What is TRULY the best way to germinate seeds?

Ok, so this is a question that gets asked a lot, every season. The trouble is so far as I've seen it often gets answered with speculation, contradictions, and strongly held weak opinions.

Has anyone put to the test side by side the different methods?
Which one truly leads to a higher germination rate?

i've tried starter cubes, wet paper towels in a container, rockwool, ....now what i do is make up a gallon of water with about 50ppm of bloom food, and 3 ml of 30% h2o2 in it. i plant my seeds in my medium (peat and perlite in my case) about an inch deep, and water them with the mix i made. after i've gotten them wet good the first time, i use a dropper and just keep the center where the seed is damp. they usually pop in 3-5 days, and have pushed off the shell and membrane pushing themselves out of the peat. i've had them take up to ten days to pop, if they take longer than that, i just consider it a weak seed and write it off, but it doesn't happen often, maybe one out of 20

There's really more than one method that works. Drop em in soil, paper towel, peat pellets, etc. It really comes down to personal preference. I've had good success with all. It comes down to technique, skill, and patience. And forget about humidity domes, most people having trouble germing seeds is because of them things.
There's other methods for old seeds but that's another discussion.

24 hour water soak in a dark place...I stir it after the first 12+- hours to see if the seed sinks...then after the total of 24hrs I plant it in a solo cup...nothing more...g/l

rockethoe said:

Ok, so this is a question that gets asked a lot, every season. The trouble is so far as I've seen it often gets answered with speculation, contradictions, and strongly held weak opinions.

Has anyone put to the test side by side the different methods?
Which one truly leads to a higher germination rate?

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I’m 10/10 right now just putting them in soil and lightly watering, but to each his own.

Yes, I do mine in soil. That way you skip a step and there’s no risk of damaging the small root.

In the pee hole is by far the beat way. I heard thats how they do it down in mexico. There is a thread around here somewhere with the specifics of the technique.

mo841 said:

In the pee hole is by far the beat way. I heard thats how they do it down in mexico. There is a thread around here somewhere with the specifics of the technique.

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seeds got peeholes?.....must be teeny......

mo841 said:

In the pee hole is by far the beat way. I heard thats how they do it down in mexico. There is a thread around here somewhere with the specifics of the technique.

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Just wait until you have to explain getting 10 seeds in there to a doctor, it's a long embarrassing night.

rockethoe said:

Ok, so this is a question that gets asked a lot, every season. The trouble is so far as I've seen it often gets answered with speculation, contradictions, and strongly held weak opinions.

Has anyone put to the test side by side the different methods?
Which one truly leads to a higher germination rate?

Click to expand...

After one of my NL's went all hermie on me cause I bumped her light schedule accidentally..I collected about 50 seeds and used them to practise growing seedlings in different ways..
I found that the simplest way worked best..tap water at room temp (let stand for 4 hours to vape off the chlorine) in a glass cup or jar..drop seeds into it..put it into a dark drawer that you don't open very much..let seeds float on the water in total dark for 12 - 14 hours..then take it out of the drawer and gently try to push the seeds under the water with your finger..( make sure you wash and rinse hands first)..some of the seeds will sink to the bottom of the glass when you do this..don't worry if they all don't sink..or even if any of them sink. More often than not none of them will..put the jar of water and seeds back into the drawer for 2 more hours..no longer...(if the seeds stay in longer than 16 hours they can drown) by the 16 th hour take the seeds out of the drawer and gently carefully pour the contents of jar onto a clean folded in 1/2 paper towel in a bowl or plate..I find Tupperware containers work best..don't let the seeds wash down the drain..carefully nudge the seeds onto the center of the paper towel (try not to pick up seeds with fingers..they squish easy and can be damaged at this point) and lift it out and place it on a different plate. Place another single piece of paper towel over the seeds while they are resting on the folded sheet and then pour some of the water from the other container they were just in onto the sheet..you should be able to see the shape of the seeds under the now damp top sheet...place this plate back into the drawer and keep it moist but not soaking wet.. The top sheet should be damp but the bottom sheet should not be sitting in a puddle of water..ever 6 hours put a few drops of water on the top sheet and chech that the bottom folded sheet is spongy wet but not so wet that seeds will drown..they need to get air but stay moist..leave them in the drawer for 4 to 5 days until tap root sprouts to at least half an inch...probably on day 4 or 5.. Put seed sprout into some dirt that you poked a hole in 1" down in center of the pot...make sure seed pod is up and tap root is opined straight down..then gently push soil in around it and lightly push about an 1/8 inch of soil over top of it..spray water the pot ...don't soak it. Just wet the soil until it darkens..put the pot under a cfl light a few inches from it and mist water it twice a day..your seedling will pop through the soil in a day or two..don't over water just light misting..adjust the height of light as it grows..don't let it touch the bulbs..don't use LEDs..they will burn the seedling ..just use cfl ..fluorescent is best ..I find that for first week 18/6 works best and allows the plant to gain sugars in leaves through the dark cycle..after two weeks I throw it on 24/0and keep raising the light up to allow it to stretch a little..not more than 4 inches away with CFL..at 4 th week I move it over to LEDs on 18/6 or 24/0...good luck!

rockethoe said:

Ok, so this is a question that gets asked a lot, every season. The trouble is so far as I've seen it often gets answered with speculation, contradictions, and strongly held weak opinions.

Has anyone put to the test side by side the different methods?
Which one truly leads to a higher germination rate?

Click to expand...

The best media is probably Rapid Rooters, they have a good amount of gibberelic acid, consistent oxygenation, they are hydro friendly, sort of...but beyond that...what temps, pH, water saturation in the media are optimal, who knows?

Roger’s method sounds pretty solid, but a little fussy.
I use whatever I have on hand. Rockwool, lately. I, also, occasionally make clones by jamming cuttings straight into Ocean Forest soil, mostly because it is possible.

There is, and likely never will be no one single best method, because everyone grows in different media, in different climates, at different elevations, during different seasons, with different strains of seeds that vary widely in age and background. There is no single true path.

Michael Huntherz said:

The best media is probably Rapid Rooters, they have a good amount of gibberelic acid, consistent oxygenation, they are hydro friendly, sort of...but beyond that...what temps, pH, water saturation in the media are optimal, who knows?

Roger’s method sounds pretty solid, but a little fussy.
I use whatever I have on hand. Rockwool, lately. I also occasionally make clones by jamming cuttings straight into Ocean Forest soil.

There is, and likely never will be no one single best method, because everyone grows in different media, in different climates, at different elevations, during different seasons, with different strains of seeds that vary widely in age and background. There is no single true path.

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True true! What works in one place may not work as well somewhere else..and you're right everyone uses different media

I think the theory of pre-germination is to get the tap root to have a good start..without falling victim to soil issues, water issues lighting or temperature issues..the deeper it goes the more likely the plant will take.. By letting it germinate in the dark and safety of a paper towel it doesn't get gnawed on by some fungus gnat or whathaveyou ...then after its planted it can get right to work building its leaf and root structures..(healthy tap root below More energy up top) I should try planting 3 in soil and 3 in paper towel method and three in rock wool see which grows fastest and becomes strongest seedling after 5 weeks..next time my plant hermies...lol some seed companies charge 85 CAD for 5 seeds..sooo..more chances for survival means less cash spent in trial and error..did I tell you I love cloning after a harvest?

The main thing it boils down to is patience, how much do you have? Any of the techniques above will yield results, just depends on the time you allow before you start to fudge with it to "make" it work. Patience is a hell of a mistress, but once you make her your slut, the world is yours.

A soak in URB natural works well ... fast germ , humic acid .
Good for older beans . Soak for a few hours in dilute or straight and plant seed .

I got the SAMPLE size for like $9 and free ship.
The liter size is about $60 but like only ordering the SNACK SIZE ...

After urb soak , go to soil or paper towel method , it throws mean taps ...

I soak my seed in water for 18 to 24 hours, plant 1/4" deep in a peat medium in a solo cup, and keep moist with a spray bottle for 4 to 10 days.

I do mine in soil as well nothing fancy. clear solo cup over a tiny starter pot, remove cup when she says peekaboo.

kkt3 said:

Yes, I do mine in soil. That way you skip a step and there’s no risk of damaging the small root.

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Budzbuddha said:

A soak in URB natural works well ... fast germ , humic acid .
Good for older beans . Soak for a few hours in dilute or straight and plant seed .

I got the SAMPLE size for like $9 and free ship.
The liter size is about $60 but like only ordering the SNACK SIZE ...

View attachment 4236602

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I hear that stuff is good for popping old dried out seeds. I got stuck with a pack of jupiter and beyond from ccs, apparently the the sour patch seed dude drove them through the desert and cooked them. So we will see if it works. I think I'm going to be running urb in my new rdwc that I'm building too.

Peat pucks or paper towel method. Always had 90% plus germ