12 Tips for Sprouting Cannabis Seeds
It’s time to sprout your cannabis plants and get growing for summer!
Every tiny cannabis seed represents a potential pound of cannabis flower. It’s crazy to think that so much abundance springs forth from such a small thing. If you’re looking to grow cannabis plants this summer, get started now with a visit to KindPeoples’ award-winning Genetics Department, where you can browse strains in seed and clone form and pick the perfect plant to grow.
Once you’ve found the plants you’re looking for, getting started with growing cannabis is easy.
Simply follow these basic tips for germinating cannabis seeds and planting them in soil.
- Look for viable, plump cannabis seeds with a telltale “tiger stripe” on the side that indicates maturity. Larger seeds tend to yield more vigorous and hardy plants.
- Plant at least 12 cannabis seeds, knowing that 50% of them could turn out to be male plants, which you don’t want. Only female cannabis plants create the resinous flowers that we desire. You can also purchase feminized seeds, which are a bit more pricey than regular cannabis seeds, but then you will have only female plants. Choose the most vigorous plants to keep and if you end up with more than 6 female plants, you can juice them or eat them in a salad for a burst of phyto-nutrition. Read about the different types of cannabis seeds in our blog.
- Begin germinating cannabis seeds by soaking a paper towel in water and lightly wringing it out. You want the towel to be thoroughly soaked but not dripping.
- Place your cannabis seeds on the paper towel, and fold it over the seeds. Place the paper towel with the germinating cannabis seeds into a plastic bag. Exhale some air into the bag and seal it.
- Keep the germinating cannabis seeds warm at 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit for a proper incubation time. Find a warm place on top of a fridge, on a sunny windowsill, or on a seed mat or heating pad. Within 48 hours a taproot will break through the cannabis seed casing. Plant your germinated cannabis seeds in soil at the first sign of a taproot.
- Prepare a one-gallon pot with a light seedling soil mix. Fox Farm Ocean Forest or Black Gold also work great If you’d like to add worm castings, you can do so in a ratio of 4 parts soil to one part worm castings.
- Water the soil before planting the germinated cannabis seeds, getting it wet but not soaking.
- Using a chopstick, make a hole 1/2 – 3/4 inch below the surface. Then, using rubber gloves very carefully place the germinated cannabis seed in the hole with the taproot pointing down. Cover the seed with dirt.
- Avoid pouring water over the newly planted seed, since this can disturb its placement. You can carefully pour just 1 – 2 tablespoons of water over the top if desired. Place seeds under a good light source and keep them warm. One of the number one questions we get is, how long do germinated seeds take to break surface? After another 48 hours of anticipation, a sprout should emerge!
- Maintain the cannabis seedlings in a sunny window, cold frame or greenhouse. As long as temperatures are between 60 – 80ºF, the seedlings will be fine. Dipping below 50ºF at night can slow growth, so you may want to bring the fragile plants inside in the evenings until they are hardier.
- Your juvenile plants will be fine in their 1 gallon pot for the next 4 – 5 weeks of growth. Water moderately every day until moist but not soaking.
- Spend time every day observing your plants, and this attentiveness is the best way to catch problems before they start.
Overwatering is the most common reason for failure when germinating cannabis seeds. Don’t let your weed seeds get too wet or they can drown, and don’t soak them for too long or they will begin to rot. If the weed seeds haven’t sprouted after 48 hours, wait another day, but after 5 days the weed seed is most likely dead. If you have any other questions about germinating cannabis seeds, stop by KindPeoples Ocean Street or KindPeoples Soquel Avenue to speak with our educated staff.
If growing your weed from seeds isn’t for you, shop our our cannabis menu online for in-store pickup at KindPeoples Soquel Ave or Ocean Street.