One of the best ways to germinate your precious new cannabis seeds is to use the paper towel method. Use this step by step tutorial for germinating cannabis seeds with paper towel as a reference when sprouting your seeds.
Step 1 (Optional)
Soak your seeds in water for 12 to 24 hours and store in a dark location. It is very important that your seeds do not sit in the water for more than 24 hours because you run the risk of drowning them. Set a timer and don’t forget! I generally skip this step and go right to the wet paper towel.
Step 2 (Germinating Cannabis Seeds with Paper Towel)
Whether or not you soak your seeds in water (see step 1), will have no impact on how you will approach this step. The key to being successful begins with your set up. For this step, you will need a plate, a paper towel, a zip lock bag and some clean water.
Begin by wetting your paper towel on your plate. The paper towel should be completely wet, but not drenched. Drain the excess water.
You are now ready to place your seeds. Fold the wet paper towel in a way so that your seeds are sandwiched between.
Finally its time for the zip lock bag. Place your plate inside the zip lock bag and seal it. The zip lock bag will seal in the moisture and eliminate the risk of your paper towel drying out.
Step 3
Place your seeds in a dark spot and don’t touch them for at least 2 days. Room temperature will play a big role in how fast they germinate. Ultimately, you want your room temperature around 70 to 75 degrees. This will create a environment where your seeds should flourish. Check on your seeds after 2 to 3 days and see how they are doing. As soon as they sprout, you should plant them right into your favorite organic soil.
Hopefully this quick rundown gives you a better understanding for germinating cannabis seeds. Its pretty easy and straightforward. You shouldn’t have any trouble, the biggest mistake is forgetting about them! Just be sure to check on them regularly. If you need seeds, there are plenty of reputable seeds retailers around. Seeds can be bought all over the world and some of the best seed growers are located in Europe and Canada.
11 Comments on “Germinating Cannabis Seeds with Paper Towel”
I used a container with lid used to freeze homemade soup in.
I put potting soil about half way from the top.
I wet the soil with a sprayer. I placed one seed on the wet soil and place one layer of paper towel on top of the seed. The paper was cut to a round pattern to fit the container.
I then sprayed water on to the paper towel until it was moist. Then I gently patted the paper against the seed and added more water until the seed was visible through the paper.
Then I put the lid on the container. I put this in the window sill in full Sun, exposed for 8 hours. Not critical, that’s just how much sun that window gets. The container is warm to the touch which means that the soil is over body temperature, 98.6 F.
The seed germinated in two days.
The root went straight into the soil and saved itself the trauma of transplanting.
IMO, this is SUPERIOR to all other methods. I did this on my first try, purely because it made better sense than all other methods.
You are welcome to plagiarize my technique.
Hi there, how big of a container do you use? Thanks for your information and help !!!
Happy day,
Cindy
Shoot, I forgot to mention that the paper towel was gently lifted each day to inspect how things were going.
Once the root started it’s journey, I took off the paper towel permanently. But I’m keeping the lid on to keep the moisture in.
Once some leaves appear, I’ll take the lid off permanently so that the leaves can do THEIR job.
When the plant is 6″ tall, I’l transplant it into it’s final, indoor home.
I also have a superior method of extracting every single molecule of oil. I used this technique for making Biodiesel in small batches.
THAT I plan to get a patent for.
Here’s my YT channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgxIywcu7UQ
I tried your method and they sprouted in 48 hours! Faster than the ziplocks I had. Do you wait until you get true leaves (aside from cotyledon) to remove the lids? Thanks so much!
Thank you for the instructions. I have used the paper towel method and lost some plants during transfer. Your method makes that step unnecessary.
Pingback: Pot Plant Stages - Cannabis Growth Cycle with Pictures
Would be nice to implement this idea with the seed going into the final pot. Might give it a try, especially if root takes off into media on its own. One less step to avoid that may ensure a successful plant. Thanks
Take paper towel, throw a few seeds in, fold shut. Wet, and stick in a ziplock, then stick it in your sock next to your ankle, keep it there for a few days, once sprouted, transplant…Bob’s your monkey’s uncle.
Pingback: how to grow weed seed in a ziplock bag - Beasts
i never lost plants marijuana from transplanting the main thing dont start with a little pot i usually start with 6 inch and 10 inch tall appx once the seed has germinated i weight the pot with the soil first, with the seed in middle about half inch to inch down , i never had problem with half inch deep ,just dont water it much that is where the scale comes handy example say with soil dry its 200 grams(example) after you use your spray bottle just spray the top i like to spray a little everywhere and some around the edges if the wight is 200 grams dry soil do not wet more than 240 grams and keep spraying the same weight every day and as days go by increase a littel this is my mathetical degree i use to water my plants never too much ,never too little and always now ,math is always right try it you will love it and make life easier,and never have to deal with fungus gnats from over watering or droop leaves from under water ciao
I have always done the Paper Towel in a ziplock baggie but in the window a few hours a day with indirect sunlight and try to keep it just warm. 73-77 F. And that worked every time, No un-cracked seeds for yrs. But was told I would have better results with them in the dark many times , and to try the paper plates version of the napkins so I did but after the first day in ziplock bag in the light. Well, 2 very expensive Dessert Runts seeds went into a ziplock not in dark for 24 hrs and 1 popped fast! The other was a heavy husked seed and I figured I would just try the paper plates and see if that helped.
Paper plates Suck or I’m not as good at this as I thought? I know you are going to say I disturbed the seed because by 36 hrs-48 the tap on the first was a 5/8” long and I pulled it and put it in Rock wool then put the soaked rock wool in a cup and filled 1/4” up with water. (This allows me to create more root structure and just cut the plastic off and transfer to the 5 gallon pots are simply pre moist soil and dig a hole deep enough to make the first leaves above the soil only by 3/4”-1-1/2” so it roots really solid! Great White is great for roots!!
The #2 D-Runtz seed was just left in the paper towel with the 1 layer over it when I removed the sprouted seed and the napkin was put on the plate never moving the seed around. I just unfolded the rest of the paper towel and had 3-4 layers below it soaked in water,(not dripping!!! You want to soak the paper towel through and then squeeze just enough water out where it will not drip in any way even with a bit of shaking around. Then just make sure the top paper towel is wet). I left that #2 D-Runtz in the plates in the dark and kept them in about 70-74 F. That seed had not cracked after a week! (Sprayed and wet the towels as often as necessary to never let the paper towel dry out anywhere at all). I also noticed that it was not looking like it was dry and even the outer husk got a little soft. It never sprouted and I will never try that again! I like the idea of placing my seeds on the 5gallon pot and cover it with the paper towel and then let it root without transferring!! That is a great idea and the math of only water 20% of the soil weight Max. That’a right up my alley as a fellow Nerd that uses Math for everything! I
All in all, I may stick to the same approach as I have been doing since the 90’s!