I’ve gotten marijuana seeds from three different Dutch companies and set up my garden, but I’m kind of confused. One company suggests that I should soak the seed for a full day in water to improve germination and then place them in planting mix or block a half inch deep. Another company tells me to fold a paper towel into quarters, get it wet, put the marijuana seeds on it, and then fold it over them. They also suggest that I should place a piece of plastic or a plate over the paper towel to maintain moisture. As soon as the plant sprouts, they tell me to place it in a half inch deep medium with tweezers.
Both methods are effective, but I prefer to place the marijuana seed directly in the planting medium without soaking them in water. Sometimes I’ll soak the seeds in a 0.5% hydrogen peroxide solution for a day and then plant it. I’m not fond of messing with emerging plants.
As soon as the seed is in the medium, it orients itself and starts interacting with the environment. If you put it in a paper towel first, the seed isn’t oriented like it would be in the medium, and clumsy hands might end up damaging the seed during the transfer. In addition, you have to make sure you keep an eye on the seeds throughout the day to catch them at the optimal planting stage. If you like to do anything besides watching marijuana seeds grow, then this method won’t be convenient.
The most effective way to make sure you have a successful germination is to provide an environment that is free of contamination. The planting medium needs to be new, sterile, and fine-grained, and the water needs to be fresh. You can infuse the water with SuperThrive or Hormex to help promote root growth with vitamins and plant stimulants.
Once the seedlings emerge, water them carefully with room temperature water and a diluted flowering formula like 10-30-20. The high levels of potassium (K) in the formula will encourage root growth. The major dangers for any seedling are inadequate light and the occurrence of fungi or bacteria. Seedlings that are stretched out and grow thin, unsupportive stems are generally good indicators of inadequate light. Marijuanaplants need intense light to thrive because it encourages sturdy stem growth. Fungi and bacteria are also more likely to appear if the plants have been kept too cold and without a lot of light.
If your seedlings are already stretched out, try supporting them with wooden cooking skewers and twist-ties while also increasing light intensity. Any new growth will reflect the environmental changes. In about a week or two, the thin portion of the stem can then be put into the planting medium. Once it has grown five sets of true leaves, you can move the seedling to a larger container.
You will probably get as many answers to this question as the number of people you ask.
I soak me seeds in RO water in a container that doesn’t allow for light penetration. I will leave them alone for 24 hours, then check them about every 12 hours, pulling the ones that have split as I see them. As I pull them, I use sterile tweezers. Be careful not to squish them with pressure. I them plant them in a media that I plan to leave them in until I plant them for the veg. stage.
Personally, I use Oasis cells, and place them under a dome until I have 2 sets of true leaves. This dome is placed under Fluorescent lights (T5) and I mist them daily. I do not like transplanting several times in a grow, so from there I plant them in the container they will be in until the end. That takes up space at the start, but eliminate the added stress in the future from transplanting. . I truly believe the biggest part of the negative phase is root development. That being said, anytime you need to transplant to a bigger pot adds time to root development.
Show me a plant with awesome juicy buds, and I bet it has a healthy root ball.
I germ my seed between damp sheets paper towel in Rubbermaid container with lid. Sometimes I run into seed that have a tough acrylic like coating on them and they won’t germ. I have read to sand seeds lightly?? What’s up with this? Are they “old” seed? what is old seed? when I started growing decade ago I used seeds that had been saved for 20 years in an old 35 mm film container. Yes I’m an old timer pothead! Think I just got ripped by an online seed co for first time, guess not too bad they were cheap not one of the expensive seeds!
I am having the same problem with white widow. They just won’t germinate. I have gotten 1 out of 8 to sprout so far. Not good statistics. I also am an old timer growing since 1969 and I have tried everything I know. I have never had such poor success, normally 1 in 10 doesn’t sprout.
Old seeds may benefit from a light “sanding” or “scarring” but it may not be necessary to aid in getting your seed to crack The theory is just to allow water to get into the seed easier and the shell to crack a little easier and should only be done immediately before planting and watering the seed. One thing that is often the cause of seeds not germinating when everything else has been done correctly is temperature of the seed’s germinating medium. Adding a seedling mat or other heat source may be all the difference in the world but of course be careful not to cook your seeds either with too much heat. Maybe try putting them closer to a light. A small germinating heat source could be made easily with an incandescent night light.
I soaked my White Widow seeds in water in a light proof container. Five seeds to start - first one cracked open with a root tip in 24 hours, two took 48 hours and 2 took an additional day. The late comers had a hard time shedding the sheath that covered the seedling leaves and needed some very careful help ( i am in a very dry climate), but these are also the healthiest looking of the group now. The first two that opened are really tall and skinny, the others not so much.
Hi, I have only been growing these plants for a couple of years. However, I have tried many gemination techniques including , planting the seeds directly to where they will grow outdoors, using wet paper towels to germinate, putting them directly into the soil in a container, etc. ALL with average results…
I purchased 30 seeds from this site and followed the recomendation that Robert gives for germination. I placed the seeds in water and within 48 hours , all were beginning to show a tap root. (100%) I then planted them in soil. ( I use a pair of wide nose tweezers to gently pick up the seeds by the sides, being careful to not touch the tap root, and I mean gently, just barely grabbing them…) I then drop them into the 1/2 inch deep hole that I created in the small containers, and cover.
I ended up with 28 plants within 3 days… they are all very healthy and now I am putting them in direct sunlight for as many hours as I can each day as well as giving them a dilute bloom solution and they are doing very well.
That is over 90% success on the start of these seeds. I have now found the method that I will be using from now on out. Just keep it simple and listen to this guy (Robert) he knows his business!!!
I’ve gotten marijuana seeds from three different Dutch companies and set up my garden, but I’m kind of confused. One company suggests that I should soak the seed for a full day in water to improve germination and then place them in planting mix or block a half inch deep. Another company tells me to fold a paper towel into quarters, get it wet, put the marijuana seeds on it, and then fold it over them. They also suggest that I should place a piece of plastic or a plate over the paper towel to maintain moisture. As soon as the plant sprouts, they tell me to place it in a half inch deep medium with tweezers.