Jack Herer Germination Problems - Solved

[gasmeter]

On the 12 November I started to germinate 4 Jack Herer feminised beans I won in the 3rd Mega Contest, I put the beans into a little glass of water over night the following day 3 beans had sunk to the bottom of the glass and the 4th bean was just below the surface of the water.

I then put the beans in a little dish onto some damp kitchen tissue which I also used to cover them and I put the little dish in a drawer and I have kept the kitchen roll nice and damp.

Here is an image of the beans after 5 days.

The bean on the far right and the one that is second left both look to be dead an done

The bean on the right hand side with the tap root poking out seems to be trying to get going and has been the most active, the bean on the left has started to open over night and also seems to be trying to get going.

It looks like I definitely need to pop 2 more beans to replace the 2 that look dead, but I need some advice about the other 2 beans, I am wondering if they will not grow well because of the slow start, should I just throw them and pop 4 new beans? 

Normally by now I would have them in Root It sponge plugs.

[g22]

it's early to judge that they will not grow properly wait 

[OG.Naj]

I put the same day, the 12 November, 2 very old Nevilles Haze seeds and she are in the same stage as your two with the small roots in 5 days. Sometime the old seeds take a little bit longer time... but may it is two bad seeds and they dont germinate...

 

 

[gasmeter]

Inner luv for the speedy replies @g22 and @OG.Naj

I will take your advice and wait an see how they go as you say @g22 its too early to judge if they will grow properly just because they are slow to start.

That is good to know your Nevilles Haze beans are the same age and at the same stage @OG.Naj it sort of put it in context I think your right the beans may be old.

The other 2 beans should have popped their shells by now, but I will give them a day or so longer to be sure they are dead or not, they look to me like they have departed

[gasmeter]

After 2 days 1 of the 2 beans that had cracked their shell cases only one is growing its tap root the other has done absolutely nothing.

The other 2 beans still have not cracked their shell casings after 7 days they are definitely dead an done.

So to avoid wasting any more time I have put 3 more Jack Herer beans in water to soak.

That's some rate of attrition 3 out of 4 beans failed to germinate.

I am really hoping that these 3 new beans are OK and will germinate, I only have 3 beans left from the pack of 10

 

 

[g22]

AT wich tempt do you germinate bro?

the seed must have a good 25 °- 26°

[gasmeter]

Hi @g22 that is a good point I was starting to wonder about that, the temperature in the room is 25C to 26C a couple of degrees cooler than in the grow tent which is 27C to 28C on average during the day.

I had the kitchen roll sat on a little ceramic dish which has quite thick and felt cool to the touch so I have swapped it for a thin plastic lid off a plastic storage thing from the kitchen.

And I have now put it on top of the grow tent rather than in a drawer, so the beans and the plastic lid and the kitchen roll should soon be at room temperature.

One of the beans has already sunk, so I placed it with the bean that has germinated on the damp kitchen roll and I have thrown the other beans away.

[g22]

@gasmeter

 I read somthing about germinate seeds  they Say put seeds in a glas with water AT( 20° ) 23°-27° the tap Root grow faster Closer to the 27° put thé seeds direct from the package in the water  without touching the seeds  ad a few drop off hydrogen peroxide 3% put thé glas in a dark place Root don't like light let theme sink  36h  in the glass After put thé seeds in the soil in a hole 1cm deep  or between kitchen  paper or coffee paper 

next Time i germinate seeds i gone to use those instructions 

 

[gasmeter]

@g22 thanks for the info bro that is very interesting.

In the past I have just followed the Green House technique putting the beans in water until they sink then placing them on very damp tissue or kitchen roll, before I read their instructions I just put them between damp kitchen roll and they germinated without problems.

Last summer I had an Exodus Cheese auto that miss fired, I put 4 beans in water they sank I placed them on very damp kitchen roll and they all popped and started to throw tap roots then one of them just died.

[gasmeter]

This morning the bean that has successfully germinated has quite a long tap root as you can see in the image below so its time to pop it into a Root It sponge plug.

Also if you open the image full size you can see the shell casing on the bean nearest to the tap root has cracked open.

I had to soak the Root It sponge in water then I cut a slit to split the plug with some scissors, then I prized open the sponge and held it in one hand while I very carefully picked up the seedling by the shell case and placed it gently into the sponge plug and then I placed it on a plastic saucer and dripped some water onto the sponge until there was a little bit of water coming out the bottom of the plug.

Then I put the new Jack Herer seedling into the little cupboard or closet under the fluorescent tube.

Then I covered the new beans with the damp kitchen roll and put them back on top of the grow tent under a black carrier bag to block out light.

Hopefully the 3 new Jack Herer beans will germinate OK the fact one has already cracked the shell case is a good sign, but I will still keep my fingers crossed though.

[gasmeter]

The bean I put into a Root It plug yesterday has now broken ground and is earth strong and it has cast its seed casing

The new bean that cracked its seed casing is now slowing throwing out its tap root

I really hope the other 2 beans will crack their casings and start throwing out their tap roots as well.

[gasmeter]

This morning the bean that had cracked its shell case is definitely alive an kicking its tap root has grown longer over night as you can see in the image below

But the other 2 beans do not look like they are going to germinate there is no sign of them cracking the seed casings.

They do seem to have a similar appearance to the other beans that failed to germinate, with the first batch of beans I noticed the seed casing on one looked dry and in this second batch one of the seeds casing looks similar, so I don't have much hope for these 2 beans at all.

The bean seedling in the root plug is doing great and growing nicely under the fluorescent tube on a 24/24 photoperiod 

So the question now is do I try to germinate the last 3 of the Jack Herer beans and hopefully if they all germinate I can keep the strongest 2 and throw the weakest so I have 4 plants to fill my tent, but from my perspective I feel I will just be wasting more time on these beans.

Maybe I should germinate a couple of beans of a different strain like GH Cheese or Exodus Cheese which are also hybrids.

I will let these 2 beans go another day to give them a chance to germinate, but I doubt it will happen they look just like the others that failed.

[g22]

Maybe try to get a higher temp if you can  for the 2 ho don't wake up 

[gasmeter]

@g22

They aint coffee beans bro

[gasmeter]

Yesterday afternoon the tap root on the bean that had germinated had grown long enough to put it into a Root It sponge plug, but the other 2 beans still haven't done anything.

Germinated bean in Root It sponge plug

With the germinated bean in its sponge plug I decided to take @g22 advice and raise the temperature, so I put them on the radiator.

Then I covered them with a black plastic carrier bag to block light and help retain moisture.

With the germinated bean safe in its root plug I thought I will roast the little buggers and see what happens I have nothing to lose at this point, the temperature of the radiator is way tropical, so I am not holding out much hope for them, but its worth a shot.

When I checked them this morning one of the beans has cracked its shell casing, but the other one has done nothing, I added a bit more water to keep them well damp and put them back on top of the grow tent.

When I checked on them at 9.00am the bean that had cracked its shell case seemed to have retreated and the other bean has still done nothing, so I put them both back on the radiator to see if that helps.

[g22]

9 minutes ago, gasmeter said:

@g22

They aint coffee beans bro

In one of m'y past germination i think with champagne kush AT thé bigining only 2-3 seeds wake up AT 22°-23°than i put thé propagator AT 25°-26° and thé other seeds start to wake up rapidly

[gasmeter]

Thanks for the heads up @g22

The ambient temperature in the room is around 25/6C in the tent it is around 27/8C on average so you would think that they would have germinated by now.

[g22]

@gasmeter

You Need a propagator to Can beter adjust your temp i like the Garland propagator  and biogreen thermostat and a heating mats but they are other brands with xxl propagator with thermostat in it and very high where you Can let grow your seedling in it AT perfect temp but cost in the 200€  but your Room temp look good 

[gasmeter]

This morning when I checked the newly germinated bean I put into its root plug yesterday it has grown above the surface of the sponge and is earth strong.

Before I crashed out last night I wet the sponge plugs and scrapped the gunk off the cotyledon leaves on the first seedling and this morning it looks a lot perkier with its little leaves stretched out to catch the light from the fluorescent tube.

I will give the other 2 beans another day to see if they germinate, but I do not hold out much hope for them.

I am not going to bother trying to pop any of the other 3 beans considering I have popped 7 beans and only have 2 seedlings I feel like I have wasted enough time on them already, I am just glad I did not buy them.

[gasmeter]

@g22

Thanks for the info bro that is food for thought I will have to do some research and check them out

[OG.Naj]

That a very low % of germination... try to contact GH to explain your problem. Maybe that come from the seeds quality...

 

I think like you with the 3 last seeds you have. Pop them and look wath come out.

 

Good luck bro @gasmeter

[gasmeter]

@OG.Naj I agree 2 out of 7 is a very low germination rate, good point about Green House I was wondering about that the thing is the beans were a prize so do they count?

I always take photos when I germinate beans in case something goes wrong, I had a funny feeling about the beans when I saw one of the beans in the first batch of 4 looked dry after a day in the wet kitchen roll I saw that with an Exodus Cheese bean last year I emailed photos and a description of what I did and the staff were great, they thought the bean had drowned so they sent me another all all was good.

So part of my reasoning starting this thread was to create a timeline of evidence that is easy to follow, I think it was just a pack of bad beans that slipped through the net.

The last 2 beans just look sad now I left them on top of the grow tent rather than roasting on the radiator, they look sad I think the one that appeared to wake up just swelled up with the heat from the radiator and the other has just kept playing dead

I will take your advice @OG.Naj and pop the last 3 beans to see what happens I was getting pissed off with the disappointment but this way I won't end up wondering if they are any good or not and it draws a line under the thing.

[gasmeter]

The bean that had cracked its shell case has not changed all day and the other bean has done nothing either.

So I have put the last 3 Jack Herer beans in plastic container to soak.

Once the beans sink I will put them on some fresh damp kitchen roll.

It will be interesting to see what happens with these last 3 beans considering my experience so far I don't hold out much hope they will germinate.

[gasmeter]

This morning when I checked the beans on the damp kitchen roll there was no change so I am declaring both beans deceased

So I threw them and the kitchen roll down the bog and flushed them away.

2 of the last 3 Jack Herer beans soaking in water have sunk to the bottom of the little plastic container

So I have cleaned the plastic lid placed some new kitchen roll on it and damped it with some tap water and placed the 2 beans that sank onto the damp kitchen roll which is also covering them and then I placed then into a drawer in the dark, hopefully they might germinate.

Close up of the 2 new beans on the damp kitchen roll.

I will have to keep an eye on the 3rd bean and when it sinks I can put it with the other 2 on the damp kitchen roll.

More updates to follow soon...

[gasmeter]

Last night the 3rd Jack Herer bean sank to the bottom of the little plastic container of water so I moved it onto the damp kitchen roll with the other 2 beans.

When I checked them this morning there is no change they are just sat there doing nothing.

I have placed the plastic lid with the damp kitchen roll on it on top of the grow tent and I have covered it with a black plastic bag so they benefit from the ambient temperature in the room rather than being in a drawer which will probably be a bit cooler.

The ambient temperature in the room is anywhere from 26C to 28C during the day so the temperature should not be an issue.

Anyhoo the 2 Jack Herer seedlings are doing great under the fluorescent tube on a 24/24 photoperiod

Hopefully 2 of the last lot of Jack Herer beans will germinate and I will have four plants, but somehow I do not feel confident they will germinate.

I will let them run for a couple more days and if there is no sign of them germinating I will write them off and pop 2 beans of a different strain.