my seeds are not sprouting

[Joey Genovese]

That rockwool looks heaps wet! Another method would be, rhizotonic from "Canna". Make up a solution of that in a spray bottle, adjust ph to 6, place seed in vermiculite wet with solution, place under a fluro inside a portable green house. Rockwool must not be wet, if your going to use it, pre soak the rockwool in whatever you choose again rhizotonic solution is best. Then pick the rock wool up and shake out any excess liquid, do this three or four times, the rockwool should kinda feel dry.

[Joey Genovese]

do you think perhaps its due to the rockwool, as i covered the seeds with a bit of the rockwool once the shoot was showing, but perhaps i have compacted the rockwool to tighly so the sprout cannot emerge and has caused the taproot to go up down and around in circles before thinning out? i was planning on not using soil as a growing medium, but maby soil is more easily manipulated by the seed emerging than rockwool.

 

i scrapped all seeds except 2, and have fresh ones all soaking - hopefully second time lucky Kind of funny really, the most basic part and i have to f**k it up hahaha.

^^^

[Naycha]

All you really need is enough seeds to practice. No special solutions are necessary though I do prefer to soak rockwool in a weak nutrient solution so there are nutrients available when the seed germinates.

 

Good luck and don't give up. Try to stick with your chosen method because swapping from one to another doesn't give you much of a chance to learn. I was a bit crap at the germination process for a while too.

 

[sols]

store seeds in fridge, to start seeds off, place seed in rockwool cube (don't put seedling into rockwool) soak cube in HOT tap water, no need to make things difficult by starting seed on paper or cotton etc it is too easy to damage seedling if you do. each subsequent watering just give plain water, seedlings don't require nutrients to germinate. some seeds germinate within 36hrs others may take up to 10 days.

[YeaMan]

Most effective methods that's worked for me is soak seed in ph 6.0 reverse osmosis water (or distilled tap water) overnight 12-24hrs, to soften the shell. Then directly to a moist (not soaked) paper towel. Fold n wrap paper towel in plastic wrap to maintain moisture n humidity, then wrap in aluminum foil to keep out light, put in warm, dark area n check in 7-10 days.

I gets sprouts 9 outta 10 times, but there's always that one prick .

Good luck!

[max_headroom]

I use a different method to YeaMan but I think you need to consider what type of seed you have and the weather you will be doing this in? New from a seed supplier? Bag seed? Unknown Breed? If I am germinating older bag seed then I will leave the seeds to sprout in ta glass of water, then into soil, they could take awhile to sprout depending on age. If its from a Seedbank or a known source then they may well be "newer/younger" in which case I will soak a small container of premium seed raising mix then wait for couple of hours, drop seed no deeper than about 5-10mm, cover with1/2 a 1.25L  plastic bottle with lid still on. Place in a warm spot out of direct sunlight and as soon as the sprout appears remove lid and then when sprout fully up (same day usually) remove bottle. May not require any further water for 7-10 days depending on temps etc.  

 

Any of the methods described by all the posters work, its as much about which method is more suitable for the climate and seed I have. Someone suggested in another post about this topic to use tomato seeds to practice with. Not a bad idea if your not feeling confident.

 

Good Luck