How to germinate cannabis seeds?

 

The Vault Cannabis Seeds Store sell cannabis seeds as adult souvenirs, germination or cultivation of cannabis seeds is illegal in most countries including the UK.  This guide is only for reference and educational purposes.  We reserve the right to refuse to sell cannabis seeds to anyone we believe may intend to germinate in country where it is illegal to do so.

 

Cannabis growing is a worldwide favorite pastime. A hobby, a job, a source of medicine and much more for always increasing number of people. Final results of your grow depend on a lot of different factors, as your cannabis plants go through different stages of development.

 

The first thing every grower should know is how to germinate seeds. There are different ways to do that but first of all, you should make sure your seeds are good quality and will sprout. Growers can buy seeds at different stores, find a mystery seed in a bag of good medicine or somebody may present you a couple of seeds as a gift but is there a method to identify the quality of seeds? Let’s see:

 

• First of all take a look at your seeds. Seeds that are pale in color and lighter in weight are generally not mature enough. You need seeds with dark shells. Colors may be brown, gray or even black. Usually, what’s called a “marble pattern” is present – lighter or darker pattern on a different colored background. Dark colors show that seeds are mature and ready to germinate. Light colors including green and light gray are inherent in immature seeds and they will have a tough time sprouting;
• The second thing to look at is how hard are your seeds? It means they shouldn’t crack or crumble while applying some light pressure on If they crack – they are not mature and you will probably just waste your time trying to germinate them. Everyone can easily check the quality of seeds by using this method. Just put a seed between your fingers and apply light pressure to see if it will crack or not. Strong, healthy seeds won’t;
• One more way to check the quality of your seeds is to put them in a glass of clean water and see if they float or not. After 1 or 2 hours – healthy, strong seeds will sink to the bottom while seeds that may have trouble germinating will remain floating.

 

Leaving the seeds in water for 24-48 hours is called ‘soaking’ and many growers prefer it prior to any chosen method of germination. Stronger and healthier seeds will sink sooner, seeds that remain floating are either not mature enough or may require a little help to start germinating. You can gently tap them with your fingers and that will make them sink, the ones left floating probably won’t germinate.

 

Some growers like to ‘winterize’ the seeds before they start with the germination. Winterization is a process that happens naturally outdoors – as plants mature and they develop seeds that will enable the next generation to grow, they tend to fall off the dying plant and as winter comes, they are covered in snow and in low temperatures during the winter before starting a new life cycle in the spring. So to mimic that behavior, growers expose seeds to lower temperatures, usually putting them in the fridge for a couple of days prior to germination. It helps activate the hormones and enzymes that signal the plant that time for a nice start is coming.

 

Okay, now when you have good, healthy cannabis seeds, you are ready to start growing nice cannabis plants. First of all you have to germinate cannabis seeds and there are a few ways to do this. Let’s single out the best ways for proper germination and discuss every of these methods.

 

Germinating in a glass of water

 

• The first technique to germinate cannabis seeds is very simple and growers don’t even need to buy any stuff for this process. All you need is to place seeds in water (glass, container, etc.) and leave them for 24-72 Usually this will be enough for the taproot to appear and after that, seeds should be removed from the water and transplanted.
• Important! Water temperature should be about 23-31° C – warmer than room temperature but not hot. Don’t leave seeds in the water after taproots appears as it may cause deprivation of oxygen and rot.

 

Paper towel method

 

• This is one of the most convenient and reliable ways to bring comfortable conditions for seeds to germinate. Things are very simple – you will need a cheap paper towel and a couple of plates. First moisture your towel and then place seeds right on it. Fold the towel over and put it between two plates. Usually 3-5 days are enough for the taproot to sprout; Many growers use coffee filters too, just place your seeds, give it a little water and place them on a warm and dark place.

 

• Important! Do not disturb your seeds too often. Checking them once every 12 hours will be the right way to keep things under control. Warm environment is very important to – leave a paper towel with seeds in a warm place. Temperature should be about 23-30° C.

 

Direct soil method

 

• Many growers choose this method because it minimizes transplantation stress which may hurt seedlings and cause various issues. This technique is very simple as well. After choosing your growing medium, all you have to do is to make a little hole (2-3 cm in depth) and put a seed there. This is a very convenient method of germination because seedlings will adjust immediately to conditions they will develop in.

 

• Important! Growing medium – soil/coco should be wet but not soaking. If using soil, moisture from the unopened bag of soil will be enough. After placing the seed and covering it you can gently water around the seed. Keep things warm and place lights close to your container and control the distance due to the size of seedlings.

 

Transplanting

 

And finally we come to the transplanting stage. This process is very important and growers should be gentle and careful while transplanting young seedlings to grow medium. Do your best not to hurt or injure the seed or the root. Make a little 2-3 cm hole in soil and place the germinated seed with the taproot down. Top side of your seed should be just below the surface, about  1-2 cm in. Make sure that your seed is in nice contact with the medium and cover the top of the seed lightly with medium.

 

Young seedlings need from a couple of hours up to 2-5 days to adjust to new conditions and emerge from the medium. As soon as seedlings grow their first set of adult leaves, the vegetation stage will start. These are just the first steps in the cannabis growth cycle – a long spectacular journey through the whole process of miracle called growing of cannabis.

 

If you’re growing autoflowering cannabis strains, you should transplant the seeds into their final containers. This assures that the plants have enough space to properly develop their root system and, as a result, increases the yield and overall quality of your plants.

 

Storing cannabis seeds

If you are looking to store the seeds and use them in next few months, all you must do is keep them in a dry and cool place without exposing them to light, preferably in its original package. But if you plan to use them after more than 2 years, you should consider refrigerating them.

 

The first step is to get them into a plastic container, then add some silicone gel balls to it, which will reduce humidity in the air. Finally, you put them inside your fridge, ideally in the vegetable drawer where temperature oscillates under the desired range. Never put them in the freezer. If you follow these steps and maintain those conditions, your seeds will preserve for a very long time. Don’t forget to label them for future identification.

 

It’s not advisable for you to take the seeds out of the fridge too frequently, so open the container as less you can, let the seeds dry out and proceed with common germination process.

 

If stored correctly, cannabis seeds can ‘last’ for years, even decades but older seeds sometimes need a little help when it comes to germination. An old grower’s trick is to use a matchbox or something similar and line it with rough sandpaper. Once you’ve filled your box with sandpaper you place the seeds in the box and start to shake it for a minute or two. This will result in tiny cracks on the seed shell and will help the tap root to break the outer seed barrier.

 

Why not head on over to The Vault Cannabis Seeds Store and pick up some cannabis seeds now, whilst taking advantage of the discount codes VAULT15 for 15% of your order total and don’t forget to check out our discount cannabis seeds page for all the latest offers, promos and competitions!

 

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Remember: It’s illegal to germinate cannabis seeds in many countries including the UK. It is our duty to inform you of this important fact and to urge you to obey all of your local laws. The Vault only ever sells or sends out seeds, or seed voucher prizes for souvenir, collection or novelty purposes.