Pop those seeds! By Rhea Graham
It’s time to get those Cannabis seeds started, are you typically successful at getting them to pop? My beautiful daughter Kendra had a 100% success rate during her growing tenure; I hope you are equally as successful.
What she found the seeds especially liked was warmth and moisture for a couple of days. You can buy something fancy like a seed-starting mat for the heat, or you can use the constant heat from a source such as a light bulb. You can invest in the little covered “greenhouse” or you can make one of your own. A clear cup with a closed dome lid works nicely (like the ones you get with a sundae in them).
Seeds can be started in a folded wet paper towel, or you can purchase the ‘plugs’ that expand with water, the heat and moisture is the important part; the seeds seem to pop no matter what they are in so long as there is moisture and heat. The heat is important to keep the seed from molding. If the seeds are started in the plugs, you do not have to replant them, so your success rate will be higher.
Soak your plugs in warm water and push your seeds about 1” down. Put this in your little “incubator” and put it where it will maintain at least 70 degrees. It is warm enough when it “sweats”. This is probably the easiest way to start seedlings. You should see green in 3-4 days, but be patient, some take longer.
You’ll want to keep your seedlings in these surroundings until they are 3-4” tall and have developed three sets of leaves or more. Often, seeds that shoot right up to 4” are male; you have a 50/50 chance with non-feminized seeds.
Cannabis does grow like a weed, but naturally there are many tricks to the trade. Patients at Albany’s Canna Kitchen & Research are able to check out grow (and other) books from the Lending Library. If you are interested in learning more, give us a call at 541-981-2620 and we will get you pointed in the right direction.