’m all ears! Should the glass Tupperware’s I moist paper towel germinate in be completely sealed or the lids lightly placed on top?
View attachment 1248761
Moist paper towel and fold over seed... leaving room above and below it... seal in plastic baggie and store vertically in drawer.... gravity will pull the root down.... depending on the genetics I've popped 99% this way between 12 and 24 hours
 
Buzzzz

Buzzzz

1,127
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My friend who was helping to grow the first time didn’t wash his hands before handling the seed. He blamed me for it not germinating yet as all of his own seeds have germinated within 2 days.. im still having faith that it MAY sprout though.. got the 24hour water soak then it’s been in moist paper towel for 4.5 days now.. I have a 3rd pot empty so should I just germinate another seed? the ideal time to get a seed germinated is gonna be the next few days to allow ample time to harvest before it gets too cold where I’m from. I’m sort of noticing black dots almost what looks like on the seed is this bad? Should I leave it for another few days before germinating another seed to replace? What do you guys think? is it rotting?
at first I was keeping the moist paper towel in glass Tupperware with the lid CLOSED. My other 2 seeds I did on my own sprouted fine all within the lowest germination times. after 48-56 hours I have been leaving this one with the lid slightly ajar to allow more oxygen? Any suggestions I’m all ears! Should the glass Tupperware’s I moist paper towel germinate in be completely sealed or the lids lightly placed on top?
View attachment 1248761
Use a heating mat next time,maybe the seeds are not fresh and will take longer or perhaps they are stuck.I have never washed my hands before planting a seed,never considered it,I've had seeds I threw in and old horse manure pile come up,lots of flys etc. Let some air in it,even change paper towel if nothings cracked yet. Good luck.
 

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