Seeds are NOT popping! What can I DO????

[pftek]

I put seeds in paper towel and 7 out of 10 poppped. I placed all top in rockwool. 1 out of three popped. Buut one of the seeds that did pop just stagnated. So back to 7 out of 10.

I have 2 seeds in rockwool. Who look they have done NOTHING. should I take a blade and slowly cut it open? maybe it's too weak?

 

[Sandnut]

when did you germ them and put them in rockwool? have you kept it moist? high Humidity? what's the temp in there?

they like it moist, humid, kinda hot ( i pref 25c when germing)

give them time... some seeds take longer than others

unless you are doing something wrong

 

[pftek]

when did you germ them and put them in rockwool? have you kept it moist? high Humidity? what's the temp in there?

they like it moist, humid, kinda hot ( i pref 25c when germing)

give them time... some seeds take longer than others

unless you are doing something wrong

over 3 weeks ago.

very humid. warm. and moist.


Everything else is growing nicely.

 

[Zen Master]

probably damped off before they even had a chance.

fungal infection that wrecks little seedlings.

too much moisture, too soggy?. 3 weeks and you should have full fan leafs.

 

[FreezerBoy]

You can't grow in paper towels. If you can't grow in it, don't germ in it. Warm, moist media will neither freeze nor dry out your seeds. Now that you've seen the "benefits" of paper towels, next time just pop dry sees directly in the final grow media.

 

[hippydan]

You can't grow in paper towels. If you can't grow in it, don't germ in it. Warm, moist media will neither freeze nor dry out your seeds. Now that you've seen the "benefits" of paper towels, next time just pop dry sees directly in the final grow media.

Agreed 100%. I just germinated 4 seeds, and I'll share how I did it.

I started by soaking the seeds in room temperature bottled water for 12 hours. I soaked my rockwool cubes in 5.5pH 400ppm tapwater(I didn't add nutes, it was straight tapwater) for a minute or two, shook 1/4 to 1/2 the water out of them, turned the cubes upside down, made my own holes about a 1/4" deep, and dropped the seeds in no apparent fashion into the holes. I let them sit in a dark, dry, warm place under a humidity dome (I only used a dome because my relative humidity is less than 20% on a daily basis). A day later I could peek into the holes and see that all 4 had cracked their seed "shells" and had in fact germinated. 2 days later I moved the rockwool into 5" netpots and surrounded them with hydroton. 2 days later and all have survived, are very dark green, and are throwing out their first sets of true leaves. Hope this helps.

I strongly believe that adjusting the rockwool cubes pH to 5.5-6.0 is very important. Check out Jedi's thread for more info on starting seedlings and cuttings in rockwool.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Aww... they're just so darn cute at that age. I used to sprout much the same way. These days I do it in my bubble cloner.

 

[onewhokills]

Aww... they're just so darn cute at that age. I used to sprout much the same way. These days I do it in my bubble cloner.

would you care to explain seeds in a bubble cloner to me? im a tad confused.

 

[pezmasterelite]

I don't find many problems germinating seeds in paper towel.

1) Make sure you grab the sprouts before they are 2" long or longer.
2) If they are grown into the paper towel, then tear/cut around them and plant the paper with the seed
3) Always put moist paper towels in a clean mostly air tight container
4) Check them daily or more if possible and exchange the air when doing so to prevent it from being stagnant.

They are really 2 comments, 1,2 and then 3,4 but it is easier to read this way.

The other way I germ seeds is directly in 1" rockwool cubes if I am paranoid of breaking sprouts moving them, or things like that. The reason I do not like that is that when you transplant a 1-2" shoot you can bury it in the medium as you see fit. With a plant starting in a jiffy puck, tree-bark thing, rockwool, etc... they often get lanky and then you have to bury the medium deep to compensate.

In DJ's book he recommends starting seeds in half full beer cups. When the seedlings reach the top and come over the top of the cup, he then fills the cups to the appropriate level around the stem of the small seedling. I really like this method when one is using soil.

Peace

 

[FreezerBoy]

would you care to explain seeds in a bubble cloner to me? im a tad confused.

I was never able to get a bubbler to work "correctly" with bare stems so, I combined it with rockwool (from my earlier tray cloner) in place of neoprene collars, The tub has an aquarium heater to maintain water temps at 75º-80ºF. Soak cube, insert seed, place cube in bubbler.



CLONERS- a collection of various methods