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Re: Seed sowing techniques......

Date:  Sat, 18 May 1996 13:34:08 +0000
    From:  Fridrik Skulason <frisk@COMPLEX.IS>



1400 packets is quite a lot....I sowed around 300 this spring and
thought
that was much....I'm wondering, however, where do you get those 1400
packets
from ? Participation in the seed exchanges of NARGS, AGS, SRGC, HPA, HPS
etc.
will only give you a few hundred packets...where does the rest come from
?
Commercial seed companies ?  Seed collecting expeditions ?

To demonstrate that there is no single "magic" method of successful
seed sowing, I am going to describe my own method, which is very
different from Norman's - yet produces equally good results.

I sow in April, when the temperature still drops regularly below
freezing.
I have tried earlier (gave up, as some some plants would germinate in
the
first sunny days in March, and then be damaged in frosts later on.  I
also
tried sowing later, but the germination percentage was lower then - and
as the plants got a shorter growing season, some were not as well
developed
when winter came, and did not survive the first winter.

I have been experimenting with various seed sowing mixtures over the
years,
and have come to the conclusion that the importance of the mixture is
generally
overrated - it just has to retain moisture well, and not be too "heavy".
What I am currently using is 60-70 % "jiffy"-like, and 30-40% volcanic
ash (that I have been told is called "pumice" in the US.)  And no, I do
not
take any steps to sterilize the mixture.

I sow in 10cm pots, cover the pots with a newspaper, and put 50x50cm
sheet
of non-transparent plastic on top.  As this produces total darkness, the
pots have to be checked daily for germination. When I see the first
signs
of germination the pots are put on the bottom shelf in the greenhouse,
where they get light, and some shelter from the sun.  Usually, by the
time
the second real leaf shows, I move the pots out into one of my frames. 
Some
plants stay there for a year or two, others get repotted into individual
pots
a month or two later, depending on how fast they grow and the
germination
percentage.

Anything that has not germinated by July is moved out into another
frame,
where the pots are left uncovered for two years.  Seeds that require
light or an extended period of freezing to germinate will usually
germinate
the second spring.

Damping off has never been a problem, for some reason.

So, how successful is this method ?  Of the 300 species sown this
spring,
around 120 (40%) have already germinated - 3 weeks after I finished
sowing.
This includes 19 out of 20 Primula species (the only exception being P.
scotica), all the Acaena, Allium, Alyssum, Aster, Campanula, Carlina,
Codonopsis, Dianthus, Erigeron, Eritricium, Incarvillea, Lilium, Linum,
Lewisia, Meconopsis, Mimulus, Polemonium, Saponaria and Silene species,
most
of the Himalayan seeds (Cremanthodium arnicoides and Salvia hians, for
example),
and (remarkably enough) every single Anemone and Pulsatilla species that
I
sowed, even though the seeds were obtained from seed exchanges, and not
sown
fresh. Most Composite (Arnica frigida, for example), Rosaceae (Geum and
Luetkia, for example), Gesneriaceae (Ramonda) and Saxifragaceae (Jamesia
and Telesonix, but not the actual Saxifraga spp).   Germination is still
going on strong, sith 1-10 pots showing signs of germination every day,
and using past years experience as a guide, 60-70% of the pots should
contain
successfully germinated seed two months from now.

What has not germinated at all: Arisaema, Arum, Cimicifuga, Clintonia,
Cyclamen, Hepatica, Iris, Lysicitum, Nomocharis, Paris, Pyrola,
Saxifraga,
Soldanella, Trillium, and Uvularia.

Some of those, like the Saxifraga spp. should germinate without problems
next
spring, bringing the final germination rate to 70-80%  - others, like
Lysichitum and Uvularia will probably not germinate at all - I have been
trying
some of them for over 15 years, but with no success...maybe I just need
fresh seed, or different conditions.  Yet others will actually
germinate, but
not show any sign of life above ground until the second or even the
third
spring.

Im my opinion, getting good germination rates is easy....and does not
really
depend on the garderner's skill.....what really matter is the success in
actually raining the plants...what is the "survival rate", 5 years from
sowing ?

-frisk


-- 
Duncan McAlpine, Federal Way, WA
Why buy plants when you can grow them yourself.....?
http://www.eskimo.com/~mcalpin/
http://www.eskimo.com/~mcalpin/pumkin.html
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