Paper Towel method

[Gangabiss]

After having my last 36 seeds fail to germinate I'm very wary of not fucking up again this time. I want to make sure I do everything right down to the last detail. So I have a few questions about the famous paper towel method of germing.

1. How many times do you fold the paper towel or do you simply lay the seeds on 1 ply of it? Basically does the seed need to be cushioned with a thick layer of them or is it fine to just 'sandwich them between too loose layers of moist towel?

2. How much water do you add to the towel? And do you squeeze off any excess? If so, do you squeeze it out with the seeds inside to 'mould' them to the towel and make them snug?

I know it might seem like I'm being pedantic here but I just want to make sure I can't blame my technique again this time. And I really don't want to waste any more money on seeds!

Any help would be greatly appreciated as my next round of seeds should get here tomorrow

 

[mr.brunch]

I used to wet the paper, squeeze it out and flatten it. Just wants to be nice and damp, not too wet. Then place the seeds on, fold over the paper ( just lightly, no need for pressure), put the whole thing on a plate. Then cover the plate with either a plastic bag, or cling film to stop it drying out. Put this somewhere nice and warm for a couple of days.. works every time.

These days I always sow direct into the medium, saves disturbing any little root hairs.

Good luck, and all the best

 

[MrBungle]

I use brown paper towel (unbleached)
I leave the beans about an inch or so apart... to leave room so the taproots don't twist together....
fold over the paper towel over the beans, and slide into a sandwich baggy carefully to not disturb the placement of beans, add a few drops of water to the paper towel so it is uniformly wet but not soaked...
seal up the baggy and put it in a warm dark spot.. like on top of the fridge towards the back with a plate set over it upside down...
I'd use a separate bag for each strain you intend to sow and label accordingly...

now wait a day or 2 and check... and every day after that til they all successfully crack

 

[I wood]

Brown paper towel and little H2O2 in the water works well for me. Then transplant before root gets much bigger than 1/4", no small roots to damage yet.

 

[Gangabiss]

Cheers guys. Can't find brown ones so white will have to do.

Also, I don't have a router or anything that stays constantly warm to put the seeds on. I'll be leaving them in the spare room upstairs with the radiator on.

What sort of temperature should the room be for optimal speedy germination? I was thinking 28-30C max.

 

[I wood]

About 78-82 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal in my opinion, 26-28 Celsius. Any higher and the bad things grow faster as well as the seed.
On top of the refrigerator works well.
The hydrogen peroxide helps a lot but a daily check allows you to remove any bad seeds before adjacent seeds are contaminated. Sometimes it is better to just relocate good seed to a fresh paper towel.
Good luck.

 

[five2ohh]

I always use paperwork towels and they've always worked really well. I use white paper towels several layers thick and leave it pretty damp but not dripping wet. Then place that in a old grocery bag and twist up the end to keep in the moisture. If it's cold sometimes I'll use a heating pad on low.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Rinse the seeds in 50/50 water and 3% hydrogen peroxide, then rinse with plain water.

Plant them 1" deep in the same type of media you're going to be growing in, individual pots/cups are recommended. Water thoroughly and keep moist until the seeds sprout, keep misted with water if the seed hulls don't come off right away. If the hull is moist, eventually the seedling will shrug it off. Once a seed sprouts to a seedling, cease all watering until the media reaches a barely moist state. Not dry.

Done.

As far as I'm concerned, the paper towel method is for determining the strike rate for a batch of seeds. 100 seeds in a moist paper towel. 89 sprout, it's an 89% strike rate. Just because someone once said "Hey, are you going to throw those away now? I can grow them!", doesn't mean it's a healthy way to sprout seeds.

Ask a horticulturist about moist paper towels for sprouting, then pulling seed and first root (with tiny hairs embedded in the towel) off to plant into some kind of media or other. They'll most likely laugh.

Either way, good luck. Practicing with bag seed can save you a lot of cash, should you happen to have any around for it. SaveSave

 

[Budley Doright]

I would laugh at any idiot that leaves the seed in the paper towel long enough to get tiny hairs embedded..... then think thats the correct method....

I mean.....like duh......

 

[Budley Doright]

Let me point out why I always use the wet paper towel method....

FIrst off it vastly easier to get the environment right for a small container than it is for many containers.....

The fact is.... germination temps are often different than the temps you veg at....

Its really not as hard as some would make it....

I find it really odd that people try to look down on the method when its just as effective as any other method....

Some folks love the method others dont....but I have yet to see the germination police come and force anyone to use it.....

 

[justanotherbozo]

...yeah, i stopped using paper towels years ago, today i grow in coco so i sow my beans directly into 9oz cups filled with moist coco and where i use a second, translucent cup taped above as a temporary humidity dome.

...i remove the humidity domes as soon as the seedling emerges from the coco and sheds it's shell and, as has aready been said, i don't water again until the coco dries almost completely, you need to judge by heft.

...anyway, i've been popping beans this way for years, easy peasy.

peace, bozo

 

[Budley Doright]

What my friend bozo doesnt mention.....is that he puts his seeds on top of a flouro light....and they have perfect temps for both germination and for cloning......

Am I wrong in what I see??????

 

[justanotherbozo]

What my friend bozo doesnt mention.....is that he puts his seeds on top of a flouro light....and they have perfect temps for both germination and for cloning......

Am I wrong in what I see??????

...no man, you are correct and this was intentional when i built the cab, it keeps the temps inside the little bins i keep the cups in at a steady and reliable 78 to 80 degrees which seems to be the perfect range for rooting cuttings and popping beans.

peace, bozo

 

[Budley Doright]

I think thats the lesson to be learned from this..... I stated earlier that its often easier to provide the perfect environment for a tupperware dish and paper towels than putting them in cups when germinating.....

You see its about environment.... often the environment is more important than the medium you are using....

Both clones and seeds require similar environments...... which is optimally different than your veg temps....

 

[Gangabiss]

Well half have gone into paper towels in sandwich bags and the other half into root riot cubes in a tupperware box.

Will check them tomorrow after 24hrs and see what's cracking.

 

[TOKING TOKOLOSH]

Firstly make sure you have good quality seed!

1.Soak them in sterilised water(I use cold water from a boiled kettle) for at least 24hrs.
2.If the seed sinks to the bottom of the glass on touch, you're good to go - If they don't sink, don't even bother.
3.Lay them into good quality roller towel - fold 2 sheets in half, then half again - wet well and tip over to drain excess water.
* if you paper towel layers are not thick enough seeds will die!
* needs to be kept moist - if you moisten in the morning and leave in a sunny spot for the day it will dry out slightly and root will go searching for moisture.
I've had great success - only hampered by old seed on my last run!

 

[TOKING TOKOLOSH]

Obviously depends on climate too!
Here in sunny S.A with temperate climate, I don't even bother with baggies/humidity domes...
The master that taught me was very much a rule of thumb grower and always stressed - Don't over think it

Good luck!

 

[Guy Brush]

Paper towel method works. No need to make people look like idiots, if it works. Never saw a seedling die or slow down from planting. Instead of sandwich bags u can use these little cream cheese boxes that have a lid when they're empty (and cleaned of course). Can you tell us what seeds did u use in the first place that didn't sprout?

 

[Gangabiss]

Paper towel method works. No need to make people look like idiots, if it works. Never saw a seedling die or slow down from planting. Instead of sandwich bags u can use these little cream cheese boxes that have a lid when they're empty (and cleaned of course). Can you tell us what seeds did u use in the first place that didn't sprout?

I planted 9xNirvana Fly Trap, 9xNirvana White Castle, 9xSOL Donk, 9xSOL Blubonic

The Donk and Fly trap were freebies.

The Nirvana seeds came in those old black packs with a baggy inside. The Herbies order I just received sent me Nirvana Master Kush and the packaging is totally different from the other Nirvanas and obviously the new redesigned one. Maybe they (the Boutique) are sending out old stock I dunno...

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

When you have a few different strains and none of them sprout, either they were all cooked before you planted them or you fried them all equally. Did all of them arrive in the same packaging, at the same time?