Well... the wet paper towel method is about as old school as... yeah, ME!!! And as others have indicated, Mephisto is a respected brand so I don't think your strain source is the issue. I've had issues with low yields from some strains, but in fairness I always exceeded their claimed yields. Just not nearly to my high standards of 10-11 oz average per plant.
That said, never done it, never will. I'm not going to argue with others' success, you do you, but continuing to do the same thing over & over while expecting different results is one definition of insanity (said in jest, no insult intended).
My main concern wiith the paper towel method is the fragile embryo of a seed when freshly sprouted. Having been pure hydro for over 20 years, you can see my objection... how do you put a freshly sprouted seed into anything but dirt, perlite or coco, which I don't use. And since the only dirt in my grow room came off my shoes, not gonna go there.
I'm a huge fan of General Hydroponics' Rapid Rooters. When I was a semi-commercial grower I ran clones / SOG and the rooters were a godsend for rooting clones. Since I had them I also used them for seeds, & have always had very good results. Not every seed, but a great majority (meaning I'm too lazy to go through years of grow logs to count duds). So, if you want to change your methods, here's what works:
Soak your seeds in a shot glass with 1 tbsp bottled spring water & 1 tbsp of 3% (normal household strength) hydrogen peroxide. After a few hours, replace the H2O2 solution with pure spring water & allow to soak overnight.
At the same time, soak your rapid rooters in straight H2O2 overnight. Next morning, dump the peroxide solution & replace with straight water. Squeeze the plugs several times to encourage transfer of new water into the plug (the H2O2 wont hurt your plugs / seeds, but can affect you innoculant / next step. Flush it)
The grow industry is full of opportunists looking to make a quick buck, and one way they do it is sale of next to worthless additives, especially those who purport to prevent diseases in your plants. A perfect example is Hydroguard - total waste of money!!! The theory behind the product is rock solid, but in execution their product is so weak (it looks and tests like regular tap water!?) that it does nothing. There's a YouTube video of a grower who has done the research, and proven his case that Hydroguard ingredients (based upon weight / ppm's) are more expensive than cocaine. But product theory is sound, in that the claimed active ingredient is the beneficial bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. It is a biofungicide that triggers a plant's immune responses, and prevents most fungal diseases such as those that cause root rot in plants, and stem rot in newly sprouted plants. It prevents blights, molds, rots, mildew, and other unsavory growing problems. The product I use is made by Bonide and is sold under the trade name Revitalize. Mix 2mL in 6 oz water and soak your rooter plugs in that solution until ready to plant your seeds. If you don't have a small syringe graduated in CC's (which is the same as milliliters), 2mL is 40 drops from an eye dropper. I would also mix a drench (per package directions) to treat your soil once planted. I use 2mL per gallon of hydro solution, renewed weekly after weeks 1 and 2.
I have used this product for a couple of years and have not had a single problem with seed germination, plants damping off, stem rot, or root problems in growing plants. The product can be used in any grow medium, including pure organic grows. Cost is cheap - $15 to $20 for 16 fl.oz., which will last for many grows. The old saying comes to mind - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Back to germination:
Poke a hole in the center of your treated rooter plug (a 12 to 14 gauge insulated wire from a 12/2 Romex electrical cable is perfect size).
Using the handle end of a spoon or fork, scoop a seed out of your water soak (DON'T TOUCH THE SEED - yes, I'm paranoid, but that doesn't mean they are NOT out to get me!) and guide the seed about 1/2" into the hole you just made in the rooter plug. Pull a few small crumbs of rooter plug off the edges and plug the hole, tamping it down onto the seed with the wire. Not tight, just enough to block light from entering.
Place the planted seed / rooter plug into an alcohol-disinfected & water rinsed styrofoam egg carton (remember where chicken eggs come out of?), and place in a warm draft free area. Heat mats are great - I use a homemade aerocloner / bubbler made from a Folgers coffee can with 2" net pots / holes cut into the can lid. I raise this off the heat mat and use a cheap floating aquarium thermometer hanging inside the can to get the temperature of the rooter plug around 78-82 degrees F. You can try sitting the egg carton on top of your cable converter box or gaming console - check the aquarium thermometer regularly & raise or lower the carton until you get the right temp. range. But a heat mat really simplifies this.
Keep the container covered with a similar size box to keep your rooters dark until you see signs of germination. After (usually) 3 to 5 days, the tap root will normally exit first the bottom or side of the plug, followed by the plant top about 24 -36 hours later. As soon as the plant top exposes itself, place under a 23 to 42watt (actual, not equivalent) 5,000 degrees Kelvin CFL in a clip on light or brooder reflector, about 4" from the plant. CFL's are becoming hard to come by, especially the 42Watt ones. Look up the lumens and feel free to substitute an equivalent lumen LED bulb. But try to stay with 5,000 K, and not lower than 3,000 degrees Kelvin color rating. You want "white" light for vegetative growth of the seedling.
Keep the rooter plugs watered - if they start looking brown instead of almost black, they need water. DONT LET THEM DRY OUT!!!
Once the plant shows roots out the bottom & sides of the plug, you may transplant to the preferred growing medium of your choice. Treat the freshly transplanted medium with another dose of Revitalize mixed into a weak nutrient solution.
ANNNNNND with that you're off to the races!
Now about those AutoPots... not a real fan, but not opposed to the product either, except that it's nothing more than a deep water culture bubble bucket with a non-circulating reservoir added off the end. An RDWC (recycling DWC container(s) and reservoir can be built cheaply at home and does everything better. The autopot claims no moving parts to fail, but it does have a metering valve that continually clogs and has to be cleared. And the airdome requires a pump... no big deal, any nutrient reservoir should have one.
There are even better solutions but that's another topic for another day.
Let me know if you have any questions, & bestaluck to ya!!!
