Should I declare my seeds dead?

Continuing the discussion from When do I declare my seeds dead?:

How long is too long in wet potting soil? 24 hours in the water @ 70 deg then in very wet potting soil for 24 hours @ 70deg then drained to 1/4 inch of water in the bottom of the planter @ 73deg for the last 4 days. The seeds were always under the humidity dome. Going on 7 days with no sign of growth from 7 GL and 3 PH seeds. Any advice?

Wait. I always wait past 10 days. My friend popped some old seeds and it took 21 days. Found them in burn pile sprouted. Lol patience is the key, the hardest one for me. Good luck :grinning::seedling::herb::evergreen_tree:

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If you know you have hard to germ seeds, you can scarify them by gently using a nail file on one side. This allows the water to get inside the shell easier and quicker.

As for these, it sounds like that they have been too wet at every stage. 48 -72 hrs between wet paper towels to germ and then into seedling pots with moist soil. Never use humidity domes unless you are in a desert. Don’t begin real watering until they emerge. Just mist the surface of the soil to keep it from getting crusty. After that, grow them normally.

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BTW - the peroxide is a nice touch when wetting the paper towels used to germinate them. It helps kill pathogens the seeds may be carrying. My fear is what’s the right concentration? Too much HO and you risk burning the emerging tap root end where the cells are rapidly dividing. So my solution has been to use distilled water since chlorine in the water would have the same stunting effect.

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OK lesson learned here. You can drown seeds. Moist soil. I understand the meaning of moist now. No standing water for sure.