How To Germinate Marijuana Seeds [A Guide For Beginners]

In this section, we are going to talk about germinating the marijuana seeds. Germination is a phase which is basically do-or-die for your seeds. When you buy a set of seeds, you can never tell which one is going to germinate and which one is going to remain a seed forever. Even after the germination process begins, you need to take a lot of care as your plant is still very young and very weak. 

Germination, essentially, is the process of getting your seeds to sprout. No matter what plant you are growing, you will need to germinate the seed. The same applies to marijuana seeds as well. Some people, especially in the world of growing weed, tend to call this process ‘popping’ the seed. 

We have divided this into three subsections, the first one dealing with pre-germination, the second dealing with the actual process of germination, and the third talking about post-germination care. 

Things to Consider before Germination

Before germination, there isn’t much that you can do. The only thing that you can take care of is that you should go into the internet and find out about the best seed banks that ship to USA. Make sure that these are big and reliable names, and also check what they claim when it comes to their seeds germinating. 

Most seed banks claim that about 75-80% of their seeds will germinate. This basically means that if you buy a set of 10 seeds, about 7 to 8 seeds are going to germinate for sure. These are also feminized seeds which are the ones that can bare flowers and are important for people planning on growing weed.

Check out the strain that you are getting – pre-germination is a good time to do all the research. Seed banks usually provide a lot of information about the seeds that you are going to buy and you should know the strain, the THC/CBD ratio, the taste and smell of the plant that will grow from them, etc. You should also decide at this point in time if you are planning on buying a regular strain or an autoflowering strain. With that in mind, let us now move forward to the actual process of germination.

Germinating Marijuana Seeds

Marijuana seeds can be germinated in pretty much the same way as you would germinate seeds of any other plant. These seeds require warmth, moisture, and darkness to germinate. Let us take a very quick look at a four-step germination process that can be followed to germinate marijuana seeds.

However, before that, you need to procure the following items:

• Distilled Water
• A bunch of paper napkins or towels
• Two plates 
• Marijuana seeds (Feminized)

Let us now look into the steps that are involved:

• Step 1: Take four of these paper towels and soak them with the distilled water. The towels need to be just wet enough but not so wet that there’s water continuously running off from them.
• Step 2: Clean the plates, and put one on a table. Put two wet paper towels on top of each other over the plate. Place all your seeds on top of the paper towels, and then place the other two towels on top of the seeds. While placing the seeds, make sure that you are spacing them well enough (at least an inch between each seed).
• Step 3: Put the other plate, invert it, and keep it on top of the plate which carries the towels. This creates a dome-like structure and also provides enough darkness to the seeds that are about to be germinated.
• Step 4: You also need to make sure that the temperature of the room in which you are germinating your seeds is warm enough. It needs to be somewhere between 75F to 80F in order for germination to take place. (between 24 and 27 C). Keep checking once or twice a day to make sure the towels are wet enough. Spray some water if they are not.

Germination, as a process, generally takes anywhere between 4 days to 10 days to happen, so don’t lose hope if you don’t see your seeds sprouting immediately. If there’s no sprout even after 2 weeks of this process, this is when you can call it quits officially as there’s very little chance of the seed sprouting two weeks after beginning the germination process. However, in 80% of the cases, it does happen within the first two weeks. 

Lastly, one more thing that you need to keep in mind is that please avoid all contact with the seed while it is germinating. Keep it as sanitized as possible and try to keep it in a room that has minimal dust too. 

Things to Keep in Mind After Germination

In this section, we are going to address the process of transplanting. This is basically the process by which you put the germinated seed into the soil. This is to be done after the taproot becomes visible. 

• Take a one-gallon pot, and fill it with soil. While doing this, make sure that the soil that you have chosen is airy enough and is not too tight. Proceed to water the soil a little (just a little, make it wet enough but don’t flood it).
• Use a small stick or a pen to dig a hole in the soil, don’t dig too deep, make it about twice the size of the seed. 
• Pick up the seed using a pair of tweezers and place it inside that hole. When placing the seed, make sure that the taproot points downwards.
• Cover that hole with the seed in it with some soil. Don’t bury it with too much soil on top, just a little bit to get it started but just not so much that all air is blocked. 

These are some things that you need to do before, during, and after the germination process which will help you in growing a healthy marijuana plant out of the seeds that you have bought.

FAQs

What is the best possible way to make the germination process quick?

The best and the most popular way for making the germination process a bit quick is by pre-soaking them for a day. You can pre-soak these seeds in tap water that is a bit hotter than usual. This will allow the water to penetrate the seeds allowing them to plump inside. Ensure not to soak these seeds for more than a day.  

Is adding salt in any way helpful in the seed germination process?

No, one should never add salt as it in no way helps the germination process. The salinity, on the other side, affects the process through oxidative stress, osmotic stress, and ion-specific effects. They are shown to decrease the rate and the time of germination.

How can you grow the marijuana seeds efficiently?

The marijuana seeds or for that matter any plant seed require proper oxygen, a good amount of water, and temperature that is sunlight. The amount of sunlight required is different for different plants. 

What happens if your seeds do not germinate?

Well, the prime reason why your seeds might not germinate would be either that your seeds were eaten by birds, mice, wireworms, and voles, or did not get the adequate amount of moisture and temperature.

Is the paper towel method effective for marijuana seed germination?

If you are a beginner who doesn’t have much idea about marijuana seeds and how to handle their growth, we’d recommend that you use the paper towel method for growing them. It is hands down one of the easiest and the most accessible methods that you can do from the comfort of your home without needing any other extra supplies.

When using this method, use the cheaper non-porous paper towels for better yield. The high-quality paper towels will make the roots grow into them.

Should I use starter cubes for marijuana seed germination?

If you want to indulge in a foolproof method for germinating your marijuana seeds, we’d recommend using the starter cubes method. They are effective but they do create a lot of wastage, especially because they come in a pack of 50.

The Rockwool cubes are also quite amazing, especially because of their cheaper price point. However, if you are looking for an eco-friendlier choice, we’d recommend not choosing this.

Does overnight soaking help with marijuana seed germination?

If you are dealing with old and hard marijuana seeds that you found in the back of your stash, this method works wonders. It is also an easy method because all you have to do is take the seeds and then place them in some lukewarm water and leave it in the open overnight.

We’d recommend using a transparent jar for the soaking because it allows you to record the progress.

How long do I have to wait for the germination of marijuana seeds?

The period for the marijuana seeds germination will vary from one strain to the other. Some take 2-3 weeks while a few others tend to take more. Also, maintaining the optimal germination environment is key.