# All Natural Soil Germination



## pranicfever (Apr 6, 2006)

Start with a cup 16 oz or so... or if your cheap.. use a clean yogurt container, or empty butter bowl

Put a few holes in the bottom or on the sides near bottom, for drainage and air.

Fill with quality soil, and put a hole in dirt for insertion of seed

Put seed in... (i always kiss my seeds show them some love, not nessesary)

Cover seed...

Keep moist but not soaked.. because.. overwatering seeds can be just as bad as overwatering plants... the seed can rot...

Wait.


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## Insane (Apr 7, 2006)

"Plant and pray?"  

I am about as die hard of a soil grower as you can get, but I still prefer the paper towel method of germination. Never had any problems with it. I do of course see the benefits of germinating the seed in it's natural growing enviroment, in that case it could mean ZERO transplant(s), most grows having at least one. However, I have personally had very weak results when germinating in soil. 50/50 at best, with the paper towel method, minimum of %80 seed to plant success rate. Meaning if I attempt to germinated 10 seeds, 8 of those 10 seeds will end up as plants, male or female. However, that being said, this is my personal experience using soil to germinate, maybe you have different/better methods and hopefully better results than I got! 

For the reason of ZERO transplants therefore minimizing stress to your plants, I completely agree with soil germination, but when it comes to a high success rate, for me, it's all about the paper towel method. The plants don't seem to mind


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## DillaWilla (Apr 27, 2006)

I like this method I am new to this but have had pretty good success with it on my 1st 10 seeds 4 opened in just one night and the rest are showing signs after 24 hours.  However I have a question though, everyone keeps talking about transplanting them.  I was told to use a medium sized Jiffy Pot to start them in and then just plant the whole Jiffy Pot sprout and all into their permanent home.  Is this not a good technique?  Supposedly the roots should grow right through the walls of the Jiffy Pot that disolves in the soil.  Any help would be great.  One other questions alittle off topic, I have a 400 watt MH for vegging how far off newly planted seed sprouts should the light be???  Thanks for the advice.


******Any posts made by me are purely fictional in nature and by no means is anything I say to be taken seriously. I do not grow or condone the growing of anything not legal. Any and all pictures I post are pictures widley available on the internet and any discussions I am involved in are purely hypothetical or are commentary in nature and should not constitute advice or be considered advice to assist in activities that are deemed illegal.


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## Hick (Apr 28, 2006)

Dilla'...that is what those "peat cups" are suppose to do, but it's been "my" experience, that they don't always perform as they're suppose to. Before you transplant, I suggest, cutting the bottom out, or at least "score" the pot/cut several vertical slits along the sides of the pot. This will allow an escape route for your roots. Just in case..


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## Mutt (Apr 28, 2006)

I have had horrible luck with peat pots for germinating. I do not know if it is the PH or what after a low success rate I went back to the Paper towel method. I have had good success with soil germ though as well. But those peat pots for germing never worked good for me.


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## DillaWilla (Apr 29, 2006)

Mutt I wasnt germing in the peat pots, I germed using the paper towel method and then planted the fresh sprouts into a peat pot for it to begin growing.  Once it sprouts through the soil I will plant the peat pot plant and all using Hicks scoring method directly into the plants permanent home.  This way there is no transplanting except for the seed from Paper Towel to soil.  I do have one other question I have been trying to get answered for a day or two maybe you can help...Exactly how wet should the initial soil be when I plant my germed seed, and then how often do I water it until it sprouts through the soil? And how far should my 400 watt MH be from the top of the soil?  Thanks, this site rocks!


******Any posts made by me are purely fictional in nature and by no means is anything I say to be taken seriously. I do not grow or condone the growing of anything not legal. Any and all pictures I post are pictures widley available on the internet and any discussions I am involved in are purely hypothetical or are commentary in nature and should not constitute advice or be considered advice to assist in activities that are deemed illegal.


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## Stoney Bud (Apr 29, 2006)

DillaWilla said:
			
		

> Exactly how wet should the initial soil be when I plant my germed seed, and then how often do I water it until it sprouts through the soil? And how far should my 400 watt MH be from the top of the soil? Thanks, this site rocks!


The soil in your containers should always be DAMP, not wet. This is to allow air to get to the roots. Oxygen is just as important to a plant as water is. You have to allow the soil to become almost dry before watering again. This is critical.

A 400 W MH should be about 18 inches from the tops of your plants. As Bro Grunt said in another post, put your hand so that the palm is just touching the tops of your plants. Leave you hand there for at least 30 seconds. If your hand becomes more than slightly warm, then your light is too close. The plants feel exactly what the back of your hand feels.

Good luck to you man!


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## DillaWilla (Apr 29, 2006)

Stoney Bud said:
			
		

> The soil in your containers should always be DAMP, not wet. This is to allow air to get to the roots. Oxygen is just as important to a plant as water is. You have to allow the soil to become almost dry before watering again. This is critical.





			
				Stoney Bud said:
			
		

> A 400 W MH should be about 18 inches from the tops of your plants. As Bro Grunt said in another post, put your hand so that the palm is just touching the tops of your plants. Leave you hand there for at least 30 seconds.
> 
> 
> Stoney...How long ideally should it take for seeds to sprout through the soil? Remember I planted germinated seeds. I think I may have let the soil get too dry and then over watered to compensate, how detrimental to the newly planted seeds is this? They have been under the lights for about 36 hours. Maybe you can help. I am not too concerned because it was just bagseed, I wanted to get a test run in before my Nirvana items arrive. I have a few other germed seeds i can do another test run with. Since this my first time I have no idea how long I should be waiting for them to sprout through the soil.
> ...


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## GreenThumb (May 6, 2006)

I try to think how plants grow in the wild.......
If you have tiny seedlings in amongst taller and bushier plants then they don't receive the same amount of light.
So that wud lead me to believe tiny seedlings indoors need very little light.  If you have only a few plants then why not just use one or two flouro's in getting them started.  Once they are four to six inches tall then maybe think of firing up the big guns..
Just my 2 cents.. or is that now a quarter due to inflation?..


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## Stoney Bud (May 6, 2006)

DillaWilla said:
			
		

> Stoney...How long ideally should it take for seeds to sprout through the soil? Remember I planted germinated seeds. I think I may have let the soil get too dry and then over watered to compensate, how detrimental to the newly planted seeds is this? They have been under the lights for about 36 hours. Maybe you can help. I am not too concerned because it was just bagseed, I wanted to get a test run in before my Nirvana items arrive. I have a few other germed seeds i can do another test run with. Since this my first time I have no idea how long I should be waiting for them to sprout through the soil.
> 
> As far as the distance from the light you stated about 18 inces however please tell me if this sounds off...I have a Sun System 400 Watt MH Sun Master Warm Deluxe Bulb w/ Econo Grow remote ballast (outside grow room) and Sun System Econo Cool Reflector...My hand feels only barely warm after 1 min from 6 inch distance, and I started the light about 12 inches off the freshly planted pots. Am I nuts or can I expect to be able to keep the light substantially closer to the plants which would free up more room in my grow box...


Hey man, I use the paper towel method for germination. It's always worked great for me. In the soil, if your seeds have been planted within a half inch of the surface, they should sprout in as little a 4 days or as long as 30 days. When I plant my seeds, I do so as soon as the seed cracks and shows a tiny little bit of root. I place the seed with the seed head up and just a fraction under the soil. I press the soil very lightly around the seed and make sure the soil is slightly moist.

6 inches is too close for a 400 watt light of any kind. It will burn your plants. Some folks use a cool tube to put the light into and the tube itself is cooled with air. I've found that keeping a 400 watt unit about 18 inches from the plants works great for me.

A very small amount of light is neccessary for new plants. A flourescent works great. Too much light on a new plant can kill it.

Good luck to you.


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## DillaWilla (May 6, 2006)

Stoney Bud said:
			
		

> Hey man, I use the paper towel method for germination. It's always worked great for me. In the soil, if your seeds have been planted within a half inch of the surface, they should sprout in as little a 4 days or as long as 30 days. When I plant my seeds, I do so as soon as the seed cracks and shows a tiny little bit of root. I place the seed with the seed head up and just a fraction under the soil. I press the soil very lightly around the seed and make sure the soil is slightly moist.
> 
> 6 inches is too close for a 400 watt light of any kind. It will burn your plants. Some folks use a cool tube to put the light into and the tube itself is cooled with air. I've found that keeping a 400 watt unit about 18 inches from the plants works great for me.
> 
> ...




Stoney...Thanks for getting back to me on this post. Yea it turns out the first run with bagseed was unproductive I had 1 out of 8 sprout. 4 of them I germinated using the paper towel method, all of which cracked and exposed the tap root. The other 4 I planted directly in the soil. I realized that I screwed up at first because I did not plant the germed seeds correctly I just threw them in without checking if they were root down or what. So 1 out of 4 sprouted and when i disected the rest after 3 days only one had roots but the initial finger leaves were digging towards the bottom of the cup. They were staying pretty dry because the light was like you said "too close" so I know I overwatered them at points too. The one that did sprout was doing good but my dog ate it when I had the closet open and my back turned...LOL... I tried to germintate 6 other bagseeds and only two had cracked after 2.5 days, so I planted those today using much better form. Taproot down and slightly under moist soil. Hopefully they will sprout and my mutt wont eat them. They are now 12" from the light and my room temp is consistently 80'F and 32% Humidity...(before proper ventilation it was 91'F) I am glad I am getting trial and error done now so when I get Ms. Misty we will be good to go...I appreciate your guidance


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## Stoney Bud (May 6, 2006)

Hey, 12 inches is still too close for your light. The new plants need almost no light until they are free of the seed shell and have spread their starter leaves.

If you insist on leaving that light that close, you're going to have a dead plant on your hands soon.

24 inches until the sun leaves have expanded. Then no closer than 18 inches with a 400 watt bulb.


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## DillaWilla (May 7, 2006)

Thanks alot stoney...I appreciate all of your help...


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## sgtsmoke (May 21, 2006)

i have a 400w mh light and that baby gets cookin.i am growing 2 citral plants and i am 3 weeks my closet size is 2x4x9 if i leave the door closed 3 hours it gets 100deg
in there i had to set up and vent system fast here are some pics
everything works great temp 70/80deg.except the sound of the air comming out of the vent.i use the paper towel method to germ,just use distilled water.cover them up so they are in the dark and put them somwhere warm.got to go catch ya later


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## TURKEYNECK (May 31, 2006)

Being from the south.. I firmly believe that if you cant stick a seed in the ground and watch it grow...you are doomed from the start. Keep in mind that I'm a newbie....but I was raised on a farm... so I  believe that if I can grow tomatoes and cucumbers I should be able to manage to grow the sweet herbs we all desire.        I HOPE!!!


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