That sometimes happens when they get fishboney, no big deal.
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I like this little variation on the method I already use as I too allow the tap to grow a decent bit and prefer the shell shedding before planting as well. But this keeping them vertical is an epic improvement. Every once in a while I lose that one due to pressure on a bent and curled tap. Thanks for this 
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You’re not so much cheap as you are smart. It takes smarts to enjoy retirement.
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I have seeds very wet paper towels in s small dish, in the oven so the pilot light can keep them warm. Eachdish marked for which pot. 24 hours later, using 3" and 4" plastic pots filled with potting soil in a domed tray on a towel covering heat pad. Moisten the soil, put in popped seeds . Unpopped back in the oven. Water from below.
I like the idea of Worm Castings to start. I typically use 50/50 potting mix and worm castings - add some rice hulls or coco hulls in the garden Using it instead of potting soil might be good. I’ve also sowed seeds direct to starter tray. They popped a day or two later than those started in the stove.
I time starting seeds so they’ll be ready to go outside when we’re getting about 13 hours of increasing sun. Been working well for a decade.
I’ve also put seeds in soil.
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It wasn’t my idea, I’m just a messenger 
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I tried the vertical germination method for my last 4 seeds. Been interesting to me since I saw @Purple-N-Hairy show this method. Than I was reading that @Shadey also does this so I had to try it. I must admit I think this will be my go to from now on. Here is my last attempt at day 1, 2 and 3. No squirrely tails going all over, easy to plant when done. Got to say I do like to learn new stuff and I am thankful to P&H as well as Shadey for this. Next time I won’t set one in there upside down and will take more care it making sure there are no wrinkles in the paper towel. I also use paper towel that is not very absorbent but put a damp cloth in the bag outside the towel to keep moisture in there. I find using it does not give me any issues with the tails getting stuck like they do in very absorbent paper towel.
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They look very energetic seeds 
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@HorseBadorites , I’m going to start a few autos today/tomorrow, when I get to it, but I already dug out a couple of DVD cases.
Someone else I stumbled on uses quart ziplocks, puts the papertowel/beans inside, and then clips the bag to a string with a clothespin.
Thinking that accomplishes the same thing…a straight tap root.
Lob
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Hay Lobstah… if I could find Cheech and Ching ziplocs, I’d be all over that, lol!
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I tried that last year…couldn’t make it work…but I was def in the learning phase, which, I still am I guess.
Lob
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I’ve used 2x2 rockwool cubes with success on almost anything I toss in them. Cannabis, veggies, you name it. Start a lot of lettuce this way for the NFT lettuce setup in the garden. Then just pop the cubes into netpots outside and away we go!
I do like Johnny’s WC method, thats also been 100% for me. And my go-to since I started using it.
I’m curious on the vertical method now… I do like the straight roots to make potting the seedling easier… But honestly cant say I’ve had issues other than having to make a bigger hole for a curling tap root…
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A quick update: for the sake of demonstration I plopped some seeds into the sponges, less than 72 hours later 100% germ on one my my 2020 batched seeds. (16 seeds - I promise I didn’t pull any out for photo sake!) however , the other seeds, from other sources are just starting now to show a few tails out of dozens.
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Just started more beans, trying the DVD case out.
We’ll see how it goes! I think I’ll hold off checking them for 48hrs.
Gonna be hard tho 
Lob
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Mine always go straight into paper towels, drench thoroughly with tap water .Normally I have two cup saucers i put the towels between but bsggies work too.
Fast fast sprout in a day but most take 3.
Used to be, i would make baby hempys and transfer from the towels to a 3 oz hempy but anymore, like before, straight to dirt
SSH is the fem and was a 60 day plant and 50-50 was a sweet tasting Oregon thingy from Classic along time ago.
bringing them back to life,TEOTW Seed stash from 2012😃
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Almost a week later. Burnout Chem, Prayer Pupil, Heavenly Sativa, Green Crack x ON Haze, AK-47, Blue Sunshine, Lavender Jack, Emerald Fire OG, and Funeral Cake have all come up. Ghost Train Haze #1, Oregon Huckleberry F2, and Rosetta Stone are no call no show.
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@VAhomegrown looking good dude! Definitely doing it right~ the rest will just be fashionably late to the party! ☆djsf
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I’ll give them a few more days, but I’ve already started their replacements just in case. Would be nice if they did pop though.
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I just put them in the dirt and wait. Hasn’t failed me yet.
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That works, provided you have plenty of space and time.
I’m sort of on a schedule…need to get them going to sort sexes and cut clones, and I have limited space.
First group I popped had 6 Box of Chocolates among 35 seeds. Only 1 popped. Rather know that right up front than wait 2wks to find out. Everything else in that batched popped 100%, so I knew it was the seeds.
Grow on!
Lob
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