Re: Starting seeds indoor

Does this paper-towl method work for ulta-tiny seeds?  If not, what
does?  I never manage to disburse them well over the growing medium, so
even if they sprout, they call come up in one clump.  I've read you can
mix the seeds w/ sand before sowing them, but I'm dubious.
 ----------
From: Screamn5
To: perennials@mallorn.com
Subject: Re: Starting seeds indoor
Date: Sunday, January 18, 1998 4:05PM

*Welcome to the list. What works for me is the following method of
germinating
seeds. I cut paper towels into four squares. I wet the squares and
squeeze out
the excess water so that they are damp, not soggy. I spread out a square
on my
counter and place a number of seeds on the paper towel making sure they
are
not touching each other. I then take a second square of dampened paper
towel
and place it squarelyl over the first sandwiching the seeds between the
two
towels. I press down lightly with my hand to make sure the seeds have
good
contact with the paper towels and lightly roll the paper towels into a
roll
and place the roll into a plastic ziplock bag. Be certain the paper
towels
don't dry out but they can't be too wet either. I don't zip up the bag
as I
think that would promote fungus. I put the bag on top of the fridge for
the
warmth. I usually tuck a small slip of paper into the paper towel as I
roll it
identifying the name of the seed with a pencil as I'm usually
germinating a
dozen different types of seeds. I have used this method for the last
four
years and have almost a 100% germination rate. Marigolds germinate
within one
to two days. The secret is to check on the seeds almost daily (i've
missed a
day and have some pretty leggy seedlings but they work out OK too. When
you
see your seeds have sprouted, sometimes you'll just see a tiny tip of
white
peeking out from the seed other times you'll see the two little leaves
attached to a tiny stem, prepare your pots or flats or whatever you are
going
to use to grow your seedlings. I use Hoffman's Seed Starter which is a
mix of
Canadian Spaghnum Peat Moss, Vermiculite and Lime. Don't have too much
trouble
with damping off as the acid of the peat moss helps. To move the
seedlings
from the paper towels to the pots I use a tiny screwdriver. I use the
blade to
poke two small holes in the seed mix in the pot and gently use the blade
to
pick up the seed off the paper towel and put it in the hole.(sometimes I
wet
the blade and then the seed just sticks to the blade) If you waited too
long
and the seed sprouted through the paper towel, just gently rip the towel
around the seed and put the paper towel bit and seed in the hole. I put
two
seeds in each pot. (If you have a pair of tweezers this would work too
just
don't squeeze too hard ;-) ) This may seem like a lot of work but since
I've
been doing this method, each seed that I place in the pot grows into an
adult
and I've not had any problems with damping off as long as I don't wet
down the
pots too much and allow plenty of ventilation. Once I've moved my seeds
to
pots, I put covers over them to provide a humid environment until I see
the
leaves poke out of the holes. Then I vent the pots keeping the top on
but
opened at one end so it's not total humidity. The whole lot goes down
the
basement under shop lites placed one inch from the pots. Using this
method,
I've grown all sorts of perennials, annuals, vegetables and feel this
gives me
the best return for my time and money. When I used to just put seeds in
pots
to germinate the standard way, I found 50% of the time, they didn't
germinate,
or they got a fungus. Good luck ! If you try my method, let me know how
it
works for you. And feel free to send me a personal email if you have any
questions.
Karen SE MA Z6
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