magicninjax

I have used this method my last few grows with a 99% success rate. The only beans that didn’t pop were cracked and had no chance. I just wanted to see if any one else uses this method and how well it works for them.

Supplies:
Paper towels
Clear plastic cups
2”-3” Deep Pyrex or metal baking pan/dish
Seedling heating pad

1. Let the seeds soak over night in a cup of tap water. I use warm water (70F degrees or so) and place the cup on my heating mat at 72F degrees. After they have soaked for 24 hours strain the seeds.
2. Take a dry paper towel and fold it in half. Unfold the paper towel and place the seeds on the paper towel with the bottoms (the side the root pops out) all pointing towards the center fold (down). Make sure they are about 1” apart and are about 2” above the fold. I use one paper towel for 5 to 6 seeds.
3. Now fold the paper towel so the seeds are in between the folded paper towel and sprinkle it with water. The water will cause the paper towel to form around the seeds holding them in place. Press down softly on the paper towel to make sure the seeds are secure.
4. Take a clear plastic cup and poke a few holes in the side of it as close to the bottom as possible. Then take the paper towel and put it in the cup with the folded side at the bottom of the cup and wrap the paper towel around the outer edge of the cup like a ring folding any paper towel that sticks out over the top edge of the cup. So at this point the seeds should be about 2” from the bottom of the cup.
5. Fill the baking pan with about 1” of water. Place the finished cup in to the backing dish and make sure the water level is high enough that the cup fills to the same depth with water. Make sure you hold the cup down in the water and don’t let go until it is flooded or it might try and float then fall over. The water level needs to be high enough to reach the bottom of the paper towel inside the cup. Place the dish on your heating pad at 72F in a dark place like a closet; occasionally check the water level to make sure it is always high enough you don’t want the paper towel to ever dry out.

This way the seed is basically cocooned in between the paper towel pointing in the correct direction for the root to grow down plus it has a constant supply of water and air. I have found that I can leave the seeds a little bit longer and let the tap roots really develop before I plant them. The clear plastic cup makes it easy to see any new growth as it happens. Most my seeds germinate with in 24 hours of being placed in the cup. I don't have any pics so I made some drawings to help you see what i am talking about.

Let me know what ya think!

Attached Images

	germ2.bmp (1.28 MB, 275 views)
	germ.bmp (939.3 KB, 208 views)

pearl

__________________

Pearl's Drip System ~ Fall Harvest 2006 ~ Live Predators

budzforbuds

Nice..try this next time or on a few beans you have laying around

Soak the seeds in the cup of water until they start to split. This usually happens in a couple days. Then carfully remove them from the cup of water and plant @3/4 inch deep into plastic cups filled with potting soil . Make sure the tap root is facing down

I then put the cups into a small styrofoam cooler covered with saran wrap Place an 18 inch dual bulb flouro ontop of it 24 hrs on. I keep the cooler covered untill the sprouts show up through the dirt then remove it

Its simple,easy and works everytime. The one thing I do is add a couple drops of bleach to the water so no fungus starts to grow while the beans soak.

bluecheese

Heyyyyy... I'm 110% - had 11 sprouts out of ten seeds & that's the only time I've ever done it... So I guess you're right pearl, no one is 100%.

I still like my method best. Drop the seed in treated rockwool, put a heating mat under & a dome over. Viola! Sprouts in 24 hrs. Never hafta touch the seed once it is sprouted and you can plant rockwool in soil or go to hydro.

I'm such a klutz that I'd probably hurt the taproot otherwise.

__________________
cheese

Posting Guidelines -- AUP -- Sick Plant? -- Nursery Troubleshooting Guide
Plant Abuse Guide -- St0ney's pH Chart -- Reputation & Thanks

My Journals

magicninjax

Thanks for the input guys. It’s really like my 100th post but that was on the old 420 site long ago. I have tried soaking the seeds until they pop and planting them in Jiffy Peat Plugs and the outcome was good but not as good, only about 90%. I also tried to use Rockwool but none of the plants even made it to the surface; that was on one of my first attempts at germination so I am sure did something wrong like too much nutes or the PH was off. Again thanks for the advice!

bluecheese

Don't use any nutes in germination, but you do have to adjust the pH of the rockwool.

__________________
cheese

Posting Guidelines -- AUP -- Sick Plant? -- Nursery Troubleshooting Guide
Plant Abuse Guide -- St0ney's pH Chart -- Reputation & Thanks

My Journals

CardBoardBox

Well, seeing as I havn't got any source for seeds, I'll use the few that I have left from last year. Which totals up to.... 4. I'm hoping that one out of them will germinate. I think this method will work a lot better than the usual paper towel one, I didn't have much luck with that last year.
The 4 seeds I have are currently floating in luke warm water above a heater. They're in the dark, and I'm really hoping I'll have some results by this evning. If not I'll leave them in overnight and put 'em in the paper towel by morning. I have no idea what kind of condition they're in. They've been in a baggie in my tin for as long as I can remember, so they've been kept in a dark, cool, dry place.
Once they're in the paper towel I should keep them in the dark still, right? and 70F is about 22C, which is about room temperature in my house. Should I keep them a little warmer than that, or should they be good? How warm is too warm? I'm going to try and keep the conditions as good as possible seeing as I have very very limited seeds...

__________________