extreme germination

[MickeyBlue42]

Hey Guys

Listen I have been trying to germ some God Bud seeds I got from seedbay. They are about 3 yrs old.

I know people all have their various methods, but I usually plant straight into the medium and have 85% + success.

Now I had 7 of these seeds. The first 3 I planted... waited waited waited .. after 2 weeks nothing!.. still watering those and hoping ...

I then started 4 on paper towel method. I have been going for a week.. Nothing!!!


Are there any methods I can use like poking a hole in the seed or sandpaper which I have read somewhere before to try get some success out of these ????

 

[MrBlue2]

This was the best i could find:

Not all seeds germinate the same way. Some need a little help to get them going. There are three processes that aid in germination of these seeds.

1- Soaking

2- Scarification

3- Stratification

Soaking:

Just about every seed will be helped along the germination way by soaking in water. Preferably warm. The process can be helped greatly by adding Potassium Nitrate (Saltpetre) which can be purchased in your local drugstore. Add 1 teaspoonfull per quart of water and soak the seeds for 12 to 24 hours. In some cases of seeds having very hard coatings like the Delonix Regia (Royal Poinciana) and Pride of Barbados (caesalpinia pulcherrima), you may want to extend it to 48 hours. Once you have soaked them, blot them with a paper towel and plant them immediately before they dry out.

Scarification

Scarification is nothing more than "scaring" the seeds with sandpaper, file, or scrape with a knife. The idea is to make it easier for the soaking media to penetrate the seed's coat to get to the embryo. Be very careful not to damage the embryo while doing this. After "scaring"the seeds proceed with the soaking. This procedure is sometimes very much needed when trying to germinate seeds from Royal Poinciana (Flamboyan), Anon, and other seeds that have a very hard coating.



Stratification

Some seeds have dormant embryos when exposed to temperatures above 72 degrees F. These seeds need to be moistened and cooled before planting so as to "wake up" the embryo. To do this, place the seeds in the medium you will be growing them, and place in the refrigerator overnight. This will wake them up so as to germinate when placed in their final warm growing spot. These include seeds like fresh lettuce, culantro (eryngium foetidum), etc....

Hope it helps!!! Good Luck!!!

 

[MickeyBlue42]

Thanks for the info bro, much appreciated! will give it a whirl tonight

 

[DiiZZii3]

Hey man alot of peolple dont realize that they need to cure there seeds before donating them out. If u let ur seeds sit out in open air for a few weeks it should dramaticly increase germination rates

 

[qbert]

Sometimes old seeds just don't go. If you normally plant straight in medium, try soaking the seeds in a cup of water for 24 hours first. I've lost plenty of old seeds (year+) that almost started or half started, but just couldn't make it. Can't say the same for fresh seeds.