So I recently got my rooms back up and running and got some seeds going. I’ve had a kind of ritual for years that has never served me wrong, however I’m curious to hear what others like to do when popping new seeds, as well.
After all, the more we share the more we can learn from one another.
For seeds that aren’t especially old, my go-to is:
A shot glass
Tap water
A splash of H2O2
A heat mat
A piece of sandpaper taped into a tube
Sometimes if seeds are a bit older (5+ years), I use a similar recipe to yours:
TM7 (per application rate on package)
Maxicrop soluble seaweed (same)
Water
A splash of H2O2
Sandpaper tube
I always shake around seeds in the sandpaper tube for about 30s. Then into the soak, with the shot glass sitting on a heat mat. As soon as the shell cracks open, I spray some TM7/Seaweed solution on paper towels and put it into a plastic container and onto a heat mat. I try to start out a little wet and poke holes in the top so it gradually dries out over a few days. If the seed doesn’t open in the first 36h, I take it out for about 12-24h and try again.
Once I get a little taproot, I put into root riot cubes and into a humidity dome.
However – I’m trying the DMSO method now for some seeds that are being exceptionally stubborn.
I love it! I foliar once a week with it too, all the way until buds form.
One of the things I’ve heard is that iron is especially useful, and it’s hard for cannabis to get enough through the roots alone. So foliar with a chelated form, like TM7 in the early stages can help a lot. And it has humic/fulvic, like fulpower. It’s kind of a swiss army knife.
I think I might buy cytoplus next time. It’s pretty much the trifecta of humics (like fulpower), micronutrients like TM7 and seaweed. Seems like the perfect 1-part for seed soaks and foliar application.
The way the truth and the light. It’s the chlorine. Kills pathogens.
I’ve been putting them in little jars and setting the jars on the modem or the heating vents. Keeps the water about 90 degrees. Sometimes they crack and start to throw tails in as little as 12 hours if they’re relatively young beans and the water is really warm.
I very rarely soak seeds at all.
Only if I believe a certain seed batch may not be close to 100% viable, then I soak
in straight tap water and put ‘em in a paper towel.
So the majority of the time I simply put ‘em directly in ProMix.
I put them in paper towel and put them in heated vac chamber (no vac). It has a really precise heat control and keeps the humidity high. I like root root cubes as it’s easy to go into hydro or dirt.
Maybe I have just been lucky but I have always ran the paper towel method with success. I have soaked until sinking but I have also had success with just going straight into the towels which I typically do.
My current method since starting growing again involves filtered water, paper towels in a ziplock in between two paper plates, resting on a laptop as a heating mat haha.
The Stardawg I just popped germed in like 18 hours using that method with no soak.
We used to apply DMSO topically to horses back when I had a ranch. It can work as an analgesic but is also very effective delivery system to allow other medicines to be absorbed through their skin. It isn’t approved for human use in the U.S., and should only be used on animals that will not be slaughtered for food.
I only learned about it recently. You can find the recipe posted around here as well, but there’s also academic papers that have proven it’s efficacy.
Unfortunately it hasn’t worked on my tough to crack seeds. But I suspect they’re just not viable. I’ve thrown the kitchen sink at them and gotten nowhere.
