Re: Germinating seeds in paper towels?
- To: propagation@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: Germinating seeds in paper towels?
- From: s*@bway.net
- Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 03:32:04 -0500
>I'm curious about germinating seeds in paper towels & am going to try it.
>In fact, I have a few chilling in frig right now.
>They are ones that need stratification.
>But can you use this method with seeds that need light to germinate?
>And if you put the baggies in a warm place instead of the frig, won't they
>grow mold or get nasty?
>
>Thank you so much for all your help.
>Barb
>USDA Zone 5, Rock Island, IL
>@}-->-->---------------------
Dear Barb,
We have abandoned the paper towel method due to our inability to transfer
the germinating seeds from the plastic bags to pots, successfully. It
might be easy if one is working with under a dozen different types of
seeds, but we were trying it with several dozen different seeds, requiring
several different warm/cold cycles, started at several different
times...and it just didn't work for us. We lost way more than we were able
to grow.
That said; seeds that required warm treatment did not seem to rot or grow
much fungus (for the most part). If the paper towels did get too gross, we
transferred them to clean ones (time consuming).
Seeds that have a 'light' requirement will not germinate in the
refrigerator....it does not take _much_ light, but the inside of a fridge
is a 'lightless' environment.
We think we have finally come up with an outdoor seed germinating system
that will work for us. (We currently have about 60 different types of
seeds going. ) Previously, our seed germinating trays were too small to
allow the seedlings to grow on, and our inability to transplant quickly
enough proved problematic, as well as the aforementioned plastic bag
debacles. (We live and work as photographers in NYC, but garden up in
Connecticut.) We used to schlep the plastic bags back and forth.
We now use 14" X 14" X 5" deep, heavy injection molded, polyethylene prop
trays, outdoors. We use a 'seed mix' (2 parts peat, 2 parts perlite, and 1
part screened leaf mold compost), topped off by chicken grit (about 2 grit
layers deep). The grit (granite chips, ‰ one eighth inch) prevents heavy
rain from splashing the seeds out of the trays, it acts as a mulch to
prevent them from drying out too quickly, and allows enough light to pass
through to fulfill any light requirements. We surface sow all seed on a
slightly 'scruffed' up soil mix surface, then sprinkle on the grit.
Over the winter we cover the seed trays with 4 mil. white poly to prevent
them from drying out. In the summer we put them in the shade nursery, and
they get automatically watered for 20 min., every 3 days (rain or shine,
it's automatic)
We have found that the fluctuating temperatures of the outdoor environment
to be more effective at breaking down the germination inhibitors
(especially of the more difficult to germinate seeds), than the steady 40F
temp of the a refrigerator.
Hope this is of some help,
Bill & Harvey
SKID Plants Zone 6 CT USA
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