Getting it all going,
Yeppers, it does happen, but you can cut back on the incidence of this happening. First the current method isn't doing too well so, I would drop back to some basics, and try to get a couple of them established.
Soaking seeds in water/wet paper towels is a method which can be used for old seeds (3+ years) that are drying up and losing germination power; and for pure land race equatorial strains such as from Africa. Fresh seeds have a healthy embryo whose cells are filled with water, but excess water causes the cells to bloat, depletes oxygen and leads to the tissue rotting away before the seed embryo can germinate.
Old seeds have lost water in the cell tissue, the embryo starts to shrivel, which is why germination rates drop the older the seeds are. Therefore, old seeds (ie. 3+ years) can soak up more water before adverse conditions cause them to rot. This is one of the main reasons why various seed stock reacts differently to pre-germination methods.
Some growers make the mistake of soaking seeds in water for up to 1-2 days because it may have worked in the past with other seeds. This does not mean, however, that this method can be used for all seeds. In fact, old stock or equatorial cannabis seeds should only be soaked in water for a few hours at the most.
Moisture & Heat
85 - 90 degrees F is best and required to make the seed germinate. A warm heating pad, or a good warm surface , sterile non bleached, no color, and no pretty patterns using coloring at all paper towels.
I have seen lots of folks try to sprout beans using this method, but they all forget that those plates get cold.
Conversely with the warmth be certain to not allow the medium to dry out.
Remember that beans dropped by the mother plant outdoors have to go through a dormant time, (winter) usually. I think somewhere in there is where the bean may get a crack in the shell, or maybe just that right amount of roughing for it to split and start the growth.
Then the spring warm up of the ground trips the beans into sprouting. The conditions have to be pretty much correct for this to happen in nature.
Go slow and set it all in place first before you introduce the beans. For the beans early life I prefer to use distilled water, but as soon as the bean is established in soil I start to use my aquarium water. The young plants love the small amounts of nitrates from the fish excretions, and the uneaten food.
Timing for the introduction to light is also important.
A new start pokes it's head above the soil, and starts utilizing light immediately...
You do not want to use a 400 watt HPS on some newborn's ya know. A soft grow cfl will work for a week or two until baby starts to toughen up a tad. Only after baby has a good start then you want to introduce stronger lighting, and a fan for plant movement to help toughen the stalk. As with all plants easy does it...
Good luck and let us know how you are doing on your project won't you...
smoke in peace
KingKahuuna:icon_smile:
