Germination Issues (yes i have already searched)

so i germinated around 20 seeds in a paper towle and everything went great. I let the little green thing grow to be about quarter of an inch then i planted it about 1/4 of an inch into my soil mixture (55% soil, 40% Peat, 5% Fertalizer). Its been about 3 days now and there is no sign of anything so i desided to dig up one seed. The green thing hadnt grown at all! so i dont know what to do. i am keeping the soil under to CFLS's= 200watts. What am i doing wrong? this is extremely frustrating. luckily i have alot more seeds so if i did something really wrong i can start completely over. Please i need ur guys help (and i already searched for similar issues and didnt find any). So what am i doing wrong??

i always let my seeds germinate completely in a paper towel.. though contrary to popular methods. but i get 100% sprouting from all planted. maybe not soo much peat?

you may have damage the tap roots during transplant..


how close are your lights to your soil? they only need to be a few inches away, so move them closer if they need too.
how long are you lights on.?, keep them on from 24 hrs or 18 on /6 off

i keep my lights on for 24 hours and are 2 inches from soil. What do u mean by letting ur seeds fully germinate?? dont they need sunlight???

you dont need to put lights on when plant is still under the ground and i would just keep it moist with a mister for a few more days and maybe start up a few more using a different method, i personally use the paper towel and the water in a cup technique i use each for 1 day and i have about 100% success

i let them get quite long, they lose there seed casing on there own then i plant. works everytime.

once they lose their seed casings how do u transplant safely withough damaging the plant? also when u transplant do u keep part of the plant above ground???

??? anyone?

zacy15 said:

once they lose their seed casings how do u transplant safely withough damaging the plant? also when u transplant do u keep part of the plant above ground???

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Once they look like this:





It should take about 3 days or so for them to get like this. Stick them about 5 cm into the soil. Poke a hole in the soil with a pencil or something, then stick them in the hole and cover. I've just started mine as well. It took about 4 days or so I believe, for them to come up out the soil.

" I let the little green thing grow to be about quarter of an inch then i planted it about 1/4 of an inch into my soil mixture"

Little green thing? You talking about the sprout? Have patience...

Also, maybe try a mixture like this on your next run:

60 percent soil

15 percent perlite

10 percent building sand/masonry

10 percent worm casting

5 percent pre-mix

One thing growing will teach you. Patience.

Vancouver420 said:

you dont need to put lights on when plant is still under the ground

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Is this for sure?

I've always used my lights, and they've worked great for me, i try not to mess with what already works.

I figure you plant something, it needs light regardless of what stage of life it's at. from seed to harvest, IMO.

Well i started 14 plants last week and i kept them in a dark area until they were about 1/4" tall and they sure look good now, i just checked them about once a day and it only took them about 2 days for pretty much all of them to sprout and open nicely.
good luck

i use tweezers to transfer my seedlings from their paper towel germ. home into 16 oz. (beer) cups with potting soil (and drainage holes of course), i water them and in 3 days I have shoots breaking the soil, all under tubed flouros (2, 40w)

with whatever container i used for the seedling i always make sure to cover it with saran wrap or like someone already said, mist regularly. That humidity is key.

It looks like they might be in too wet of soil.

K so i have been germinating some seeds through the paper towel meathod and here are the results so far:


Shot with OpenDNS at 2008-03-16


Shot with OpenDNS at 2008-03-16


Shot with OpenDNS at 2008-03-16


Shot with OpenDNS at 2008-03-16
(sorry about the clarity of the photos)
Do you think they are ready to be planted?? when u say i am overwatering, i read that u should have the soil really moist when first planting seeds. Is that not true?? also when i plant them should i keep part of it above soil?? if i wanted to germinate in the paper towel until the seed falls off how long will that usually take?? thanks for the help guys.

Damn, feel sorry for anyone reading this that's on dial-up.

GrnMan said:

Damn, feel sorry for anyone reading this that's on dial-up.

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Haha, no doubt. i planted mine when they looked like that, and now i have 3 lovely sprouts. i germed 5, and 4 of them took off, planted them, and 3 survived and are now looking nice and healthy. Plant the taproot down and cover the whole seed with soil. That's what i did, and it worked for me.

how deep in the soil should i plant them?