Germinating Cannabis Seeds at Home
In this guide, Best Bud Seeds gives our very best advice to you as the grower on how to germinate cannabis seeds properly. This is the very beginning of every cannabis growing endeavor and it is essential to know how to conduct this first step to maximize the potential of your cannabis seeds.
How to Germinate Cannabis Seeds
Germination is the process of starting a seed and turning it into a sprout, which will eventually grow into a full-sized cannabis plant. The main advantage of using seeds over clones is the lack of diseases and pests it may carry unknowingly. Growing cannabis from a seed eliminates the possibility of larger problems that could ruin an entire crop that is pre-existing, or a new cannabis crop that could ruin the entire growing environment area. If you’d like to learn more about germinating seeds as opposed to using clones, this article on clones vs seeds is helpful.
Germinating cannabis seeds on your own only requires a handful of resources and is actually very simple. You will need:
- Distilled, Spring, or Rain Water
- Paper Towels
- Clean Plates
- A clean glass
- A spray bottle
- A warm and dark environment
Step 1 – Preparing the Water
You will want to start off with room temperature water. This can be distilled water, spring water, or rain water. You will want to avoid using tap water to start germinating cannabis seeds since tap water carries contaminants that can be harmful to the germination process. The reason why it’s best to have room temperature water for germination is to start it in a warmer environment, shocking your seeds can be potentially harmful to the cannabis seeds and cause a lack of sprouting.
Step 2 – Soaking Your Cannabis Seeds
Once you have your room temperature water ready along with your cannabis seeds, you will want to soak your seeds in a clean glass full of this purified water for 14-18 hours to ensure the water is getting into the very core of the seeds. Using a glass to soak your cannabis seeds is also a helpful method of letting you see which ones are good seeds, and which ones are could potentially be duds that won’t sprout. If the seeds are healthy, they will sink to the bottom of the glass as they have absorbed enough water. After they are fully soaked in water, you can take the cannabis seeds (with clean hands) and place them on paper towels over a clean plate that is soaked in the same water of choice.
Step 3 – Separating Your Cannabis Seeds
Once the cannabis seeds have been placed on a paper towel and plate, you will want to ensure that they are at least 1 inch apart from each other for proper sprouting. After they have been separated, you will want to take the other half of the soaked paper towel and place them on top of the seeds, or if you’re germinating a larger quantity you will want to soak another paper towel to place on top of the seeds. The next step after your soaked seeds are covered in the damp paper towels is to place your seeds in a dark and warm environment. If you are germinating in a small space, a kitchen or bathroom cabinet is perfect.
Step 4 – Saturating Your Cannabis Seeds in Water
After placing your cannabis seeds that are soaking in a dark and warm environment, you will want to ensure the paper towels stay moistened on the seeds. If you ensure that these seeds and paper towels stay damp, it should take 3-10 days to sprout. To water your seeds mess-free it’s best to use a clean spray bottle full of the water of your choice. Typically, the cannabis seeds will show signs of sprouting very fast and you can check on them a couple times a day to see their progress.
Step 5 – Planting Your Cannabis Seeds
Once your cannabis seeds have developed a tap root between ¼ and ¾ of an inch, they are ready to be planted. Typically, it takes 3-10 days to develop this taproot, but some cannabis strains can take up to 2 weeks to develop a long enough root to start the planting process. This does depend on environmental conditions such as temperature and light exposure.
Germinate Cannabis Seeds at Home – Final Thoughts
Growing cannabis seeds is a very simple process, but it takes patience and attentiveness to make sure the germination process goes smoothly. Germinating cannabis seeds at home is a much cheaper alternative to using clones and gives you much more control as far as contaminants and pests. Best Bud Seeds highly recommends that you would germinate cannabis seeds at home. If you’d like a summarized version of the germination process, download our Germination Guide to keep on your phone to take you step by step in a simpler format. If you’re a first-time grower or looking for germination tips before you purchase any seeds, we are glad you read this guide and hope we helped you in your cannabis cultivation process! Check out our Cannabis Seeds if you’re looking to start your grow soon.