Outdoor Seed Germination
- To: propagation@mallorn.com
- Subject: Outdoor Seed Germination
- From: s*@bway.net
- Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 03:25:10 -0500
>>We think we have finally come up with an outdoor seed germinating system
>>that will work for us.
>>Over the winter we cover the seed trays with 4 mil. white poly to prevent
>>them from drying out.
>
>How do you prevent the seed from being frozen in the winter? Or do you?
>
>Is it all right for the seeds to get frozen?
>
>Isabelle Hayes
We do not worry about the seed getting frozen, it is what would happen in
nature. That said, we want to say again that you can't put seeds into a
freezer (some seeds need a slightly freezing temp to germinate) they cool
_too_ quickly to ‰ 0š F, and there is a danger of killing the embryos.
The white poly does have a slight extra 'heat' advantage as a mulch,
besides it's water saving properties. The white poly, which we believe has
a 55% opacity, does not allow the heat to radiate out, like either clear
(or black) plastic does. It further helps hold the natural heat from the
earth in (again, better than clear etc......Although, the seed trays
definitely do freeze so solidly to the ground that we cannot move them.
Ideally, (but we, unfortunately, do not function, ideally) we would have
covered the seed trays with our 3 layer winter mulch (top: white poly,
middle: microfoam, bottom: clear poly). This would have provided more
cooler but not freezing temps during the winter, but we are sure just the
white poly will work fine.
Oh, we should also mention that you can't use clear plastic alone, as a
winter mulch...When the sun comes out, especially in later spring, the
seeds will cook from the heat buildup (again, the white poly prevents
that).
Bill & Harvey
SKID Plants Zone 6 CT USA
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