My automatic seeds won't germinate

[CuriousMike]

I am very new to growing automatic seeds, which I read is very easy. Not for me. I have followed all the best advice on germinating seeds (26 C, boiled water, moist paper towels etc) but I cannot get the seeds to germinate. I have tried nine single seeds, three varieties, from two different suppliers, with zero success. The seeds split and the radical peeps out and then the process just stops. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Itscheese94]

I am very new to growing automatic seeds, which I read is very easy. Not for me. I have followed all the best advice on germinating seeds (26 C, boiled water, moist paper towels etc) but I cannot get the seeds to germinate. I have tried nine single seeds, three varieties, from two different suppliers, with zero success. The seeds split and the radical peeps out and then the process just stops. What am I doing wrong?

maybe you could try putting the seeds, directly in the soil to germinate or some root plugs.

 

[Gtglicky3]

I am very new to growing automatic seeds, which I read is very easy. Not for me. I have followed all the best advice on germinating seeds (26 C, boiled water, moist paper towels etc) but I cannot get the seeds to germinate. I have tried nine single seeds, three varieties, from two different suppliers, with zero success. The seeds split and the radical peeps out and then the process just stops. What am I doing wrong?

How long are you germinating them for?
Do you Fold the paper towel afew time? You can put the seeds in it then put that in a Sandwich bag somewhere warm and dark check them in the mornings it can take 3 days sometimes. Or like cheese sed

 

[Oldchucky]

Sounds like they’re germinating! In my opinion, as soon as they crack open, get them into some moist soil! You don’t need to grow a half inch root on them before you bury them! Just two. Cents.

 

[Purfict]

I’m new too, but I’ve popped 11 beans, the first batch was of 5 and had an 80% rate and the second batch was 5, same result, but I promised to give a friend a young seedling so popped another one. I’ve found that I need to combine both the paper towel method and letting them soak in water. The most important part is keeping them in a dark place; I’ll keep them in a cupboard in my kitchen for 24 hours in water, then take tweezers and put them in a moist paper towel on top a paper plate, fold it twice, mist it good, then put another paper plate on top. That’s just my advice, though.

 

[Moscuba]

I am very new to growing automatic seeds, which I read is very easy. Not for me. I have followed all the best advice on germinating seeds (26 C, boiled water, moist paper towels etc) but I cannot get the seeds to germinate. I have tried nine single seeds, three varieties, from two different suppliers, with zero success. The seeds split and the radical peeps out and then the process just stops. What am I doing wrong?

Try planting in good soil (I use Brut Worm Farms Super Soil). Soak the soil in the pot. Plant seeds no deeper than 1/4”. Cover pot plastic wrap to keep soil moist. I have no trouble since starting that. Had problems without the wrap. You could be “drowning” the seeds by soaking.

 

[Asmodeus]

I just went through a seedascide killing spree, been running clones so long forgot how to pop a frickin bean lol..

Anyhoo, try this. Soak the seeds in a shotglass for 12 -18 hrs. Take em out and plant them in a solo cup with some slightly moist soil, maybe a half inch deep. Grab a baggy and spray some water in it and cover your solo cup. Place in a dark place till seed breaks surface, remove bag

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

This seems to work best for me: I soak seeds overnight in a 4:1 solution of hydrogen peroxide to water. Then I put them in soil about 1/2 to 3/4 inch deep. I put the pot in a tent, keep it warm and run the light 18/6 at its lowest setting.

 

[lenhug]

Similar to others, I'm literally soak in tap water for max 24hrs (and no more) or earlier if they pop. Then whatever has happened get in to jiffy peat pellets, stick under some light and wait for the magic to happen.

Hope you have more success!

 

[Brainpain]

I am very new to growing automatic seeds, which I read is very easy. Not for me. I have followed all the best advice on germinating seeds (26 C, boiled water, moist paper towels etc) but I cannot get the seeds to germinate. I have tried nine single seeds, three varieties, from two different suppliers, with zero success. The seeds split and the radical peeps out and then the process just stops. What am I doing wrong?

Folded multiple times, paper towel, dark warm space, keep moist,
Good seeds pop within days

 

[coherent]

Like others have said. But... Use RO or bottled water. Don't use any paper towels with bleach or chemicals. Heavy chlorinated water can kill or stymie seed germination. I use a shot glass with RO water and a couple drops of peroxide. Soak in the shot glass until you see a split in the seed (usually 16 to 48 hrs) . Then place the seed in the middle of a folded wet paper towel in a (open) zip lock in a dark drawer. Check in a day or two and when you have a 1/8 in or so sprout, plant in your medium, sprout down and gently cover with a half inch or so of your soil. Hard to not get seeds to grow using this method. I use coco in a solo cup. Hard to over water coco, but easy to over water soil. No nutes to start with as the seed feeds itself to start. So do some research on proper watering for your medium. Most seeding failures in soil are over watering issues with beginners.

 

[orggrwr]

Think about investing in a heat mat with thermostat. They are pretty cheap on Amazon. I just put seeds in moist paper towels between two plates at 80°f. No soaking. Seeds pop in 1 to 3 days at better than 90% germination rate.

 

[CuriousMike]

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice. Much appreciated. I've been growing 'normal' photoperiod plants for almost forty years, using the usual paper towel method for germination and it's always worked, so I can't understand why my failure rate with automatics is 100%. I've invested in a heat mat and I'm now trying planting direct into peat plugs after 12 hours soaking. Fingers crossed... Does anyone have any idea whether automatics are more sensitive to drowning than traditional photoperiod seeds? I'm wondering if that could be my problem.

 

[Waffleman]

So what worked for me trying autoflowers was the following. The first time I did this, the seed geminated so fast I checked too late and it was already completely out of the seed and had the cotyledon leafs already out T_T. (even though it still survived and was growing, the stem was weak and the plant went into flower way too fast, so I axed that one).

In any case what I did was I would get a paper towel wet, fold it a couple of times and then put the seed in between. Make sure the paper towel is not soaking wet. You can squeeze water out a little and then put the seed in. Then I put this inside of a sandwich baggy which I left slightly opened. Then put this baggy in between 2 plates but I made sure it wasn't like 2 identical plates, basically the bottom plate was a round one and the top plate had these curved edges. Which when putting it on top of the round plate kept some small gaps open.

Then I would put it in my grow tent with a humidifier. Keeping an eye on the humidity meter but higher humidity is better (I was at least around 70%), sometimes I would also put a heater against the flap you can open of the tent to pump some heat in there and then turn it off. After a couple of days my seeds were popping out. At that point just put them in your final container (autos don't do well with transplanting from what I understand). If the soil in the final container has some nutrients in it already I would recommend removing some in the middle and putting neutral soil or whatever you are using in the middle. Then put the germinating seed in there and give it a light spray of water.

This seemed to work for me! I don't know if the humidity + heater in the tent is a must but it seemed to work so I just do it now

 

[orggrwr]

I grow both autos and photos and have never noticed any difference in seed germination.

 

[sourorangedieselkush]

I am very new to growing automatic seeds, which I read is very easy. Not for me. I have followed all the best advice on germinating seeds (26 C, boiled water, moist paper towels etc) but I cannot get the seeds to germinate. I have tried nine single seeds, three varieties, from two different suppliers, with zero success. The seeds split and the radical peeps out and then the process just stops. What am I doing wrong?

I’m somewhat new also but a common mistake I see people make is they don’t germinate in the dark. They don’t need light until they break dirt. Atleast that’s what I do and they seem to pop all the time