Ok, we probably all know how to plant a seed. Some have different requirements than others as far as chilling and light. Basically you put the seed in soil and water and wait. Some seeds need to be nicked because of hard seed coats, and some need to be soaked for the same reason. I have found a couple of different ways to germinate seeds that is pretty successful. For seeds with hard coats, I nick them, usually with fingernail clippers, and soak them for 24 hours. But I don't plant them right away after that. I usually put them between damp paper towels and put that in a baggie, which I place on top of the fridge. I check them every couple of days and when I see the little root stick out I put them in soil. You can also put them in a glass jar with a lid, on damp paper towels in a window that doesn't get direct light. And here is one I really like, my cousin told me about it. Take a dry cow pattie, and I don't mean a hamburger here, put it in a shallow container, I use a plastic pot saucer. Stick your seeds in the dry pattie, then water, be sure to keep it moist, but not soggy wet. When your seeds germinate they are getting much needed nutrients. After they form their first set of true leaves, scoop them out with an old spoon or hand trowel and plant them up. I would love to hear about other ways to germinate seeds so if you have any please post them for us.
I just have a question on this cow pattie germination-it just seems that would be too rich even for seedlings? we have cows near by so its an option I might try
Ok, I do have a lot of cows across the street. And I am very adventures & I'll try anything once. But I do have a couple of questions 1) don't you think it would be to hot(you know to rich)? 2) I know they have multiple stomachs but because it has not been decomposed or aged what kind of other seeds may you end up with? 3)Also when you get cow pie's wet the smell is fowl I wouldn't recommend placing container by the front door.
Sherenity, the patty needs to be dried really good, that cuts down on the smell and the problem of trash seed in it. The heat that builds up while it is drying kills the trash seeds.
I've did lots of experiments on seed germination this year. First of all, starting with good seeds is the most important thing. If you have lots of seeds and cannot use them all, it's better to make a test for the gemination rate before you do the serious work. Simply put seeds in wet paper towel, sealed in a plastic and put in warm place. Wait for a week and then check gemination rate. I bought over $50 seed packages last fall. Seeds in some packages do not geminate al all. and they end up rotten. Seedlings do not need nutrtion until its true leaves emerge. The germination media should be fine in texture to provide good seed to media contact and with adequate water holding capacity. I use a combination of peat and vermiculite. After true leaves emerge, I then transplat them into indiviual containers and use liquid fertilizer. I also tried wet paper towels and love this method because you can actually see the change of the seeds every day rather than wating blindly for the burried seeds to emerge. You have to transplant them in time before their roots penetrate into the paper. Most seeds require 75 degrees to 85 degrees to germinate. I made a large tank with tempreture control equipment (they are used to raise tropic reptiles) for seed germination. You can also use your oven (with light on) or put on the top of your refrigerator if your room tempreture is not high enough. Some seeds has a dormant period. I want to grow some plants indoor in winter so I tried to use GA3 to break the dormancy (200PPM solution). It works on certain kinds of seeds but not very effective to all. Greenhouse flies are the biggest problem to indoor seed gemination. Their lavas eat all the tiny roots and eventually enter into the main stem to kill the seedlings completely. The surviving seedings will grow very slow because their roots can never get developed. Their lavas are very tough to kill. I tried BT but it is not helpful. Then, I microwaved the germination media (to kill their eggs if any) before I put the seeds in and sealed my germination tank carefully to prevent flies to get inside.
OK.Cajunbelle,I said I was real adventurous and to tell the true I find a lot of old school and simplicity usually work the best. Im still getting my fall garden in so I'm going to try it and I'll let you know how it works for me. :-D
o.k. I know this topic was from last week or before, but I had to try the wet paper towel idea with three differant seeds. Marigolds, dill, and rosemary seeds. all are sprouting and I am now ready to put these in soil. I will continue to grow these in a warm spot in the house as we will soon be getting cold weather here. Thanks for the ideas Nan1234 and Cajunbelle.
Hi there Quite interesting. THis brought back some nostalgic memories of primary school for me when I read the replies and your post. We once had to germinate beans and I then used damp cottonwool. I suppose it works on the same principle as the paper towels.
Just a quick note to say that my daylily seed germination experiment was a success, I posted about it in another thread. Put the seeds in a baggie with water. Put this sitting straight up in the fridge. I put mine in the crisper drawer which doesn't get used much. After about 6 weeks they should start germinating. Take them out and pot them up in some seed starting mix. Put the seeds that haven't germinated, still in the water, in a dark closet, most of the rest should germinate. I was skeptical, but it worked. Hooray!!!!!!!!!1
