Another way to start seeds
- To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
- Subject: Another way to start seeds
- From: V* G*
- Date: Sun, 04 Apr 1999 12:39:08 PDT
Hi all --
A few days ago, someone mentioned soaking seeds for a while to help them
germinate better. This brings up my all-time favorite way to start
seeds, which I got from a book called "The Kitchen Garden," by Sylvia
Thompson. It's also my favorite garden book for info on bizarre
vegetables & how to grow them -- I highly recommend it.
This is what she says (pp 319-320):
This is by far the easiest and most fascinating method of
germinating seeds I've found. In the language of a botanist I
consulted, it's called imbibing seeds. In a warm aerated bath, seeds
absorb water and swell, thus enhancing the process of germination. I
find it accelerates germination amazingly. Onion seeds sprouted in one
day instead of ten.
The setup comes from the tropical fish store: one cheapest pump,
one 25W thermostatic fish tank heater, one airstone, and as much tubing
as you need to connect the airstone to the pump. My tank is a 2-gallon
clear glass jar. The setup is a onetime purchase and costs about as
much as one night for two of hamburgers and the movies. (Vicki's note:
I bought a whole fishtank setup at K-Mart on sale for $12.99, but I also
bought a fishtank thermometer b/c the cheapo heater it came with didn't
have a temperature gauge, so the whole thing ran me about $20 -- and the
whole time I'm saying to myself "I've spent more money on stupider
things" over & over & over....)
Set the thermostatic heater to keep the water between 70F & 72F.
Change the water every two days so bad bacteria and fungi won't have a
chance to become so dominant that they could harm the seeds after
they've been sown. You can use this water to moisten seedlings since it
contains some encouraging growth elements emitted by the germinating
seeds. (Vicki's note: The giberellin that was mentioned earlier on the
list is among the goodies in the water.) BE VERY CAREFUL THAT THE
REPLACING WATER IS AT THE SAME TEMPERATURE, OR YOU'LL BREAK THE HEATER
(ASK HOW I KNOW).
If you live in an area where power can fail, set the pump on a
shelf above the bath -- when power goes off and then comes back on
(sometimes in the flicker of an eye), water can get sucked back into the
pump and ruin it. Wrap the pump in a sound-absorbing cloth.
I tie the seeds in fine tulle netting from the dime store or in
nylon stocking squares, secured with a rubber band that holds the
plastic marking label with the seeds' name written on it in pencil.
(Vicki's note: I used the toes from ruined hose & tied them with
different colored rubber bands, & used the rubber bands as a code.)
I check for germination once a day, although some seeds germinate
in hours. Usually it does no harm for the little tails to drift and
dream in the water for an extra day if you're pressed for time -- unless
they're fast growing. Then the root threads will grow long through the
netting, and you can have a devil of a time getting them out without
breaking them off. When a rootlet does get caught in the mesh, use
tweezers to coax it back through. If it breaks off, plant the seed
anyway and hope the root will regenerate -- some plants will (onions,
corn); some won't (radishes).
Be sure you set the sprouted seeds in a growing container the day
they've germinated. If the tails get too long, they'll be impossible to
set correctly in the grwoing medium.
Unfortunately, you shouldn't germinate legumes with this method;
they can emit elements that are inhibiting to the germination process --
their own and everybody else's in the same water.
There's not as much oxygen in the bubbling bath as there is in the
air, so if you find you've reached the time generally allowed and
nothing's happening -- I found this with marigolds -- set them in soil
and let them proceed on their own.
**********
Vicki again: My family laughed themselves sick over my set up last
year, and I'd love to say they took it all back when they saw the
beautiful, strong seedlings I set out, but they weren't impressed at
all. My seedlings were great! They were stocky & a nice dark green,
and I had tons of them. I had trouble with the teeny-tiny seeds, b/c
they got caught in the nylon, but it worked great for tomatoes & such.
I'm planning to use this method with the giant pumpkin seeds you've all
so generously given me.
Hope you all have a great week!
Vicki
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