HYB: Germination

Everybody has their own way of doing things.

I let my bearded seeds completely dry after shelling them out.
Soak them for 6 days in little plastic condiment cups, rinsing
every other day.
On the seventh day, I wash them a little with antibacterial soap,
rinse them well, wrap them up with their plastic number tag in
a small piece of paper towel, put that "burrito" in a ziplock bag
along with others in the same batch of crosses, and write them
in my notebook.
Ziplock bags go in the crisper in the bottom of the fridge.

I start checking TBs after about 60 days have passed, 45 days for
SDBs. Since each seed may require a different length of chilling, I
plant sprouts, not seeds.  I put the cross marker in the pot
and start planting behind it, moving clockwise around the edge
and recording each planting in my notebook.  If I've already planted
six in the pot, I can later count spaces, even if they're not up yet,
and continue planting where I left off.  I plant very shallow, then add
dirt as needed after they're up.

Soil needs to be fairly damp until they break ground, then drier than
you'd think, or they're liable to damp off.  Make them reach for moisture.

It's not unusual to see no sprouts until 5 months of chilling with some
parents.  I routinely see sprouts after a year of chilling with some.
Not unusual to have sprouts that never break gound.  Happens here
particularly with the earliest sprouts in some crosses.

Hope this helps.  Glad to meet another cold climate dauber.

Mary Lou, near Indianapolis, Z5

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