Different Ways to Germinate Seeds

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.

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Sharon

Phil. 4:13

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.