Hey guys. I have 3 seeds germinating in paper towel now. It has been 7 days. Two of them I notice a white line that looks like it’s about to pop. But no sprout yet. They are in a wet paper towel individually bagged in plastic sandwich bags in a dark room my boiler is in. So temp, moisture and humidity were all on point. These were bought seeds so not like I just found them and hope for the best haha. Also they are 3 different strands so I doubt all 3 are duds which I know happens. I thought maybe the towel was too wet so I squeezed it out to have a little less moisture. Now they are sitting on top of my modem for a little increase in temp. What do you think. Help Please!
I stopped germinating straight into paper towel because of the inconsistent germ times. Moved to water/h202 soak and within 24-36 hrs they grow tails.
Ok heard. Ya think it would work taking out of towel and using water technique now. Or did I kill these seeds?
As long as you didn’t let the paper towel get completely dry you should still be ok. I don’t use the paper towel method for that very reason. I manage to germinate almost 100% by a 24 hour soak in water with a splash of H2O2. When I see a tail (tap root) I plant directly in a solo cup.
I pre-moisten the soil, (I use Pro-mix soiless actually), in the solo and make sure it is NOT too packed. I stir it up a bit to keep it loose. Otherwise it is possible for the seed to push out of the soil instead or rooting downwards.
BTW welcome to the forum!! Let us know if you need any help! 
Thank you! Glad to be here. I have a few extras. I will consider doing it that way for those. My concern is these 3. I’m going to keep them on the modem over night and check in the morning. See if that extra heat helps the sprout.
Unless you suggest just transferring them from towell to water H202 solution now. They have been sitting for 7 days now. I feel like I shoulda had a sprout by now. At least in the past it hasn’t taken this long.
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I would. Not going to hurt anything at this point
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I left out I use slightly warm water and put the shot glass holding them over the cable box to keep warm. I also put another cup over the shot glass to keep it very dark.
Let me know how it works out with the first seeds. If they have not cracked open by now I am dubious they will. Nothing to loose by starting fresh with them.
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Ok shot glass, warm water, splash of hydrogen peroxide, cup over for darkness, cable box for warmth. Recipe for a sprout. Worth a shot. Thanks
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It sounds like too much water and not enough heat, mine sprout in 48 hrs, paper towel damp not soaked, and over the boiler where the air temp is 80 f.
Hasn’t failed me yet, 100% positive results.
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So if that’s a theory then how does the cup of water method work? Not doubting anyone just curious
Yep - I’ve tried quite a few methods now, and have found that the key ingredient is the temperature, regardless of which method is used. 78-80°F yields great results.
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If a seed is left to soak for too long, it will drown and die. It varies from seed to seed how long “too long” is, but I never soak more than 24 hours typically. I almost always see the tap root by then. As @Shatter points out, temps are important. (For germination and for seedlings. You can overheat so I stick to the cable box in shot glass for 24 hours).
After I crack the seed in water and plant in solo cups, I use a heat mat to keep the solos warm and under a T5 lamp for several days while the seedlings get established. I put a clear solo over the top to hold in moisture and spray the inside and soil a couple of times a day during this process.
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What I do is but the seed in distilled water over night. About 4 hours after I put in the distilled water I can usually get the seed to stop floating and end up in the bottom of the cup. The next morning I put between the paper towels and use china plates to cover . I read somewhere that using plastic bags can cause the seed to not open or cause to much moisture or something like that. I have had very few seed not pop open. My problem is once in the dirt they tend to either get to much water in getting it to open or they get dried out. Or worse my last seedling that looked beautiful with leaves at 2 week and my cat thought my one inch plant was a treat when I left my grow tent a little open. I guess we all learn by trial and error.
I use canna terra pro for my seedlings, i drench the seedling pot before and let it drain for a day before plantng germinated seed, all they get then is a humid dome and only the dome gets sprayed when needed for a week or less, they dont get any more water until transplant into 5 gallon growbag, i do the same with the grow bag medium, drence it then let it drain for a day, i make a hole in the middle out of the same container i have the seedlings in so when transplanted the seedling fits perfect, before putting the seedling into the 5 gallon i put a 1/2 teaspoon mikos in the hole before transplant. Oh and cats love eating ganja for some reason.
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I do paper towel too. I think biggest mistake there is having paper towel soaking wet. It just needs to be damp throughout. Like I wet and then squeeze excess out, then fold place seeds and fold again. After that place in ziplock bag making sure to trap a good amount of air inside it. Then place on something warm like cable box or whatever.
Soaking in water works too.
What is “H2O2” ?
I’m thinking about a hydro beginning using an air stone in a cup of water to place seedlings in at the very start (after they get a tap root) with Bergman’s seedling food
It calls for an air pump, gang valves, and enough air stones as there are cups - but stones are cheap on amazon for small sizes. The air pump is the pricey part.
“CUPS” can be made out of used soda bottles-
Cut the top off a litre or two litre soda bottle right at the top of the flat sides before it rounds in to the cap, turn the top upside down and rest it in the open top of the lower part
A piece of a sponge can be cut to hold the seedling after the tail is long enough to go through it
Grow baskets in 2 1/2 and 3 inch sizes can be used in a cut off 2 litre soda bottle (the bottle is just a cheap toss away container) and it allows viewing of the roots as they form.
Here’s an example being used to clone a branch:
There’s a rock in the bottom just for good luck
By the way - if you try making one of these “bottle bubblers” don’t worry about trying to push the top into the lower bottle, just let it sit on the top of it.
If you want to raise the water level you have to punch or drill a small hole in the top for air flow, otherwise the top will float up