It`s not at all rare for seeds to fail at germinating, whether it be amateurs or pros, everyone goes through it. Lack of temperature control and moisture is usually to blame but there are many other factors that come into play. Here we have listed the plausible reasons for your seeds not germinating so that you can get to the root of the problem and eliminate any mistake.
Seeds quality
The better the seed the smoother your germination will be. People often start growing any batch of seeds they get their hands onto either by a local source or as a bargain batch. So the first thing to be sure of is that your seeds are from a trusted and reputable place. When searching for this topic on the internet explorer, you will get more knowledge on how to discern good and bad seed banks. Otherwise, it is highly possible that seeds sourced from cheap or local places are infertile and may never germinate at all.
Pests infestation
Cannabis seeds attract many sorts of pests and birds, one could say that birds love to feed on them, and actually, cannabis seeds are a major component of many types of birdseed. While they won’t kill the seeds, they can feast on growing plants that might not be visible to you yet.
You can use chemicals like hydrogen peroxide or neem oil to get rid of pests. Bird netting and ant traps will help prevent other organisms from feeding on your seeds.
Seed depth
Seeds need to be placed deep enough so that they are covered with soil, but more often than not they get planted too deep and may not have enough energy to emerge. They might not even get the chance to sprout at all as oxygen and light will not be able to reach that deep and thus photosynthesis will not occur. As a result, your seeds will rot before you know it.
But if you plant them much closer to the surface, chances are they’ll dry out before sprouting, or even after emerging, are unable to shed off their cap.
It is best to plant them around 2 to 3 cm down or half inches deep, this way they will be adequately covered by soil and have just about enough room to grow taproots.
Germinating for too long
Many growers let the seeds germinate till cotyledons appear, but this leads to a more difficult transplant. What happens is that when the seeds are left to germinate for longer durations, the roots grow in length, and thus chances of root damage during transplant increase. Moreover, continuous exposure of the root to light and air will damage it further.
This can be prevented by keeping a close eye on the seed while it is in its germination stage, as soon as the taproot measures approximately 1-2 cm, transplant them.
Temperature
Cannabis seeds germinate typically in high temperatures, especially during certain seasons of the year. You might even need to use an external source of heat to get to the ideal temperature which is around 20 – 25 degrees celsius. Trying to keep the temperature within this range as going higher than this may lead to slow and stunted growth along with fungal and rot problems and can also cause the soil to dry out.
In case you are growing indoors and the temperature is high you can use the help of the fans or air conditioner to lower it. Be cautious with the lowering as too low of a temperature can bring forth its own host of problems ranging from plant diseases to a low rate of success during germination.
Humidity
During this phase a relative humidity of 80-90% is optimal. Lower humidity will increase the chances of your seed not germinating while higher, on the other hand, will cause fungal problems. Optimal humidity is vital since it regulates the respiration process and subsidiary activities such as water loss.
Lighting, frequency of watering, and ventilation are all factors that play an important role in managing the humidity of the area, controlling these factors is a great way to maintain the ideal range, additionally, you could also purchase a humidifier for the same.
As you can see that germinating cannabis seeds requires one to keep many things in check, if you find your seeds not germinating properly then use this list as a guide to troubleshoot. You might face various other issues due to the requirements of any specific strain, however, these basic problems arise in all types of strains and should be checked first.
Once you get the settings right, not only will it help your seed germinate properly but will also eventually lead to healthier and bigger buds.