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Paper Towel Germ Questions

JJBagoose

JJBagoose

Hi,

I'm back and ready to germinate some seeds. I wanted to use the paper towel method but wanted to make sure I do it correctly.

First, how important is it that I soak the seeds? How long should they be soaked for? Any ideas for methodically soaking a bunch of different seeds? it seems like it will be hard to keep track of all the different seeds.

On to the germination:

How best to do this? I think I was going to use a damp coffee filter in a ziplock bag.

Is this a good idea? Is there a better way?

Should I close the bag?

Is it best to do 1 see per bag/towel?

thanks for any info.

-jj
 
I did a test with a bag of mystery seeds i got and got about 70-80% germination without trying. They were a little warm but not heated at all. I took 2 paper towels. Moistend them with warm water. put them in a big bag. Threw 10 seeds in then preatty much threw em up on top of the tv and forgot about em. I watered em the day after they went in but you dont have to water them because they don't lose ANY moisture. I dunno if i would suggest the method though but hey it worked though.
 
I wet the paper towel, wring it out so it's damp not dripping, fold it in half, put the seeds toward one end and fold it in half again to make a square with two layers of paper towel on either side of the seeds.

Then slide that in a baggie, set it on top of the computer( fridge, cable box, anything that generates heat) and that's it. Works well just be sure to start checking them after a few days. Want to plant them as soon as the little white root pokes out.
 
Txclosetgrower said:
I wet the paper towel, wring it out so it's damp not dripping, fold it in half, put the seeds toward one end and fold it in half again to make a square with two layers of paper towel on either side of the seeds.

Then slide that in a baggie, set it on top of the computer( fridge, cable box, anything that generates heat) and that's it. Works well just be sure to start checking them after a few days. Want to plant them as soon as the little white root pokes out.
Click to expand...

Hi Bagoose, don't forget to remember what seeds are what????;)
 
I lay out seeds on a damp paper-towel(or coffee filter for tomatos) and roll it into a loose cylinder and place in a labelled sandwich baggy on a warm surface. Once they start to sprout transplant them before they get too big and too inter-woven in the paper-towel.
Edit: It doesn't really matter if the baggy is open or closed as long as the paper-towel stays damp(but not wet)
 
Thanks for the info everyone.

JungleRain, that is one of my concerns. I just bought a ton of baggies so I figure I will just limit it to 1 variety per baggie.

How about pre-soaking the seeds? Is this important? How long should they soak for?

thanks,
JJ
 
POTAWIE said:
I don't bother with pre-soaking, it doesn't seem to help.
Click to expand...

Thanks POTAWIE.

I wanted to get them going tonight and didn't want to have to wait until a soak was finished.

Nice photo gallery! I was looking at your sausages and getting hungry for sausage and peppers at 8am :P
 
First, get a zip-lock bag and a piece of paper towel

IMG_8543.jpg


Then wet one side of the paper towel and spread seeds

IMG_8544.jpg


Then fold towel put towel in bag and wet the entire towel. Close the zip-lock bag completely.

IMG_8545.jpg


I use water treated with hydrogen peroxide to control fungus for this. Place zip-lock bag on 80-85F surface and wait.
 
POTAWIE said:
I don't bother with pre-soaking, it doesn't seem to help.
Click to expand...

That's not my (little) experience on this subject. I have some orange hab seeds that I germinated by sticking them straight into the soil. Took 7 days and 18 days to break the soil.

Last month I tried two more of the same seeds, but this time I pre-soaked them in a weak tea solution for 24 hours. For comparison, I put one straight into the soil and one in a paper towel inside a ZipLoc. This was on a tuesday, and I went away for the weekend. On sunday night, 5 days later, the seed in the paper towel had a 10-12 mm long "tail"! I planted it immediately in soil, but unfortunately I have forgotten to record when it broke the soil. Probably after 2 days. The other one bounced up on monday.
 
OK, so last night I put together about 15 baggies with damp paper towels and seeds in them. I hope it works for me :)

When should I start checking the baggies? As soon as tomorrow?

What exactly am I looking for? Just the roots starting to grow from the seed? Once I see the roots, should I then transplant to soil?

thanks
 
In 5 days or so, feel the baggies for any bumps. If you feel bumps, open the baggies and look for germinated seeds/roots. Transplant germinated seeds and reseal baggie for further germination.

I transplant to rockwool, but it works the same for soil.

Transplanted seeds:

IMG_3399.jpg


crop3400.jpg
 
Thanks for the info (and pics) Willard.

OK, I'll ask more questions. Rockwool? Is this a preferred medium for initial seed germination? If so, is it something I can pickup at a local garden store?
 
Rockwool is a great medium, especially if you're continuing to grow with hydroponic systems.
I don't think the starting medium is a huge factor for germination(I know there's exceptions), but once germinated, you want a loose, well aerated medium that holds a proper water balance and one which the roots can easily move though, and has proper ph level like rockwool.
 
Hmm...you can't reuse rockwool though?

Jus wunderin' :)

It's one reason I just use plain 'ol Pro-Mix and whatever container is around.
Course, I don't grow 100's of plants either..that makes a difference.

$10 for one tray seems pretty pricey to me.
 
do you have to dry seeds out before you germinate them ?

you soak to rehydrate them in order to germinate, correct ?

couldnt you just take a seed from a pepper an pop it into some soil ?
 
Hi Bagoose,
as soon as you see a smale white sprout about 2-3 mm then just transfer to dirt, jiffy pellet or rockwool. In the dirt or jiffy pellet you can cover the sprouted seed with dirt 1 to 3 mm depth, makesure the growing medium is moist, not overly wet...
 
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