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seeds Fuzzy mold on seeds... Trying papertowel in small container method

santis00

santis00

Curious if any of you might know what I did wrong. I am trying this method after seeing a lot of fellow THPs using it. These are in small containers, 2x2 with 5 seeds. The roots are starting to come out but some seem to be rotting possibly? Getting fuzzy.. These are from seeds I saved from last year, did I not preserve them properly?
 
Should I toss them? Do I have to much water in the papertowel? I only sprayed it a few times. Just curious as to what I did wrong.
 
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if they produce, they look fine to me.  The casing means almost nothing.  I attempt to not start with casings that are already looking black and nasty, but those have hooked, they are viable.
 
That top left one may not produce anything, but I wouldnt toss either of the two right ones.
 
santis00 said:
Yeah I was more worried about the one in the top left?
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     Oh. Yeah, that's mold. Get the other ones away from it so it doesn't spread. Molds can move pretty quickly on that wet of a surface. 
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
 
 
     Oh. Yeah, that's mold. Get the other ones away from it so it doesn't spread. Molds can move pretty quickly on that wet of a surface. 
Click to expand...
 
Yeah removed it last night,  I have a few others some are fine but some are just fuzz balls. Not sure if I just didn't save the seeds properly or just happened. Thanks for the replies everyone!
 
Mold can come from the pods that the seeds were taken from. It could be that it was too early to visibly see the mold starting in the pod, or it could be that the mold was visible but whomever retrieved the seeds pulled the ones that were white, not realizing (or not caring) that they could still be impacted. When wetted, then, the mold reactivates and spreads. Best bet is to make a practice of soaking your seeds in hydrogen peroxide before germination. I soak mine for about an hour in straight h2o2. 
 
But also note that I switched to a different germination method from starting with the paper towel method, and I really like the new approach better. Rather than use a paper towel, I put seeds of each variety into separate bathroom cups and just cover them with water. I change out the water periodically until the seeds germinate. As soon as the root peeks out of the casing I move a seed to starter soil. Not using a paper towel and refreshing the water helps prevent any airborne mold spores from taking hold. Plus it's cool to watch the process - as the seeds get closer to sprouting their casings thin out. Hold them up to a light and you can see the seed embryo become a little spiral inside. 
 
I tried this method for the first time last month and my seeds molded too. I put them in a new paper towel, new baggie, and added a little peroxide when I watered next and about 60% of the moldy ones still sprouted. I soaked my latest batch in a peroxide solution overnight before starting the paper towel and that prevented mold in all but 1 of the 40 seeds that batch.
 
Awesome, might have to give it a try with the peroxide as you guys suggest. I tried so many different things this year just to see what works best. Hope to get it refined for future!
 
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