pabro

First the facts:

-soil medium
-indoors
-flouros
-watered every 3-4 days
-soil is a premixed perlite/branches/twigs/lava/and other goodies. breathable
-water used is purified
-chemical fertilizers - 10-60-10 (for rooting and germination. those taller then a 2 inches i switch to 20-30-20 with a little urine for extra nitrogen)
-temperature in the high 70s - low 80s
-pH appears to be a tad over 7. this is an identified problem. but I don't see this killing my babies just yet.
-no insect activity
-algae has been forming on the surface and inside of the the cups i have been placing them in. I put a fan in there which seemed to take care of the soil surfaces, but not the inside lining of the cup. I am trying to solve this issue by not watering as much.

Problem #1: Germination technique
-paper towels soaked in purified water with a 3% bleach solution. i have kept the seeds wet for one week now. i few popped up immediately. then nothing. What's going on?

Problem #2: seedlings aren't sprouting
I place the seeds in the soil and try to keep things pretty moist until sprouts pop up. I am getting about a 10% success rate. talk about a waste of good seeds.

Problem #3: slow growth
I have two batches, both a month old. One set is only about 6 inches high. One month. I have them currently placed in 6 oz. plastic cups (I intend to transplant later on as space is needed). They're growing, but slowly.

the other batch looks like they're only a few days old. I'm not kidding. Some are only one inch tall. I water every four days or so, give them the love they deserve. What am I overlooking? I believe they come from a sativa/indica strain (mostly sativa). The biggest mystery is why they are stagnant. I would figure them to either flourish or die. What's going on?

I have noticed that some of my seeds are sinking low a good inch into the soil after watering them. This seems like a potential problem. I have tried solving this by adding water before putting the seeds in and then just putting them a centimeter down.

Still nothing. And why aren't my seeds germinating? I paid a mint for good genetics and this is what I end up with?

Please help!

Nasarius

Looks good, except for this:
I really would water AT LEAST once a day, especially in the early stages. As for your germinations/sprouting problems, I've had a lot of trouble with that, too. The best method I've found so far is to just stick the seeds in rockwool cubes (no paper towel germination, that seems to do nothing but cause mold problems for me) and water them whenever they get dry (keeping them nice and warm, of course). pH, as you've noticed, should be slightly acidic (5.5 to 6.5, I believe).

Oh, and as for the algae, you might want to cut down on humidity.

pabro

You're saying that once my seeds have germinated and are placed in the medium to water them every day until they're sprouted? So, keep them super moist.

I agree with your rockwool comment. I have had much better luck in the past with this technique. Unfortunately, I don't have access to rockwool at this juncture. Hopefully again in the near future.

OzGrowa

Hello there pabro, I have a few suggestions for your problems.


i) Dont use bleach on seeds, it will sterilize the outside but its also very toxic and it renders the seed inviable ie not able to germinate.

ii) the PH is too high, try and get it below 6.3 for quicker and more viability, where its at now is not to good

iii) DONT add any fertilizers when you are germinating, even in soil you dont need any ferts until they are about 1 to 2 weeks old, the soil they are initially should support life real well. You can add a _minute_ dose of fish emulsion if you want after 1 week. The key to getting them to really take off is to allow them to unfold without adding ferts, they dont need it, they are finding their way in the world

iv) Pack the soil mixture reasonably well before you plant the seeds, then with a small skewer, skrewdriver or similar small object gently poke a 1 inch of 4 cm hole in the soil and drop the seed in.

When I germinate I use two plates and some tissues, I wet the tissues and place more over the seeds, I then place another upturned plate on the top to make a dome shape. I place this on the fridge and check it every 8 hours making sure its always kept moist. I get germination within 5 days tops, usually 2. Once they have cracked the seed pod I plant them carefully Into Rockwool cubes or Perlite/Vemiculite mixture.

Hope this helps you dude,
OzGrowa

pabro

The thing is about the bleach is that when I didn't use it, I would always lose a few to fungus. I have had success with this in the past. So I figured on sticking to what's worked for me in the past. Your comments, though, are valid. It's a tradeoff and dangerous balance which could take out my whole load.

Now, I did a batch also w/o bleach just to see if this was the problem. They're having the same trouble.

I am a little worried about placing them so far down and am wondering if that's the reason why my guys are never surfacing.

No ferts for 2 weeks. Got it.

pH needs to be lowered. Got it. But is this at a level that could kill 'em all?

Thanks for your feedback! It goes much appreciated.

smokinrav

I gotta disagree with the watering every day advice(super moist). Drowning that sprout is a sure fire way to retard growth. Water your medium once before the seed is inserted. Make a hole with something pointy and insert with a tweezers so its top is within 1/4-1/2" of the surface. Cover it lightly with soil and mist the top with water every day if dry. Dont let it soak more than 1/2" down. The moisture present in the medium will be plenty for it for several days, at least. You want it to dry up afterward to force the root system to grow looking for more moisture.

Smokin

pabro

a 1/4 to 1/2 inch sounds a bit right to me. And that's what I intend to do from now on. Why make the babies fight so much, right?

I like your advice about the the sprayer to keep things moist. I was worried about how to water them. And every time I did, I think the seed was sinking lower, farther from light. So that's enough, eh?

pabro

I got the seeds from Mark Emery. But I doubt they were crap seeds. I know him through a friend. He's unlikely to screw me. What's more is it came from several sources.

Alright. Now, if one uses the paper towel method and lets things dry up for perhaps a few hours, will this ruin the entire batch or just the ones that have already opened up?

My new theory for my problems is that I added too much water too early on (i ket them pretty moist) while they were germinating and drowned them out. The ones (which, btw, are a few different strains)that made it are pretty stunted, which would indicate my fault.

My other possible theory is that I added water and it drained down the sides, leaving the seed with nothing but dry soil to work with. I did a test today, watered them, checked the middle, and it was bone dry!

Awake204

Im new, and dont really have any experience, but here my $.02:

I used StayGreen Seed Starter mix and those small peat cups. Moistened the soil with distilled water, and then placed 6 in a plastic try, covered it with saran wrap and then put them over a heating pad set to medium. Them temp under the plastic stayed around 85 degrees. I kept a coolwhite flouro over them (I know light's not necessary but I once I tried germinating in the dark and some of the seeds sprouted the wrong way! - the tap root came up through the surface!)
As each little sprout came up I uncovered the plastic wrap, and I only watered enough to keep the soil surface evenly moist.
Also, before I even started I wiped everything down (the tray and walls) with a chlorine and water solution. I never had any problem with fungus.

LadyGray

Hi,

Are you heating the seeds, or just letting them sit? Seeds will germinate eventually if left to their own devices, but even Marc Emery says never to use bleach, and to place the seeds someplace warm. I place my seeds between paper towels (soaked), between two saucers, atop a heating pad at 70 degrees or so (pushed to second notch). Within a week, at least half the seeds have sprouted. I've concluded that whenever seeds don't sprout it's because some of them only go so far as to "crack open," which is to say that even if you don't seed a sprout, chances are it's still growing inside.

If you do this again, according to the instructions of the Master Gardener (he's right on), I would suggest when you see a good number of seeds sprouted to go ahead and plant all of them - or at least a few of the ones not planted. But no ferts, please! It does no good and if you already know what too much fert does to a plant, imagine what it's doing to a seed that hasn't even begun to grow.

LG

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