Revolutionary Germination Technique: Read!

[G. Potter]

I've been using this germination technique for a while and have found it unequalled for success for even the hardest strains to pop. This method provides the maximum potential for germination. I have 100 % success rate 95% of the time and you will too with this method. At the price their charging for seeds today, 100% germination should be guarenteed by the banks but since they won't, heres a method to help you adapt to thier shortcommings and maximize your potential.


My original goal was to find a way to heat my seeds to 85-90 degrees which always rresults in a much higher germ rate than at say 78 degrees. Seedling mats just don't work well for me. So, I concocted this approach


First, you need a small plastic tub, a fish tank heater, ($20 at wal-mart), a fish tank thermometer, ($4.00 at Wal-mart) and a small glass container.

Fill the tub with several inches of water, place the fish tank heater in the tub and set the thermostat to 90 degrees, ( my buddy claims 85 is better but I disagree), Put the tank thermometer in the water and wait for the temperature to stabilize at the temp you have set it for. Once the water has been at your desired temp,( 90 degrees), for a bit, take another container and put an inch or more of water in it. This container needs to have a screw lid that you can close, (I use a baby food jar). Place the container with an inch of water in the tub and let it bob around in the constant 85-90 degree water untill you believe that the water in your container is the same temp as the tub water.

At this point, just put your seeds in the floating container until germination is achieved. With good viable fresh seeds I've had germination in as little as 12hrs. I just can't tell you in words how well this approach works. Once you have used it you will never go back.

I did a little test this year to evalutate this approach. I took 2 packs of sensi star. I used paradise seeds because they truly have the best germination rates in the industry and to my knowledge, the only company that guarntees 95% germ rate, I knew all 10 seeds from each pack would pop. I put one pack in my heated tub of water, and one using traditional paper towel method. The first seed poped in the tub at 14 hrs and all ten had popped at the end of 24 hrs. The paper towel method had 9 overall pops and one pop at 24 hrs, 7 more in 48 hours and the last one tpoped at about 60 hours.

At the price of seeds today, the heated tub method is essential.

 

[Chiefsmokingbud]

Very interesting, gonna have to try it.Thanks

 

[chron conoiseur]

so the only point in the big tub is to make sure the water stays at 90 degrees? sounds good to me. I used to use the paper towel method but after me and a friend started germing in just water I've switched to using a glass jar with lid (as mentioned above) filled with water just sitting on top of a heating pad. seems to work much better than paper towels or whatever.

thanks for the germination tip!! i hope everyone makes note of this because i know i get aggravated when some of my seeds don't pop =)

 

[zamalito]

Have you tried this method on any very old or landrace seeds? I have some very old burma jam (circa 1981) and congolese (1984) seeds I've wasted a few of trying various methods and can only get about 5-10% with the burmese I can get 60% to crack which is suprising for their age but only 10% go any further. I'm looking for tried and tested methods for old seeds. Thanks a lot for the info it is definitely one of the best methods I've heard of so far short of using an ultrasonic mister.

 

[whoami]

i use the shot glass -> towel method

place your shot glass on your radiator (in winter lol) fill with water let it get warm drop the seeds in. They will float and in about 12 hours they will sink. once they sink place them into a wet paper towel in a ziplock bag. puff ziplock and seal, after another 24 hours they should have tails...place seed tail down into whatever medium you plan to use. in about 2-3 days they will break the soil...I have 100% germ rate with seeds that are fairly new (up to 1 yr old) and about 70% with well maintained seeds that are older than 4 yrs.

 

[agent 420]

gald to stumble upon this thread! I'm on a quest to find the best germ methods out there. I've been experimenting to see what works best for me. Most growers underestimate the importance of a good germ but I believe its essential to a good healthy grow.

I'll definitely be giving this "revolutionary" germ technique a try.

 

[G. Potter]

I used it on the durban x skunk I got free from gypsy which were older than he hills. I got 6 pops. The warmer, constant temperatures are all of the advantage you can give a seed. At 90 degrees, if there is any life left, it will explode fourth

 

[Tunefull]

Hi all
I also belive temps play a big roll in germing(and cloneing)

A lot of folk dismiss anyone having probs germing seeds,coz they never have any probs
I would guess tho that most of the folk who have no probs germing,Live in naturaly warm climates(thus no need to work a way to heat things up in colder times(Like some other places would need)

Like apart from the 2 warm months of summer we get in the uk,There would be no way(without heating the water)To get a temp above 40-50 in our cold times(out of summer)

Least that is my take on it*smiles*

 

[Elevator Man]

I just pre-soak mine for 12 hours, and then pop them in Root Riot cubes, stood in a 1cm bed of moistened Perlite/Vermiculite mix, inside the heated propagator. They always pop within 24 hours, and so far, out of 36 seeds started this year, I only got one that failed. Which is about 97% success rate, so I'm happy...
That was Dutch Passion and Nirvana, some of my own, and some from plain old African brick weed - they all popped bar one.
After reading the recent thread on cloning in water, I'm tempted to modify some of that method to suit this - i.e. a much wetter bed, and using the cubes upside-down - this is more for better rooting though than faster germination.