Paper towel method not working

S

stonerfromthesouth

Active Member
It has always worked before, but the last 5 seeds i tried to sprout died.i put them in a wet paper towel, some cracked, but stopped growing and died, and some didn't open at all. (all from different seed banks) why? What am i doing wrong? This method always worked before.
 
Changed brands on your paper towels? So many different processes and dyes and fillers and other ingredients, depending on if any/or amount of recycled content then can have fungicides or biocides used in their process with residual amounts on finished product. Though I never had much luck with that method and I go right into my medium after soaking for 24 hours personally, so no first hand experience with that method really.
 
Dwight Monk said:
Changed brands on your paper towels? So many different processes and dyes and fillers and other ingredients, depending on if any/or amount of recycled content then can have fungicides or biocides used in their process with residual amounts on finished product. Though I never had much luck with that method and I go right into my medium after soaking for 24 hours personally, so no first hand experience with that method really.
Click to expand...
Isn't that more risky? I tho you're supposed to let the root grow to 1cm?
 
I soak for a few hours or overnight. Paper towel until cracked and I can see white tap root and then plant immediately. Knock on wood it has been 100% success

I put the paper towel in a little tin like an altoids container with the lid on but not shut

Edit: basically what @BooMtoLate said haha my bad on skimming
 
stonerfromthesouth said:
Isn't that more risky? I tho you're supposed to let the root grow to 1cm?
Click to expand...

Do you do vegetable seeds in your garden that way? ;) Old school way of doing it I guess it may be but I have 80-90% success rate soaking and going right into my medium. Whereas I'm clumsy and have had the towels dry out etc.... and have lost more and have a worse success rate with the paper towels personally.
 
I use something like a clear tupperware container with a lid that seals. I prefer being able to see them sprout before planting.

Moisten paper towel, drain off any excess water. Toss the seeds on top of the moist towel. Close the lid and put it somewhere warm 80°- 85°

All viable seeds will normally sprout 100% of the time given this high RH and warm temps, Same two factors- no matter what method you use.

Older seeds seem to develop harder shells and sanding the seams or scarifying them helps them crack. Beyond that for very old seeds there are various methods.

People have been known to get seed orders that all failed and then start worrying about things like irradiation at the border.
 
Weaselcracker said:
I use something like a clear tupperware container with a lid that seals. I prefer being able to see them sprout before planting.

Moisten paper towel, drain off any excess water. Toss the seeds on top of the moist towel. Close the lid and put it somewhere warm 80°- 85°

All viable seeds will normally sprout 100% of the time given this high RH and warm temps, Same two factors- no matter what method you use.

Older seeds seem to develop harder shells and sanding the seams or scarifying them helps them crack. Beyond that for very old seeds there are various methods.

People have been known to get seed orders that all failed and then start worrying about things like irradiation at the border.
Click to expand...
21c is enough? a problem i found is that many seeds crack, but stop growing after and die, why?
 
Hmmm. Should be. I’ve never really tested it- but I’d definitely go warmer. I put my seeds up above my woodstove. Others find warm spots on computers, hot water heater and other appliances.
 
fatbuds420 said:
a problem i found is that many seeds crack, but stop growing after and die, why?
Click to expand...

Didn’t see this part earlier.

Usually it’s because they’re too wet, and/or too cold. The two factors can work together in a bad way.

Warmth and 100% humidity is what sprouts and seedlings like to grow in. Not in water. Stagnation leads to issues with rot.

Make sure your sprouting medium, whatever it is, is no more than moist. And fluffy. And warm. Ever bake bread? Think in terms of something like a still warm loaf of fresh bread, only made of soil. Lots of aeration and humidity.

Never actually wet, cold or even cool, and never clumpy, dense, or hard.
 
stonerfromthesouth said:
Isn't that more risky? I tho you're supposed to let the root grow to 1cm?
Click to expand...

Once upon a time, someone did a thing, and said to a few people, "I did this and it happened to work for me."

By once upon a time plus .00002 seconds, 15,000 people were telling everyone that this is how it must be done.

It's a stoner thing, apparently. Wouldn't surprise me to learn that there are still people who insist on swiping some of their old lady's birth control pills so they can mix the things into their nutrient solution :rolleyes: .

Think about it like this: Forcing your (potential) cannabis seedling to live off of its meager amount of stored resources, well, that's kind of like deciding to unplug your vehicle's fuel pump and crank the starter for a while before plugging it back in and starting the car. Sure, it's not inherently harmful in and of itself. But it's probably not a good idea.

Actually, that's a bad analogy - because I can think of one scenario where it's a good idea to do that to a vehicle. But you probably understand what I was getting at. The longer (lol) you force the thing to try to live in a hostile environment, the less resources - and, therefore, chance - it then has to live in a healthy one. So to speak. It might be a couple weeks before such things can have any real effect on the male:female ratio (and most people buy feminized seeds these days), but I cannot believe it's actually good for the wee poor things. It also leaves the thing in an environment that's more supportive of mold than plant life. The longer that rootlet gets in a dampened paper towel, the greater the chance that it'll embed micro-roots into the material of the paper towel, meaning a semi-traumatic experience when it's removed. Et cetera.

Basically, all you're doing by using the damp paper towel method is providing moisture to the seedcase to enable it to open. And there's nothing inherently wrong with that. It could even be better than the "glass of water" method if one is likely to forget about one's seed for an extended period of time. I suppose. <SHRUGS> It's probably better to be hit with a baseball bat than a load of #3 buck shot, lol. I doubt the person experiencing either one would describe it as pleasant, though.

If you use the paper towel method, plant your seed as soon as you see a root tip beginning to emerge. Or, for that matter, as soon as the seedcase cracks open - because, at that point, it has derived all the benefit it's ever going to get from the damp paper towel. Assuming you then plant it into a decent environment (e.g., properly moistened soil, of course). . . .
 
Weaselcracker said:
Didn’t see this part earlier.

Usually it’s because they’re too wet, and/or too cold. The two factors can work together in a bad way.
Click to expand...

Very true. But "allowing the top portion of the substrate to dry out while the life form is still just an embryo with a tiny emergent root tip" is a possibility, too. I know this is a common sense thing, like "holding the infant two feet away from the tit and wondering why it eventually starved to death," but... well... you know.

:rofl:
 
I just plant my sprouts usually the day they sprout. Or sometimes the next day. The container that my seeds sprout in is definitely not a hostile environment, it’s like sprout paradise- such a nice and warm snuggly womb for a baby sprout.

Whereas the pot it’s gonna be planted in- well, hmmmm... now that I know the seed is viable- I’d better go prepare that spot to perfection right now, right?

Been a few years since I’ve let a sprout grow into the paper towel but if it does just take some scissors, cut out a section and plant the whole thing.

I’m pretty sure that the sprout is entirely supported by the rest of the seed embryo for the first while anyway, regardless of where it pokes its poker in its first day or two.

Minor pros and cons to whatever method you use I guess. I think between all of us we’ve got this thing pretty well covered though. :thumb:
 

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