It’s a real temptation isn’t it?
“Here let me remind myself why I ignore this individual, yep, made the right choice after all…”
I like to scarify my seeds on an emery board, I roll each one across the board under my finger a couple times with mild pressure. Once in a while a seed will disintegrate, over the years it’s become the first step of my thinning process. It works great though, especially for the tough ones 
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I pop seeds in seedling trays…
While I’m prepering the soil, I put the beans in tap water.
Put soil to be used in a bucket. Add a little water and mix it in with hand. Continue doing this until the soil has enough moisture so that when I squeeze it, some water drips out. So it’s not totally soggy, but it is pretty well saturated with as much moisture as it will hold.
Put the soil in seedling trays. I lightly pack the soil. Use a stick, toothpick, pencil to make a 1/4 inch hole in the center of each cell. Drop 1 seed into each cell m, and use the stick to close the hole over the seed. I use the small trays with 2x3 cells per tray.
By the time they are in the soil, the seeds were soaking for 1 to 2 hours.
I put the seedling trays into a regular sized tray on a heat mat set around 75f. I put a humidity dome on top. I keep the lights on a medium setting so they’ll get light right away whenever they breach the soil surface.
This way works pretty well for me. The oldest seeds i’ve popped were 8 years old. I think the success on the seeds depends on how well they were stored. Mine are stored in a dark, cool, dry environment.
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Agree 100%
All the tricks in the world can’t make up for bad storage.
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Comment on scarifying, I’ve found over decades of sowing cannabis it’s not necessary. Like the paper towel drill, if it makes you feel good then do it. Watch out for the "awshit"s though. 
Let’s clarify why some feel the practice is beneficial (assuming they understand the physiology) - to induce, or increase, moisture uptake by the embryo.
I’m in the heartland of bluebonnet and wildflower country. Some (small time backyard) folks scarify bluebonnet seeds to aid in the moisture drill. BUT, the difference is in the nature of the seedcoat between the two - the cannabis seedcoat is rather thin, and fragile so it takes up water easily. The bluebonnet seedcoat is thick and tough as nails. Having said that I have planted a 10’ W x 700’ strip on my farm of bluebonnets (and a pound of wildflower mix) using my tractor for the tourists and DID NOT bother to scarify those seeds. The production and display was excellent.
You guys do what you want but it’s been pointed out that there could be pitfalls both using the wet paper towel method (damaged root radicle and root hairs) and scarifying (crushing the seed from handling it).
I have done quite a few experiments using Mexican seeds, since they are so plentiful in Texas or were “back in the day”. And speaking of Mexican and the genetics of such, this is from Mel Franks old book @DougDawson:
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I scar seeds then place them on worm castings that I premoistened … @JohnnyPotseed method with a seedling heat mat… I never ever get under 80 to 90 percent germ rates… that’s with the older seeds… fresher… same just no scarring
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True dat. I popped 20 year C99 backcrosses a few years ago and they all grew great. Did the usual dropped them in water, next day direct sowed them in soil. I was shocked. Out of 5 seeds sowed 1 was male and 4 were female. I did another backcross. This C99 is so stable they looked and grew like clones with identical phenotypes.
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Oh… and I have the grow Bible already… thanks that definitely a good suggestion for sure… also… I scar seeds with sandpaper… I hold a seed between my fingernail and tip of finger… and gently scrape… no crushing … no over scarring… just enough to let the insides smell the outside lol… (don’t think they don’t know what food is…) then they pop in 1 day… some take 2 days
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May I make a comment, a recommendation, without being accused of being an asshole and someone getting their feelings hurt because of some flippant comment? 
Like I’ve said previously by the time the cotties pop the surface the root radicle is already 4 or so inches long. For the best seedling vigor, don’t cramp the roots by planting in cubes, whether they be coir or peat or plastic.
I’ll repeat myself - it’s all about the roots. I’ve experimented with MANY root tip pruning methods. My finished plants whether they be pecans, oaks, tomatoes or cannabis do not have any root spin out when I go to upcanning them. The root system is extremely fibrous and efficient at uptake.
This is large, productive blood orange tree in a bottomless RootBuilder “pot” aka raised bed in the greenhouse about 10 years ago. I am expanding the “pot” size by removing the cables that hold the ends together. I then add 2 or more 13" panels, tie it all together with 3 cable ties top to bottom and backfill. The only perimeter roots you’ll see are the white “scaffold” roots at the bottom growing into my native clay loam, about 6:30 in this photo.
Folks, I’m trying to emphasize how important root development is. Forget the rest, it will follow.
FWIW this is a very productive tree mainly because of the root pruning system I use.
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I agree… I’ve been having issues because of poor root system development… bad watering habits are the culprit… bro you can’t hurt my feelings… it isn’t possible… so relax!!! I am adopting a bottom feed style to create better rootzones the top feeding as a noob… is a no go for me
Another trick I’ve used ONLY because of the nature of the seed required the treatment - clipping off parts of the flat edges of large, very hard seedcoats, in this case they were annona, a tropical fruit. I use nail clippers and clip about 2-3 places at the flat pointy edge around the perimeter. I can see the embryo when I finish.
Again, such treatments are relative to the physiology of the seed. One must use common botanical sense.
In cannabis forums such drills become paradigms without rhyme or reason. Why? Because someone said it and another repeated it.
My point is… that you claim scarring is bad… anything is bad in abundance… like I said… I do that very little… I don’t sand a seed like its a 57 chevy needing rust restoration… I just do it a little along the seam and at each tip
Ben, as you know I was a tree surgeon for 45 years until I retired a couple of years ago. I use a lot of the methods I learned in my profession to grow cannabis.
There is a method we used for sick trees and also for trees that had limited grow space for their roots called mauget injections. Are you familiar with this procedure?
We would also deep root feed trees to help when soil becomes compacted.
Thoughts?
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What’s going on? If you sow the seed 1/4" to 1/2" deep in a tall container with good draining soil and give it some complete food then it should be OK. Right now I’m using very mild Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro drenches on occasion but I’m also an Osmocote freak. Just got in 50# of more 15-9-12. I worked in about a tsp. into the top of the soil before I sowed my seeds in 6.5" tall Styro-Cups.
I’ll be making up a large batch of soil in my tractor’s bucket. About 50/50 organics/inorganics. To that I add some blood and bone meal. I sometimes make up a slurry of horse nuggets (alfalfa) for the triacontanol value and use the slop to dampen the mix. I quit using perlite a long time ago. I buy coarse vermiculite in large bags from A.M. Leonard when they have a free shipping promo.
No root spin out!
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I also use airpots… they seem superior in several ways
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Yes I am. I have been in the tree biz too. I have literally planted about 10,000 trees in the field and around the house since 2005. I love trees, and know them well.
Yes, the skills and knowledge gained from growing other plant material makes for a good cannabis grower. It’s all about botany.
I’ve used Steuwe’s tree pots @Oldjoints and root tip pruning methods for ages. The treepots would be excellent for cannabis, BUT, they are hard to keep upright. They’re top heavy. https://stuewe.com/
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I’m new… so several times planting in soil nothing came out… I like to ensure they are popping… just a worrysome type person I am… so I like ensuring they are doing what they are supposed to. I killed 1 looking for it 1 day… it had been days … so I searched for where it was… and broke the tap… sad moment
Good call. I gave up on the RootMaker molded pots. They dry out too quickly. Have a mater in one of their 3 gallon beige fabric pots. It’s doing well.
Griffin’s Spin Out cost too damn much for my few pots so I bought 8 oz. of MicroKote. Some say all you need is an X painted a few times around the pot to get the effect.
We’ll see.
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You’re an anxious Mother Hen. Been there, done that on other issues.
Found out that no matter what you grow it’s best to FIRST find out how it grows in nature in it’s natural state and replicate it the best you can. For example, I have 8 -14’ bearing tropical fruit trees (and herbs, few veggies, pineapples). My greenhouse is a frickin’ forest, a cloud forest if you will. I use a high powered fan driven fogger mounted 12’ on a rafter on one end which drives a fog almost 20’ down the center. Another 14" fan mounted in the center of a rafter picks it up and drives it down another 16’. I use it for cooling and feed it rainwater collected in 2 big tanks.
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I have done very little planting of small trees. Tree’s we planted were usually requiring a tree spade so I am not really familiar with treepots.
I have planted many large palm tree’s and am sure glad I never have to do it again.
What I am familiar with is homeowner planted tree’s that didn’t do well. Hard to tell a customer that their tree died due to their lack of knowledge and it isn’t worth trying to save. Instead we would try to have them have us re-plant one for them.
Never knew you had tried the tree biz……
I loved it for many years but after all the climbing I am now paying the price.
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