My last 2 seed grows (Zkittlez and Banana Kush) had 100% germination rate. The grow before that (Blue Dream) I only had 2 of 5 germinate, the grow before that (Gorilla Glue) I only had 3/5 germinate. I always dig up the seeds that don’t sprout to see what happened, the seeds just never opened up.
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I to would say 95% I use the paper towel method
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I did a 10 plus 10 free deal with Wh. Wid. Autoflower. I tried the soaking for two days method with all 20 seeds, but after approx. 24 hours, the seeds had cracked but the tails were tiny.
I started two of them out in two hydro buckets and the other 18 under a sunblaster seed starter. Long story short, I only have four live seedlings remaining.
I attribute most of this to user error, I’ve got a grow tent in an attic and it reached 100 plus temps at times. I added a home made air conditioner with a 5 gal bucket, some pvc pipe and rotating frozen gallons of water and cold packs.
So I’ll own the high temps. Also, the sublaster kit had a sort of water reservoir that may have led to them getting two much water.
But I was a little surprised that the seed soaking didn’t work better, it was in a dark room temp situation. I’d probably do the damp paper towel method in the future (something I remember doing in high school). The tails never looked like the long ones i’ve seen on this site.
So right now, two plants are thriving in hydro buckets, one is dying and one is doing so so. It seems the two top plants are hardy survivors, so I’m excited to see them continue to grow.
I’ll take 90% of the blame, but I do wonder if the 10 plus 10 sale may have indicated overstock and that the slow start during the soaking germination was a sign of struggles to come.
Not sure if any of this qualifies for the germination guarantee. I’d send them back to you, but I sifted through a lot of seed starters and soil and only found a half of seed. The crunchy perlite in the soil makes it tough to even find these guys after two weeks. They seem to have broken down.
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Welcome to the forum @luke4416 I found waiting till the tails were about 3/4" long will normally give me great results. The shorter the tail. The worse my odds are. I run 80 - 95 in my seedling tent. They love it as long as the humidity is high. ILGM is pretty good with there guarantee from what I have heard.
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Thanks, I appreciate it. On a hot day, it’s gotten above 100, but it was high 80s today and in the morning it’s often mid 70s.
I was reading high humidity is good in hot environments. I added a small humidifier (desktop style) but last I checked if was 30%. Might have to go bigger on the humidifier.
Yeah, I thought the short tails might be the kiss of death. Paper towel all the way. In the late 90s, it was damp paper towels in a tape cassette case on your windowsill (My first grow here since my teens).
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I couldn’t tell you, it was 100% for a long time then I ran into issues, did a bunch of research and listened to the forums. Had a great success rate again and then I upgraded my tent… New environment and I lost a ton of seeds.
I’m back on track now though.
24hr soak, don’t over soak or you can drowned them.
Add hydrogen peroxide to soften the shell.
Paper towel and a Ziplock back is my preferred method as it stores easier then plates.
Find a dark warm spot (I prefer a heat pad inside my grow tent and put the Ziplock in a light proof container or bag)
Wait for decent tails and plant in nursery bags, no solo cups here. Also keep the nursery bags on the seed mat and keep humidity jacked to the roof until they have a couple sets of leafs… Generally if I can get them above ground they make it to harvest, unless I decide to cull them due to being males or a genetic deficiencie I can recognize.
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Thanks Nicky…I’m trying that version now, minus the heat mat…plenty of heat going on in the NE States this time of year.
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In spite of the other glowing reviews, I agree. I also only have 3 outta 12 germinate. I think it might be the strain Blue Dream auto, fem
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Yup, that’s one of the strains that’s giving me issues this grow…along with Sour Diesel and Banana Kush…all autos, all feminised. All from ILGM.
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I have Blue Dream Fems from another supplier and am 0 for 4 so far only 1 left. The ILGM seeds I’ve purchase are 8 for 8 on 4 different strains, but I have also changed my germination processes since wasting 4 out of 5 Blue Dream seeds. I hope my new process will allow me to grow my last Blue Dream seed and use her as the Mother to get at least the 5 plants I was hoping for!
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I hear ya’…I personally think there’s a good amount of immature seeds in the current marketplace causing us fits.
How have you adjusted your germinating process?
Using 1 /gal Distilled water with 1/4 tsp Epsom Salt added. Guess I’ll start adding a small squirt of Hydrogen Peroxide to this too. Soak 24 hours or until seed sinks. No touching seeds now, use a clean metal fingernail file or butter knife to place a seed on dry peat pod. Using same water soak to expand pod. Seed usually falls in the right depth when pod expands. Scape a tiny bit of peat from the top to cover the hole if necessary, do not pack down. Pour out all excess water from small dish under pod and place the dish about 6-9" under a small unadjustable low power LED on 6 on / 2 off schedule. If it’s a sunny morning I put the dish on the window sill for 2-3 hours then back under LED. Excess water killls seedlings! Learned that the hard way! Wait a day at least or when the top of the pod gets light in color and then with a squirt bottle give like 1 squirt of same water to top of pod and 2-3 squirts in the dish. Making sure the pod immediately sucks up that water or pour any excess out. Continue until sprout shows a root or 2 sticking out the pod, then transfer to 3 gallon fabric pot with a coco and top soil mix for my WW autos or a small pot about solo cup size for photos. Working well so far, hoping adding H2O2 to my DW doesn’t mess up my new 100% rate now! Looks like my last Super Silver Haze seed I called helmethead will pull through even without any seed half leaves to work with. It is showing its 1st jagged edged leaves opening now, and finally looks like it is not just rotting away!
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Wow! Great write-up, bro… 
I hope others will chime in with their technique for hatching seeds too!!
I have this problem with Mephisto genetics. Most overrated beans EVER!!!
Soak 18-24 hrs.
ALL seeds crack.
Place between moist paper towels put in Ziploc bag in dark on seedling mat with a pair of sweatpants on top of mat so they don’t get too warm.
Grows about a 1-2cm tail.
THEN THEY DIE.
They have some sort of a thick membrane inside the shell that doesn’t allow them to crack open further.
Then water gets in, they rot and die
Even seeds that pop, EVERY TIME I have to manually remove the helmet, and remove this odd thick membrane/film over the edges of the catylodon. Or else they won’t open.
Germination rates under 40 per percent.
And I’ve tried EVERYTHING
Soak in RO water, Dechlorinated Tap water, spring water, with n without 3% H202. Between paper towels, in zip bags, between plates, on cotton pads, on heat mat, off heat mat.
Soak n go into dirt, directly into dirt, with humidity comes and without.
NOTHING WORKS!!!
MEPHISTO is nothing but a 5 person company changing 25$/seed, they spend Massive amounts on marketing.
I’ve realized something, if a company is marketing everywhere (like Fastbuds)??? Their genetics suck. They’re getting in while they can.
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Have not dealt with many companies. Started with ILGM and killed 2/3rds of my 15 seed mixpack. I quit all the stuff that messes with handling the seed. So now I gently shake the seed in a rolled up sheet of 180 sandpaper. Then soak it overnight in RO water with a few drops of H2O2, then no matter what it looks like I plant it in the dirt followed by a few drops of water to settle the soil around the seed. If its gonna grow this is all it needs to start. The paper towels, longer soaking time, heat mats are all unnecessary. All you are doing is jostling the seed around, changing the orientation so it cant tell which way is down until you decide to finally plant it. If the dirt is moistened, not sopping, just damp, then it will do what the paper towel was meant to do which is provide a moist environment. Put a clear cover over the dirt where the seed is to keep it from drying out. Do not water it any more. It does not need any more water. It will be fine for a week or more if you properly moistened the dirt in the first place. Now you may know this already, but I post this in the hope that someone else might see it and see that simpler is better. I still get a dud now and again but that’s just gonna happen with seeds.
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I am lucky to date and am knocking on everything, wood, plastic, glass… as I have not had a bean fail since I started back a few years ago. Now I did have a seed pop and grow for a few weeks and then bam, came home from work and it was dead. Cheez Auto from Canucks and not sure how old it was to begin with or what happened. So all beans have popped that were dropped and 1 died.
All of the beans that have sprouted have grown to a harvestable plant.
I use the warm water/hydro in dark cupboard method on heating mat for 12-18 hours. Whether she pops or not, she then goes into a ziploc with the water from the bowl and back in the cupbaord for another 12 hours. I always see a tail after this and drop in the soil.
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I’ve only had 1 seed fail to germ. I think it was from Seedsman, but I’ve had a boatload of Seedsman seeds that have done just fine.
Somewhere in the 80s %.
No matter where they came from, indicating my fault
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Seeds are from nature and some just don’t sprout. Same with tomatoes, radishes and etc.
Nobody can bring a dead seed to life. If you have had 100% success then that’s great.
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