Why Germinate?
Germinating your weed seed is the process that sends a signal to the seed that it is time to start growing. A seed is dormant until the germination process occurs. You can store a seed as long as you want, under the proper conditions, and it will never start to grow. As soon as the germination process occurs, the seed begins to grow and can be planted.
To germinate a weed seed the wet paper towel method is recommended.
Wet Paper Towel Method
To start germinating your weed seed all you need is a plate and a piece of paper towel. First place the paper towel flat onto the plate and liberally dampen it. Next place the seed(s) down on only half the sheet with at least 2 inches of space between all seeds. This will work for any number of seeds as long as there is room. Next fold over the half with no seeds onto the other half. Don’t push down as the damp paper towel should weigh enough to fold over nicely with no additional force. Place the plate in a dark, humid, and warm location. Never let the paper towel go dry and continue to add more water as needed. Keep checking on the seeds for the next 2-5 days and then the tap roots have sprouted and are 3-5 millimetres, you are good to plant them.
Submersion Method – recommended method
While the paper towel method is very effective, it has let me down on occasion. With the submersion method I have a 100% success rate and would recommend it to anyone.
To start this way all you will need a glass of water. The seeds will be placed in water and should float at first. Next we tap each seed towards the bottom and some may even sink right away and don’t worry if some are floating they will sink soon. Next we store the glass of water with the seeds in a dark location. 24-48 hours later all our seeds should now sink to the bottom of the glass with a tap if not there already. Once all seeds are at the bottom they are ready to perform the Wet Paper Towel Method on. Submerging them before hand softens up the shell of the seed and increases the chances of a successful germination.
