Tried germinating 3 seeds - 1 gorilla glue auto and 2 blue dream auto - using the cup of water method ILGM recommends. I let them soak 4 days and the gorilla glue started to show the tip of it’s tap root on day 3 so I planted it and waiting for it pop thru the soil. The blue dream weren’t germinating after the 4th day - one had cracked open for a couple days but no taproot. I tried moving them to a wet paper towel in a large freezer bag and put them in a warm spot on my cable box but still no luck after another 24 hours. Should I give up on these two blue dream seeds at this point?
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Hey @Naturalmedsman
Dont soak longer than 24 hrs, after that move to a damp paper towel or plant in your starter mix.
Without air (oxygen) the seed will die or begin to rot.
Just fyi, some seeds will crack in the 24hrs but most wont.
I killed too many seeds at first.
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Soaking to long and the seed turns to mush on the inside.
18 to 24 soak say in a shot glass.
Damp Toilet paper and or paper towel for 48 hours.
Transfer to soil.
@Spiney_norman I had 3 seeds crack real fast. I planted them in soil and they sprouted in less than 24 hours. From dropping them in water to sprout took only 4 days. That is fast from my experience.
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My granddaddy purple seeds will crack and show a root after 18 hrs, but the others usually dont. But I too plant them after the soak and have like a 90% success rate. You just get a bad seed now and again.
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Shot glass soak in tap water 12 hours or until you touch seed and it sinks. Then strait into solo cup filled with medium from last grow. Water mist, dome cover. Just my way, so far 100% success at sprouting.
Best is to find a method that works for you and try to duplicate it every time,
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It took me many seeds to get good at germinating
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For what it’s worth, and a shout out to @Spiney_norman and @Randy_Marsh (for advise on a separate post of mine); I soaked (4) Blueberry Fem and (3) Northern Lights AF for days (3 or 4) without anything more than a tiny tail (see pic). I decided to plant them all (1 NL died), which will bring me to my question below.
Believing none of these would sprout, 'cause I’m a newbie (1st grow) and have no experience, I planted these two or three in the same Jiffy-pot.
The question: if/how/when can I separate these into individual seedling pots?
Please advise.
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Thanks for the tips, all. Sounds like I left them soaking too long. ILGM guide said they can soak up to 7 days so I thought they need more time. Going to give the blue dream a couple more days in the paper towel and see if they’ll start.
@DPCBassman the first pic looks like my gorilla glue auto seed that germinated after 3 days in water. Hopefully it grows now that I have it in seedling soil.
They look like they need stronger light
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You need to be aware that a seed needs a specific temperature to germinate as well. I use a heated seed mat that holds the temperature around 25-28°c. Could be a potential reason for your lack of success
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Like now. Longer you wait more likely the roots will mingle and make things more difficult. I have never tried what you have to do but I imagine I would turn pot upside down with my palm facing the dirt and plants between fingers. Try to get the whole mass of dirt out as intact as possible and gently work away dirt until you can separate…good luck…
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Yes, and thank you. I too purchased a Germ mat, but it was too hot. I did use it initially when I planted seeds in soil. It did keep the wet Jiffy pots ~75-78F soil temp.
I measured the temp on top of DVR which was ~25c. and soaked there in the dark.
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Okay…well… I’m scheduled to water them tomorrow. Believe I’ll separate them immediately prior to watering - each in their own Jiffy’s.
Best regards.
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If they won’t seperate try running water, I’ve uses that before 
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8+ days and one of the blue dreams finally sprouted. 4 days in water, 2 days in a damp paper towel and 2 days in soil. Hopefully the helmet falls off on its own. I’m not hopeful for the second seed and have started germinating another seed. I kept the new seed in water for 24 hours this time but it didn’t crack. Have it in a damp paper towel now for a couple days and still nothing.
Gorilla glue seems to be going well. 2 days out of the soil. How long do you think I can get away with using these cheap Amazon LEDs? Hoping they be ok as a full-time until she’s big enough for me to start bringing out side during the day, maybe in about a week or so. I’ll use them at night after that. In about 3 weeks I think it should be warm enough to live outside permanently. Still averaging about 50f at night.
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@Naturalmedsman ; I’m a complete newbie - however, I have experienced similar issues.
- Your Bue Dreams may have spent WAY too much time in H2O. I had a number of seeds that barely “popped” and were left in H2O too long >36hr. I had one Northern Lights that I left in H2O for >48 hr and when I placed in soil it sprouted (briefly) but was covered with mold and died within another 24hr. I believe that seeds will die if left in H2O too long. IMHO, if a seed doesn’t pop in that time, then it’s not going to.
- GG looks okay - don’t H2O too much and upgrade your lighting. Spray/spritz the soil 2x daily to keep the top moist.
Oh, almost forgot - be sure to keep the soaking seeds and planted seeds in/on/where the temp. is around 75±F. I use a Germination mat for the planted seeds, but not for soaking seeds because it was it too hot. Maybe, as I did, get a digital temperature probe/guage to check soil temp. I picked-up one on the cheap at local grocery for ~$20.
Learning, but trying to advise as best I can.
DPC~
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Calling on @Spiney_norman and @CalamityJane, and others they believe necessary, for advise.
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Hey thanks for the tag @DPCBassman!
@Naturalmedsman Hiya bro! I don’t think we’ve met…? 
Pleasure to meet you!
I’m no expert by any stretch but will help where I can.
I currently grow GG4 Auto and I’ve had 100% success rate with germination simply by placing the seed in its final pot from the beginning. As long as you don’t overwater it. Anything else feels like extra hassle to me 
Blue Dream seems to be tricky one, not tried it myself but seen a few people struggle with this particular strain (not necessarily from ILGM). Dunno that one just seems picky to me.
Your babies are looking good so far. A bit leggy so I’ve heard lowering the light will help with that.
Yeah leave the shell on BD, it should come off by itself… hopefully!
I agree with @Eagles009 that you may have some difficulty untangling those roots to separate them, but not impossible. You just have to be so careful with autos because apparently they stress easily so don’t be surprised if they start to look a bit shabby after transplanting - but they should bounce back.
Best of luck to you, my friend! I’ll be watching along.
CJ. 
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@Naturalmedsman @DPCBassman
Following up on this whole discussion I wanted to also mention water content in the soil itself.
We have established that the seed should not be soaked any longer than 18-24hrs. After that it should go into a paper towel or into a starter soil. Neither the paper towel method nor the soil method works if you have them too wet. A paper towel soaked to saturation or soil sopping wet will also kill the seed. You want damp media. You should no be able to squeeze any water out of either one. That is your test, grab a handful of soil or the paper towel and squeeze them firmly until nothing drips out. Dont give in to the temptation to water them again. Cover the soil with a dome or put the towel in a ziplock bag. Someone said something about seeds that don’t sprout a tail in 24 hrs not ever growing. That’s not true. Seeds that I plant after a 24hr soak that show no signs of cracking open almost always sprout. I dont have the 100% success others have had, but I know that’s just luck. There will occasionally be a dud seed.
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