THE BASICS

[aussiepothead]

ok im a first time grower in sydney and am planing to plant outdoors.Can u tell me how to plant properly last time i put my seed in wet paper towels for couple of days then planted in a medium size pot not to small then i watered it say evreyday sometimes evrey second day and it never sprouted wat am i doin wrong and do i plant in potting mix pleae help me?.and how long does it take to sprout?.

[Mr Nice Guy]

Better off going and reading thru the FAQs forum and the growfaqs at OVERGROW to learn the basics mate

[pipeman]

hey aussiepothead,

 

Seeds that are easily crushed between your fingers or that are white or green are probably no good. Also the older seed gets (past 2-3 years) the harder they are to germinate. Really old seed may have died, but you never know until you try.

 

this is what I do to germinate seeds and have always had a good success rate.

 

1. Soak seeds in a glass of tap water for 48 hours or until they sink. Usually all viable seeds will sink. Make sure the glass of water is in a dark warm spot ie about 25 degrees. I put mine on top of my hot water unit. If the seeds crack after this initial soak in water, which sometimes they do, you can skip step 2 and go right to planting.

 

2. Place the seeds between a few layers of moist paper towels, not soaking wet but moist. I get a little plastic container, put a sponge in the middle, place paper towells on sponge and folding down either side of sponge, then place seeds on top, then another couple of layers of paper towells on top of the seeds also folded down into the bottom of the container either side of the sponge. The pour water beside the sponge creating a pool of water in thge bottom of the container, that way you can leave it all day without worrying about the paper towels drying out. As they do, more water wicks up the paper towels to keep the seeds moist. Again make sure its in a warm spot. To crack open usually takes a few days.

 

3. Once seeds crack, place in moist soil a centimetre below the surface pointy end up. Don't wait for the root tip to grow out, but if its already popped out be gentle when planting it. No need to water again until you see the soil dry out. Should see something pop up within a week.

[Guest weekprik]

I dont use the paper towel method, All I do is stick the seed in to the medium that it will grow in,

EG- I use hydroton rocks and start my seeds in rockwool, If I grow outdoors I get the soil ready before I need it, then when Iam ready just poke a hole in the ground and plant the seed, water and leave it their.

Iam thinking of an outdoor grow this year and plan to use only female clones to make sure all i grow is female plants,

These female plants are almost always seeded as pollen from a male can travel far, 5km I believe. but im not sure really on that.

 

Gravity tells the plant which way to grow so dont worry about it being upside down.

 

The only advice I can offer is to buy top quality seed or clones and prepare the ground well in advance, also dont plant under or near big plants and trees as they tend to smother the light and take the food ;(

[white_cluster]

irrevelant stoned post. Edited August 24, 2003 by white_cluster

[Guest Wilderbud]

Seedlings are prone to stress out if conditions arent perfect and a stressed seedling grows into a crap plant. Get your medium mixed in and leech all the excess salts from it first. Dig at least 1'x1' [2'x2' is perfect] and fill it with rich soil [whatever you want - soil+compost is the cheapest but peat+castings/guano is more controlled] then water it for a few weeks to let it settle in.

 

I go from plastic cup to ground so I finish off some ice creams-in-a-cup, wash them with detergent then bleach, put heaps of holes at the bottom, put some smooth pebbles in it to stop soil from escaping or blocking drainage holes, then fill with light soil [use a course sieve on potting soil if youre using this] and water till it lets water flow through easilly. [A pic of my seedling starters are attatched to this post]

 

Just poke a hole in the cup 1/2" deep, drop your seed in and cover lighlty with soil, cover the cup with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place for a few days. If you use peat you only have to mist daily unless its hot, if its soil it might need a few mists [use a clean mister bottle].

 

In a week the seedling will probably probably be trapped under plastic wrap so remove it and gie it partial sunlight. Within another week the plant should be root-bound so it should have been planted a few days before this - hehe [NB. growth shouldnt be slow]. When transplanting its best to water the cup and soil a few hours beforehand - to clump the soil in the cup and to make sure the grounds given a good watering [saves you from doing it next and disturbing the plant - just give it a light water after its planted].

 

Another good thing is to put the cup where youll be planting a few days beforehand with the plastic still on it - itll let the plants get used to the heat/light. Also, slowly start to feed seedlings as they ask for it [when it starts to yellow] for the first month and then the roots, medium and rain [plus your supplemental waterings] will do the rest.

 

PS. this is what works best for me and most other people AFAIK.

[~sawyer~]

Just wondering, is it possible to drown a seed by soaking it for too long?

[Guest Wilderbud]

Just wondering, is it possible to drown a seed by soaking it for too long?

Yes. Keep it moist not wet.

[Guest bacchus]

Better off going and reading thru the FAQs forum and the growfaqs at OVERGROW to learn the basics mate

as you may have noticed, there is plenty of good advice here and pipeman has done some great work on a FAQ...no need to go to overgrow....

 

just keep it simple...ask around and use your common sense...you seem to be off to a great start already

 

bacchus

[jaikai]

Better off going and reading thru the FAQs forum and the growfaqs at OVERGROW to learn the basics mate

as above...i was gonna mention that one, bacchus got in before me...

please, dont send people off to overgrow (especially the new guys, they might not come back...)when all that needs to be known can be found here

 

OK aussie pothead...you got pots so put your mix in, water it well, poke your finger in til the first knuckle. drop a seed in and cover to about 10 mm. if you got long fingers like me, you get a hole about 1" deep. this is OK. covering the seed to 10mm gives this little depression to show where you planted the little sucker. now a little bit of water, not too much, just enough to moisten the top. now sit back and wait for a few days-a week or so... it wont heppin overnight, but it will heppin...

 

JAIKAI