Germinating This Summer’s Crop

Soft Secrets
25 Mar 2019
Growing a crop of killer cannabis starts with a killer seed. Good genetics is the heart of any successful grow op, so don’t skimp on what you pay for seed. Germinating cannabis seed sounds like a no-brainer, but there are a few things you need to know and consider. The first thing you do is take a close look at your seeds. You usually want a mottled grey and brown coloring, although I’ve seen good seed that is light yellow or even white in color. It should be solid feeling and look like it’s solid, too. The most common indicator that a seed won’t grow is if there are hollows on the ends of the seed. Also, I’ve found seeds with stripes on them will grow but the plant will be puny, even in its adult form. There are a few options for sprouting your seeds. All require distilled water – tap water has chlorine in it, which will most likely kill your seeds. You can try using tap water, but your results will be mixed. To grow a consistently healthy crop you have to treat the seeds well. Giving your seedlings the best possible start is of paramount importance. The first sprouting method we’ll discuss is the simplest. Simply put some distilled water in a dish and be sure to pour some water over the seeds. The idea is the have the seeds sprout in a constant level of water, so you’ll have to check on them several times a day. This method has the disadvantage of letting the taproot that springs out first dry up, stunting your plants from the beginning. Another variation is to use wet paper towel, sandwiching the seeds between layers. The paper towel has to be kept damp. This is the most forgiving method of sprouting your seeds. Be careful not to disturb the seedlings too much. Peeking every couple of hours just won’t do. The root is very fragile, with scilia that are easily damaged. The best method for sprouting your plants is in a one inch square rockwool cube. Rockwool is a wonderfully inert blown glass fiber cube. There’s usually even a pre-plunged hole in the center. Just shove the seed about half way into the rockwool cube and keep it moist for a few days. One thing you have to consider is the use of rooting hormone to sprout your seeds. This will give your plants a great head start. Within the rooting hormone, which is usually a thick syrup-like substance, lies all of the nutrients the roots will need to proliferate. A good early root system lends itself to thick foliage and huge buds later on in life.
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Soft Secrets