I’ve found several different ways online to germinate seeds.
In high school we just put them between moist paper towel in a cool damp place and a few days have a tap root then put in yard dirt ( literally ) .
But now there’s all these starter kits , do you soak first then paper towels then soil? Or soak and straight to soil?..and so on.
I’m posting this to see how others here germinate their seeds and their success.
PLEASE…if you work somewhere that has trade secrets…who knows now days…I’m not looking for those just personal experience.
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Funny, because this was my first time starting from a seed (my first grow plant was roughly week 3 of veg when i took over) and i just did the seed between the wet paper towel and placed in a cool dark place and it sprouted in about 3-4days and then i placed in soil!
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The real reason I’m asking is I tried the soak and then paper towel method but only one out of three seeds formed a tap root that way.
I’ve also read crazy things like “sanding seeds”. I’ve honestly never grew a plant to harvest until this year and it was decades ago the last time I grew seedling’s. But it was always just the paper towel no pre-soak.
I’ll probably use the paper towel method more…but I’m always willing to learn better methods. Plus insomnia makes long days and lots of reading time 
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Вообще нужно задать самому себе вопрос.для чего нужно первоночальное проращивание. Ведь уважаемые сид банки не позволят себе продать вам пустые семена,ведь они проходят много стадий подговки семени. Единственное если у них большие запросы от покупателей,то тогда бывает слабая всхожесть семени и прцент прорастания падает,после вызрева семени ему нужно подготовится.По мне так самый лучший способ замачивание семени в асмотической воде порядком шести часов, и высадкой в грунт ( мой любимый способ) температура грунта для проростания 22-26 градусов, под пленочкой, семя как ребенок и должно быть с первых минут жизни всегда с мамой.
They are seeds, the best way to germinate is by placing them in warm, moist soil/medium and wait. Good healthy seeds will grow. And for the price we pay for a bean it should be healthy. I usually germinate 15-20 a year, I think I’ve had 3 fail to germinate over the past 5 years . . . 2 were from ILGM and the other was a free one I got with an order.
The whole soak in water/paper towel is for our benefit not the seed’s . . . seed is happiest when kept warm/moist and left alone to do it’s thing. We just have a need to see it happening so folks don’t like to plant until they see a root growing. I’ve never understood why anyone would think it’s a good idea to start a seed in a paper towel, cloth, etc., then as soon as it starts growing rip it up and transplant it. Seems like a lot of manipulating of the plant in the most delicate phase of growth to me.
If you are dealing with old seeds scarifying and a 12 hour soak in water with a bit of H2O2 before sowing can help success rates.
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I seen all of that too and it was my first time so i went with the most simple method that works and less chance of wasting a seed
My normal method is the same way my grandfather taught me. Slightly rough up the edges of the seed with fine grit sandpaper, soak in water for 12 hours and then transfer to a jiffy puk the rest takes care of it self. This gives you a chance to see how many pots to prep before planting while still avoiding touching or damaging any fragile roots
I either soak in a water/peroxide mixture till it pops then straight into soil or just straight into soil. Depends on the length of time I have had the seed.
I can show you the difference between the paper towel method and just throwing it in the dirt.
The smaller plant was just planted in dirt. No germination was done. They take a lot longer to sprout.
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@Crackadoo that’s funny , your grandad taught you to grow weed and mine taught me to make Shine whatever happened to family traditions.
Anyway I’m probably going to stick with moist paper towel and no soak , I’ve had better luck that way…I might actually end up with three plants this run unintentionally. I was just curious to see the different ones used here and compare with my own experience.
I halo prime the seeds. I always had better success with older seeds.
Teaspoon of NaCl in 250mls of water. Tap water is fine.
Soak for 24 hours
Rinse then paper towel method.
They won’t germinate in solution like normal.
There is nothing online about cannabis/ halo priming.
A few papers on food crops.
Plants always seem vibrant and hardy AF. Better germination rate.
I just stuck with it
Stubborn/ old seeds that failed the halo priming. I will soak in giberlliic acid (ga3) when on hand.
If youre starting seeds under artificial light and then steer/manipulate their entire grow cycle, using artificial light/cycles, artificial environment and synthetic nutrients I guess a little paper towel is just another tool in the crop steering crop manipulating tool box 
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I suppose a fella could look at it that way.
Paper towels work, I used them myself for years . . . then I got to thinking about why I was germinating that way and how it benefitted the plant.
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For germination i soak my seeds in a shot glass. Filtered water with about 5% hydrogen peroxide mixture for 24hrs. If the seed is fresh ill usually see the tap just breaking the shell. I then will either plant the seed in a small pot or use the paper method for 24 hours till the tap root gets longer. Then pot it. Keep the seeds warm… i shoot for about 80f.
Thats how i do it.
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That’s the difference between phenos not how they are germinated.
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I just let the seeds float on water. Two to three days they sprout.
Mine always sink on their own overnight and afraid I’ll suffocate them if I leave them underwater to long.
I did my last one soak then paper towel and no problems…the Do-si-do did great this time , sank then paper towel and had tap root in less than 36 hours for the whole time. My Bubble Kush is the one giving me fits 
…I started one with the Do-si-do it sank overnight as well , but nothing happened after 3 days in the paper towel.
No problem you can’t expect perfection. So I started another it sank overnight again and I put it in a paper towel it turned black after 2 days!!!
So I had an Orion F1 and did just the paper towel no soak and had a tap root in 3 days and forgot about the BK.
Well I was cleaning up yesterday and came across it the paper towel was barely moist , curiosity got the best of me and I looked…almost 7 days later in a paper towel the shell split enough to see the tap root.
So I might end up doing 3 plants this run instead 9f the 2 planned on…
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Interesting, it seems thats the one of the best ways i do mine. When i do the paper towel, the seeds mold. Next te i do it i will take photos.
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It’s just weird cuz I never had one take so long.
But if I do get 3 plants this run 
, I’ll veg a photo for the cycle of an auto ( Green Gelato) then switch to a 12/12 lighting schedule after it harvests for the photo to flower and finish.
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You can do either way paper towel method or put seed in a glass of water for 24 hours which is the way i recently did which work great