Seed germination

I am an experienced grower but struggling with this batch of seeds. I am doing everything the same as usual. I washed my small cups with hot water and dawn dishsoap and let air dry over night. I did not touch the seeds with my hands, either dumped directly into the distilled water or tweezers. Temps running 75. Cups in a tray with another tray covering. I dropped seeds Friday very early afternoon today is late Tuesday. Most of the seeds cracked right away. I wait until the taproot is around half an inch long and plant them in moist soil. I planted 10 seeds already and they have sprouted through the soil. However, I have another 8 or so in the cups with the water that are cracked and you can see the taproot starting but they have not progressed any in the last 48 hours? Two of those are really bulging, almost split wide open and you can see the taproot curled up inside. Two seeds have not cracked at all. I have one room to work in so must push all into flower at the same time and really need at least 16 plants to take care of my patients. How much longer do I wait with no progress? I hate to rush it and waste seeds but I also need the timing to work out. All seeds are from Attitude and less then a year old, stored in small box in dark cool basement. I usually get one or two out of a run that do this but never this many and usually just toss them but really not wanting to waste these ten seeds if they can be saved. Any advice appreciated. Thank you

Personally I only soak seeds for 12 hours. Any longer than 24 hours and you risk drowning them. They need oxygen, once they split definitely time to take them out. Plant direct to moist soil, rapid rooter, what ever your method. 48 hours soaking is too long in my opinion.

Same here, 24 hrs max, usually just overnight..

Ok thanks I have just never had this many do thiis. I read the germination instructions from North Atlantic seed company I believe was the name and it says never plant until taproot is at least half an inch even if it means leaving them in the water for 7-10 days But I thought they would rot after that much time in water. I will go plant them now and hope for the best I guess. I have left seeds in water 4 or 5 days before but never planted if the taproot wasn’t growing or progressing. These just seem stuck for some reason. I guess if they don’t break dirt in a few days I will have to drop more seeds. The ten I did plant broke soil in 48 hours.

I also only soak for less than 24 hours. I usually just do 12 hours in a mild peroxide soak and then straight to Solo cups of soil to be planted. I like straight planting into soil as I've seen too many of my seeds die or get stunted from handling them. It takes a couple days but it just seems to work for me.

Alrighty thank you for the advice I just planted the rest of the seeds and hopefully that will motivate them to sprout!

Have you tried putting it directly in soil or some kind of rooting plug? Why the voodoo?

Temps and cleanliness.

Paper towels are ridiculous and totally unnecessary. We try to emulate nature. It’s hard to improve on a plant that’s survived and thrived for millennia without any help from man.

Clean tweezers? Distilled water? Puhleeze.

Hook Daddy said:

Personally I only soak seeds for 12 hours. Any longer than 24 hours and you risk drowning them. They need oxygen, once they split definitely time to take them out. Plant direct to moist soil, rapid rooter, what ever your method. 48 hours soaking is too long in my opinion.

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I definitely concur with this, I used to let the seeds drop to the bottom of the cups before I put them in paper towel and I learned through trial and error this was not as good as just soaking for 10-12 hours.

Everyone's got their own way of doing things. Saying emulation of nature is kinda silly considering we grow the plant in the best conditions possible not emulating nature at all but selecting all the best values of it and trying to recreate them. So doing so to start a seed isn't as silly as some people make it out to be. Give it the best conditions possible for germination and it'll have the best survival rate, and grow at as close to maximum pace as possible.

Can you start a seed a million diff ways? Yes of coarse
Will they all work to some extent. ? Yes.
There's just better and worse ways of doing things.

Sometimes we end up doing things that are unnecessary, convoluted, and time consuming for no greater end result. Sometimes some of those practices may end up helping.
My mother always started her seeds (vegetables etc) in paper towels. She's been doing it since her mother taught her. So that's how I started all my cannabis seeds too. Never even knew it was a common practice until years later.
Now, that I have exp points starting seeds I just start them in the medium on a heat mat set at 76°. Works best for me. But do whatever you feel is best for you and your situation I always say.

We also have a symbiotic relationship with cannabis. It thrives because we make it thrive. Selecting best phenotypes and keeping/breeding those. Some may argue cannabis almost 'knows' this and also benefits from the relationship by us keeping it's genetic profiles alive and thriving (which is the entire point of the plants life not to get you high). It's a pretty interesting pov.

Root riots are great. A heat mat is really the secret to success. Genetics/ seed age is also pretty important.

Sometimes I'll scarify my seeds in a tube of fine sandpaper-just shake them inside for 30 sec to 1 min...or more...I look at them under my scope to see if I've scraped off the waxy outer layer. I only do that with old seeds, or big mature seeds that were probably on the plant a long time. Then 12 hours in diluted h202 (based on one study I read, I use 30 ml of the 3% h202, dumped in 500 ml distilled water). Then, plant them directly into media-soil, coco, root riots, w/e. Keep moist, not wet, and keep consistently warm 78-82 seems to work the best. I like to germ in a 2x2 tent under a 4 tube t5 fixture, which I keep near the top of the tent-mild light, 24/7, provides some warmth at the top of the soil that really stimulates germination, and the light keeps the temps stable in the winter. I also soak my root riot cubes in seaweed extract, Mr. Fulvic, and Tribus. The Tribus prevents any damping off or fungal issues during germination, if I don't have Tribus, Southern Ag Garden Friendly Fungicide works equally well and is much cheaper.