Also… I’d suggest getting some beans from here at og… stop buying beans until it’s lined out… those are expensive and I went through what you’re going through… practice with free stuff…
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Sorry you’re having so much trouble. It’s definitely a tricky process.
Like the old sayng goes, there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and we all have our preferred methods. It’s just one of those things, like driving a stick; you gotta grind a few gears before you get the hang of it. And also, much like driving stick, there’s no one real “right way” although there are procedures that can be followed for the best overall performance 
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Fool-proof method for me: soak in water for minimum 12 hours, up to 24, or until they sink after gently swirling/tapping them to submerge them under water. Once this happens, sow them, not too deep, in the medium, and keep the humidity high with a small dome. They generally should start to peek through no later than 7 days after you put them in the medium, usually by 5, and often times sooner than that. Things which can delay: too cold, humidity too low, sowed too deep.
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I think I need to get my temps up to 85+ based on what I’m reading.
THANK you all so much for the feedback- Most of these are OG seeds- they are just about 8 years old now. 
Going to try the germination mat tonight and hope for some success 
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Yep I’ve been trying that- either that or into paper towel after the soak. I think all my variables are right for the most part except for temp.
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Dope! Your next seeds will be successes 
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The medium being too wet will also delay or kill them
If the first petal shaped leafs look like McDonald’s arches on the only survivors ( m ) then you have over watered the medium , one straight and one slightly bent is a good look
: )
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Germinated some Andromeda Everlasting strawberry. Got them in an auction. They’ve been quite the little shits. I germed them in a ramekin - they’re small ish maybe 80ml in volume and I’ll drop 5 drops of h2o2. I’ve popped a good few older seeds recently and it’s worked a treat. If some haven’t popped (which happened with the s’berry) I’ll cheekily stick a few more drops of bleach since Ive nowt to lose anyway and bugger me I got 3 more to pop over the next two days.
Sometimes it’s nice to drop on a bargain or something old and discontinued but chances are you’re potentially pissing money up the wall. The best idea, like above, is practise with something a little less valuable or easily replaced.
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What water are you using? Get some springwater for starters. Temps shouldn’t matter too much for indica( any in there at all qualifies)genetics, which is 99% of whats out there. As long as its not really cool.( lets say 65 degrees or less)
I use a 6 inch plastic dish and two paper towels after soaking seeds 24 hrs in a glass with peroxide, suggested above. I use the peroxide water to soak the paper towels after adding the seeds. Tilt the dish til the water stops dripping from the paper towels, put it in a ziplock in the dark or cover with something ( t shirt, towel) if you have no suitable dark place. Check daily to add new air between the paper towels. I also add fresh water every two days so it doesn’t get stagnant.
Sounds like you got shit seeds. Your method should have worked. You shouldn’t need to use any sort of Advanced Techniques on freshly purchased seeds. I usually have tails poking out within 24 hours for fresh seeds and within two or at the maximum 3 days for older seeds.
Good luck! If you need fresh tester seeds
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85 is too hot. You may be overthinking this. A seed in moist soil will almost certainly pop up, unless you are planting inferior seeds.
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I tried to germinate an old bag seed recently, it showed a tail after about 5 days, then the tiny root was starting to go brown. It was a race to see if it would strike out or rot first. This went on for nearly two weeks with about 2mm of root showing. Someone suggested putting a drop of neat Canna Rhizatonic on it. I was sceptical because it’s supposed to be used at 4ml/L maximum. Anyway I did it and 24 hours later there was a 1 inch root covered in root hairs and the seed end was making a tent in the paper towel and trying to push its helmet off.
Edit - I’m also a fan of perlite or perlite/vermiculite mix, it seems to hold just the right moisture level.
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what did you buy that 4 seeds cost a 100? most fems go for 4-10$, seeds at 25 a pop is pricy af imo.
1-simple cup o water, drop seeds in, cover with a lid or somin, wait two days if seeds are fresh, should have opened and show a tap root coming. For me, experience does vary, the paper towel method lead to mold a few times.
(It might take longer than two days, then the seed is usually older or its shell a bit thicker, i had seeds that took up to 9 days to open. If it takes too long, you can chance it by putting em in soil anyway,
or read @JohnnyPotseeds threads, he explains some methods to sprout em anyway.)
2-put in moist humus soil with the seed shell upward, taproot downward, seedshell just peaking through
(eartworm manure, mushrooms, etc very much help root establishment at this stage but aint necessary)
3-keep moist, not wet
dont touch it pointlessly, dont shake it, dont lick it, just let it be
possible hurdles:
seed age (h2o2, patience, sanding paper)
seed shell thickness (might be too thick to break free, use sanding paper)
seed storage (to hot, too humid, dead)
temperature (if its too low it wont feel like germinating)
chlorine (in your water, let it stand around so chlorine evaporates)
mold (if moist for too long without opening)
physicial damage (dont murder the sensitive tap root)
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Only thing I can add is I swear by using aloe water to soak them in before whatever next step you take. Had 5 year old seeds popping out as seedlings within 48 hours last week.
I definitely want to try @JohnnyPotseed’s technique though
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Take them back to the grow store and tell them they didn’t sprout. Getting seeds to pop isn’t a black art, and only getting four sprouts after planting all those seeds, I really doubt it’s your fault.
If the seeds are bad, the vendor will appreciate that knowledge.
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Sounds like the seeds are shit.
Any good seeds will pop in 3 or 4 days or so
If it’s warm.
I have had exceptions but overall that my experience.
Try a control, next to them put some healthy
Bag seed in a cup next to them
See what happens.
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90% of the germination methods that I read include a step that doesn’t have any real instructions. For example, the paper towel method: moisten the paper towels. What the fuck does moisten mean? Well, it’s a judgment call. Wet enough, but not too wet so it doesn’t cause damping off. If the seed doesn’t have good access to oxygen, it’s gonna die. Newbies start using these techniques and, since they haven’t been doing it for a long time and don’t already know the perfect level of moisture, tend to show them too much love and overwater. At least I did. 
The method I’ve settled on probably isn’t the cheapest or easiest, but it’s one I know I can replicate 100% of the time now and never have to worry about whether I’m using too much or too little water, because it’s actually based on the numbers rather than “the feel.” I find that a lot more comfortable, personally.
- Buy peat rooting cubes. The brand doesn’t matter, as far as I know, but if they’re premoistened remove them from the bag and let them dry out completely, then weigh them.
- Add water equivalent to 1.5x the weight of the dry rooting cube. My cubes weigh between 4-4.4g, so I add 6-6.6g. There’s probably some wiggle room, but this is the moisture level I shoot for. Put the seed inside. If they’re older seeds, you can add some worm castings as well to ensure good bacteria are present, as in JPS’ worm casting method. I had difficulty getting more than 0.1g of worm castings into a cube without breaking it open, so it shouldn’t affect the weight ratios.
- Every day, weigh each cube and bottom-water to keep them at their ideal weight - in my case, 11g. Do not top-water; the water will collect around the seed rather than at the bottom and kill it before the dry parts of the cube wick away the excess.
I also use a heating pad to keep them at 82°, though I suspect this part is optional. With this method, if a seed hasn’t popped within 4.5 days, it usually won’t in my experience.
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In layman’s terms
Shiny wet medium / plugs , shows overwatered medium
It’s shiny because the medium has absorbed the fluid and there’s lots left over filling the space now that air should be
Matt wet means medium has darkened from absorbing fluid but it’s not overloaded , fluid is in mediums particals but not outside kind off , so it’s not shiney wet
Matt wet = good fluid to air ratio ( perfect )
Shiny wet = too much fluid , little to none air ( bad )
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If that works for you, more power to you. Still seems like a judgment call to me, so I’m sticking with my numbers.
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When I mix medium pior to up potting
I get a crate , I put in amount of medium needed and I keep adding fluid and fluff up mix till I see it turn shiney wet
I then add small amounts of medium from bag again mixing and fluffing till it goes from shiney back to Matt
It’s easy to see difference between shiney and Matt
Your way is great too, very precise
Do you weigh your pots of medium also when uppoting etc or just the plugs ?
@Cormoran
: )
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Nah, that wouldn’t even work for me - my soil isn’t homogeneous, it’s hand-mixed - and hasn’t seemed necessary. I’ve killed enough seed and seedlings in the first week, on the other hand, that this just seems better - for me. 
Like I said, if your way works for you, more power to you. It’s certainly easier.
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