Big Sur
Well-known member
In general I have found Cannabis seeds to be far more resilient than people tend to give them credit for. I use diluted H2O2 in water for germinating and people freak out over it. I sand, scrape and even chip or nick my old seeds and they freak out about it. I freeze my seeds in a standard freezer (frost free or not, does not seem to matter) and people freak. My seeds, some from as far back as 1975, according to all the "experts" out there in print and online, should be dead and never germinate. But amazingly they survive, year in and year out. The biggest enemies of Cannabis seeds are mainly heat and moisture.
Some things to point out about your methods, M InThe Dk: 85 deg. F is too warm. In general 78 deg F is about as high as you want to go for germinating and cloning Mj because otherwise you get too much bacteria and fungal growth at warmer temps. Of late I have been germinating at 70-75 deg. F and getting 100% rates in 3 days (albeit these are 1-3 year old seeds). I use far simpler methods as well. My H2O2 germinating solution is 1 cup 3% H2O2 per gallon of water. I also use that for wetting my paper towels for germination to prevent fungus and bacteria from killing the seeds early on. I also spray my seedlings with the same solution to prevent dampening off, and that has been 100% effective with over 200 seeds germinated in the last 2 years here. I used to have a big problem with dampening off. No longer with the H2O2 in the water.
For older seeds, I sand them ~lightly~ with emery paper. You do not have to sand the seed coat through to the germ. Only a few light scratches are needed to break through the varnish and resin that builds up as the oil has dried over the years. The resin gets harder the longer time that passes, and seeds will eventually become water tight. If the old seeds do not germinate after that, I use pliers to just 'pop' the seed case seam a fraction to open them enough for water to get in there and germinate them. If that does not work they are usually dead. You can also nick the seed case to do the same thing. It will not kill them if you do not crush the center. I had a few seeds last year that cracked open for some reason before harvest and I stored them in the refer here last winter. I germinated them as a test in January, and they all grew out. So my experience is that these guys are a lot tougher than people think.
Some old seeds will be weak and need help. I have changed my germinating methods so that I leave them in the wet paper towel until they are about a half inch to an inch long. Then I prep the soil for them to go into. I use a mix of fine sand and small size horticultural Perlite for seedlings now. I use the same mix for rooted cuttings of clones. No more peat moss or peat pots, as that tends to stay too wet and cause problems. Then I take the germinated seedlings and I tease off the seed caps if they are still on them. Old seeds may not be able to pop the seed hinge open. I use the closed end of a tweezers to punch a hole in the sand/Perl mix and place the seedlings in root tip down and cotyledon leaves up. Sometimes the roots are twisted and I have to tease them apart to get them oriented.
Then I put the planted seedlings under a cool CFL lamp a few inches above the soil level and leave them at 70-75 F. light on 24/7. The cotyledons turn green after only 12 hours of light. I spray them with the H2O2 water for at least a week until the true leaves form. After that I use a mix of H2O2 and sugar and a few drops of ag oil on them every 10 days to kill bugs and PM. When they are larger I start rotating with refined Neem oil spray at a rate of 100:1. The H2O2 sugar recipe is 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup 3% H2O2 and a few drops of ag oil spreader to a gallon of water. The sugar can be messy when dry, but the plants LOVE it. The leaves will absorb the sugar which will increase the BRIX of the plants as well. No need for high brix growing methods in my book. This bug/PM spray solution is organic and it is harmless to kids, pets, and most beneficials. It will kill all types and stages of mites on contact and generally prevent PM. Neem oil will do the same and also kill mite eggs on contact.
Some things to point out about your methods, M InThe Dk: 85 deg. F is too warm. In general 78 deg F is about as high as you want to go for germinating and cloning Mj because otherwise you get too much bacteria and fungal growth at warmer temps. Of late I have been germinating at 70-75 deg. F and getting 100% rates in 3 days (albeit these are 1-3 year old seeds). I use far simpler methods as well. My H2O2 germinating solution is 1 cup 3% H2O2 per gallon of water. I also use that for wetting my paper towels for germination to prevent fungus and bacteria from killing the seeds early on. I also spray my seedlings with the same solution to prevent dampening off, and that has been 100% effective with over 200 seeds germinated in the last 2 years here. I used to have a big problem with dampening off. No longer with the H2O2 in the water.
For older seeds, I sand them ~lightly~ with emery paper. You do not have to sand the seed coat through to the germ. Only a few light scratches are needed to break through the varnish and resin that builds up as the oil has dried over the years. The resin gets harder the longer time that passes, and seeds will eventually become water tight. If the old seeds do not germinate after that, I use pliers to just 'pop' the seed case seam a fraction to open them enough for water to get in there and germinate them. If that does not work they are usually dead. You can also nick the seed case to do the same thing. It will not kill them if you do not crush the center. I had a few seeds last year that cracked open for some reason before harvest and I stored them in the refer here last winter. I germinated them as a test in January, and they all grew out. So my experience is that these guys are a lot tougher than people think.
Some old seeds will be weak and need help. I have changed my germinating methods so that I leave them in the wet paper towel until they are about a half inch to an inch long. Then I prep the soil for them to go into. I use a mix of fine sand and small size horticultural Perlite for seedlings now. I use the same mix for rooted cuttings of clones. No more peat moss or peat pots, as that tends to stay too wet and cause problems. Then I take the germinated seedlings and I tease off the seed caps if they are still on them. Old seeds may not be able to pop the seed hinge open. I use the closed end of a tweezers to punch a hole in the sand/Perl mix and place the seedlings in root tip down and cotyledon leaves up. Sometimes the roots are twisted and I have to tease them apart to get them oriented.
Then I put the planted seedlings under a cool CFL lamp a few inches above the soil level and leave them at 70-75 F. light on 24/7. The cotyledons turn green after only 12 hours of light. I spray them with the H2O2 water for at least a week until the true leaves form. After that I use a mix of H2O2 and sugar and a few drops of ag oil on them every 10 days to kill bugs and PM. When they are larger I start rotating with refined Neem oil spray at a rate of 100:1. The H2O2 sugar recipe is 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup 3% H2O2 and a few drops of ag oil spreader to a gallon of water. The sugar can be messy when dry, but the plants LOVE it. The leaves will absorb the sugar which will increase the BRIX of the plants as well. No need for high brix growing methods in my book. This bug/PM spray solution is organic and it is harmless to kids, pets, and most beneficials. It will kill all types and stages of mites on contact and generally prevent PM. Neem oil will do the same and also kill mite eggs on contact.
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