I’ve encountered an issue I haven’t had previously while germinating some old stocked away seeds; mold!
I’ve been germinating the same since I started growing. I dampen a paper towel, squeeze the excess moisture out and place the seeds inside of it. I fold the paper towel and then place inside ziplock bags and check daily to see if any have sprouted.
Are the moldy seeds due to my negligence or simply because they were old seeds? I was told by the homie who gave them to me that they had been stored in bags for a long time.
You could do a hydrogen peroxide wash before germinating, to kill off any spores on the surface. I can’t remember how much you’re supposed to dilute it, but should be readily findable on here.
It could be on the seeds or in your environment, mold spores are all around us all the time.
I generally attribute moldy seeds to being old and dead.
Once I tried adding a little molasses and that caused some mold.
I like using a 1% Hydrogen peroxide solution for the soak, that way I know they are starting clean.
What kinda negligence are we talking about here?
Like, did ya leave them in the bag sealed? Or did you say, leave them in the bag for weeks on end without checking in…?
I’ve actually had seeds pop and start in a straight drug store peroxide soak. i did forget them till around hour 36 and was happily surprised i didn’t kill them. Not saying all will, and i won’t try it with my prized strains, but it worked for me. A friend called them “battle tested”. I’ve only done it once usually they (seeds) only get about an hour in the peroxide then into the paper towel. Germinating in medium has never worked for me.
30ml of 3% H202 + 475ml of Distilled Water. I keep this aside in a sealed jar and add it to shot glasses, scuff my seeds in a box lined with sandpaper and then float-soak for up to 36hrs at 23-25c.
They ride a raft of bubbles and there’s always a tap-root showing unless the seed was .
Just my opinion but I think that is a lot of work to sprout seeds. A little water in a shot glass for 3 days , you should have sprouts and then stick them in dirt. I am a believer in “less handled better off”. I have seen “the mold” in sprouting in water. Looks like “fuzz”. Toss and try again.
You would be better off to inoculate with a beneficial seed coating than to leave the seed more vulnerable. Seed husks are naturally filled with microbes they inherited from their mother, equivalent to the human appendix, obviously if those microbes are killed or challenged in any way, you’ll end up with problems. Penecilin allergy in humans for example.
The paper towel method is… interesting…
Beneficial colonization of roots is of utmost priority in my garden. Wet paper towel microbes are obviously not beneficial soil organisms.
The absolute best way to germinate Cannabis is directly into pre soaked soil mix, at a depth of no more than 7/8", in a room heated to 85-90 degrees, under 660nm light. A few drops of root inoculate directly over the seed if you are using new soil. You will have mold free sprouts in 2 days.
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