Hello I am new to this site but I am hoping that this site will be helpful for years to come. My question is about the problem I have with the germination process. I have been growing for about 6 yrs and I am sure I have done plenty wrong! 80 percent of my experience has been growing from clones and I love that way as its so much easier for me so far. but popping seeds has always been my downfall I just cant seem to find a sure fire way to make it work. I realize that its never 100% every time but would love to up my luck. what happens the most is I will have the seeds pop 95% of the time! but here is when it all goes wrong once I plant them in my growing media of choice at this time it is 50% Pro mix 50% Happy frog and 25% worm castings. Once planted most don’t even bother to come up and die before reaching for light. I will have a few make it last go around I had 2 out of 5 make it and it was almost just one. I tried the cup of water method seems to work well then I have planted them into rockwool, rapid rooters, soil, and coco. this time I went with rapid rooters they work great for clones and I seen a lot of people on youtube were doing this as well before they transplanted them to soil so I tried it. Same problem just does not pan out for me well. My process this time was germination in a cup of distilled water in a 80 degree environment inside a humidity dome. they cracked well then put them in the rapid rooters in the dark in the humidity dome at 80 degrees. like I said before 2 out of the 5 made it and it was almost just one. the ones that do make it most of the time look sick and wilting or the roots stay short as they seem not to be searching for anything. kinda think I may have them in a environment that is to wet or damp could this be the cause I don’t know. if I do the cup of water to soil method how do you know what is to much water and what is to little? And once they are placed into the soil I’m sure the humidity dome process is done or am I wrong? the rest of the process I believe I am doing right due to growing clones the rest seems to go well but there is always room to learn and I know I am still green. Any advice would be amazing because beans aren’t cheap when you are looking for good genetics! I may as well go outside and just burn my money at this rate hahaha.
First of all welcome to the forum. I had trouble in this area as well but have become better. I soak my seeds in a shot glass of water for 24 hours then move it to a moist paper towel in the dark until the tap root appears. I usually wait until the tap root is at least an inch long before putting it in soil. I use Promix Organic seedling soil with no nutrients in it. Usually I’d kill the the seedling by over watering. I feel it’s better to under water then over. I now just use a sprayer and make sure the soil is moist not wet. I also use a humidity dome but not totally closed and a seedling warming mat. Using a humidity / temperature meter is also a practice I use in my dome. Others will also have oponions. Again welcome.
@pickles
Welcome to the forum
We can and will help you have a successful grow start to finish ao you came to the right place
If you have any questions do hesitate to tag me put @ symbol in front of user name like i did your
I do pretty much same as @HJL
I use promix bx is about the only difference and i put my seeds in starter pot once it has a 1/4 to half inch tap root
I use a small 35 w t5 light with a small 45watt led panel over my germination tray and dome
I leave my starter cups in peogation tray for around 2 weeks or so untill i trans plant
You want to keep lights pretty close as well i keep mine about a inch of dome
If sprouts streach and start to fall ove elight is to far away use a stick or similar item to support stem and move lights closer
Reading your post, I wondered about heat. Make sure your tray is warm enough. Also, check the PH of your water. My experience is that sprouts and seeds are more sensitive than established plants.
I’ll try to tag you over to it.lol I am having fun starting my Bubblegum at the moment germed popped and waiting to see if they are going to get past that but look iffy usually when I just change to different medium and plant another 
so have one in rockwool atm which had germinated after 8hr’s in shot glass which I moved yesterday figured it would’ve popped by now? but not yet
So yes it happens to us all my super skunk was so fast had higher hopes 
but some strains can be slower or more fussy seeds can get damaged during transit I clone mainly so only ever need 1 plant to be set
Yep I have a warming mat under the tray inside the dome was 80 degrees! But ya I forgot to PH the water oops. I have been using distilled water I read somewhere that PH didn’t really affect seeds. myself I didn’t feel like that was true.
Thank you that is a lot of helpful info. when I cracked the seeds in water the tap root was just showing. So for the paper towel method after the shot glass of water I Guess you are trying to get the seed more established before planting makes sense. Definitely going to do the paper towel method after the soak thank you and for the information on other topics of my problems means a lot.
Thanks awesome info! I do have a few questions when you say you use a sprayer are you saturating the soil or are you just dampening the top layer of soil? My nearest hydro shop is over 1 hr away. they would probably be the only ones I could get that Pro mix from is there any other medium that would be great to use that could be obtained fairly easy. I guess I could make the drive if it was a must
Yes I am in the same boat pretty much! the strain is AK47 never grown it so I don’t know how they behave.
When you say you put them in a moist towel and in the dark what temp should you be at???
@pickles
Seed in the middle of a moistened folded paper towel on a plate in a large cupboard at room temperature. Do not let the paper towel dry out but don’t drench it either. The tap root comes out in search of water.
With my dollar store water bottle sprayer I just moisten the top of the soil. Even when my girl sprouts I still use the sprayer. I will spray the soil and her leaves when the soil is dry and crusty. I’ve killed too many seedlings by over watering.
I use Promix because I’ve had success with it. Plus it’s available at Wal-Mart and Home Depot where I live. Lots of folks on here use FF but it’s not readily available where I am. In my opinion and from what I have learned on this site is your starting soil should have very little or no nutrients in it and be able to drain very well. I add perlite. I do not add nutrients until my seedling is at least 3 weeks old and even then very little.