Starting seeds...how do you guys do it?

[gtarman]

Hey all.

I've been reading up on seed propagation a little, watching a few youtube videos, and it seems that there's a lot of different ways to do it, and most seem to differ from my own. Just thought it could be fun to see how everyone around here does it, what their setups are etc...

So far I've just been filling those individual 50mm seedling pots with potting mix, planting the seeds (usually just one or two per pot, depending on the seed variety) and misting a couple times a day...though I've yet to start growing from seed en masse.

I've seen people fill a little tray with soil though, like a tiny little garden bed - and then plant a bunch of seeds in there, pricking them out and potting them out individually as they mature.

I'm also curious to know about the composition of seed-starting soil mixes (which seem to rarely contain any actual soil, or anything with nutrients in it). The main things I see recommended are typically a mix of coarse sand, coir and maybe perlite. Don't the seeds need some kind of nutrients? Would't such a mix lacking in nutrients cause problems later on?

Interested to hear everyone's take on this.

[El Presidente Hillbillios]

depends alot on what your germinating really.

What you going to grow?

[IndianDreaming]

Egg cartons are good because you can rip off the cup and plant the whole thing without damaging the roots - I generally soak them before planting though and kinda tear them a little bit. They turn out a bit like those jiffy pots, but cheaper, and you can get big square 36 cup trays from your local chook place for about 10c if you don't eat eggs. Don't know if that cardboard has nasties in it though...

Edited October 11, 2012 by IndianDreaming

[gtarman]

@ El Presidente: For sure!

I'm thinking more in general though really, not about anything specific that I'm growing. While I reckon some plants' seeds can be quite picky in their germination conditions and procedures, I guess what I'm more interested in is what can be said to be true for most seeds, or as general rules..

@ ID: I think I've seen this done before, but also not sure about nasties possibly in the carboard..?

Edited October 11, 2012 by gtarman

[whitewind]

A lot depends on the seeds and how I want to grow them. 140mm pots with stakes and clear plastic bags for greenhouses - good for Salvia, herbs etc. that you can scatter the seed on the surface and gentle sprinkle seed raising mix on top of the seed. I use this for most seed unless something else is recommended, but if I had more space I would probably use deeper polystyrene boxes esp. for trees and shrubs with larger seed. Bigger seed in individual pots; smaller seed like Acacia I will use 1 per plug, or if germination rate is iffy 2 per plug.

Cactus seeds I use the takeaway container tek, but with seed raising mix instead of sand.

The main consideration is your mix; I use debco seed raising mix as a base, pretty good for most things, though I might use premium potting mix for the lower level of 140mm and deeper pots, the seed raising mix on top.

[gerbil]

Sow in a light well draining mix, a 'seed mix', can be more organic/forestry based like coirs, composts etc, or can be more mineralistic for tricky or rot prone seed like coarse sharp sand or perlite, or a mix of both like a coir:perlite, CSS:compost etc.

Torsten's spoken alot about CSS as a starter but I don't think many people have listened or caught on. It's on the forums and the info pages on the main sab site.

Seeds generally have enough nutrient to get them going for a couple of weeks, then they'll need a source of nutrient. So yes you can start them in a nutrient free mix, but be aware of the context and react accordingly.

Sieving can be beneficial for both particle size definition/incoporation/exclusion and loosing up the mix.

Generally plant twice the depth of the seed, but it really is specific to species, some just lay on top.

Edited October 11, 2012 by gerbil

[gtarman]

Hmm. What's CSS? Tried the SE but nothing

[IndianDreaming]

I think it's Coarse Sharp Sand - crushed quartz is apparently good too because it spikes the guts out of those pesky fungus gnats...

Edited October 12, 2012 by IndianDreaming

[gerbil]

haha i knew that'd be asked, which is why i spelt it out first

it's generally said CSS, coarse sharp sand (just being cheeky) is 0.2mm to 2mm. Find sieves in this general range, one big, one small. It's all covered, maybe search for sifters anonymous.

And here is the small bit in the knowledge base

http://www.shaman-australis.com.au/knowledge.html

[gtarman]

Cool!

I've been meaning to get me a sieve actually. Anybody have recommendations for a good place to buy a set or one with a few different screens?

[BentoSpawn]

I have been growing a lot of seeds (lost of chili's and herbs) recently for spring and i have been doing a bit of experimentation this year which includes peat pellets, osmocote seed raising mix and rockwool - all grown inside a heated propergator.

1) The best bedding and the most convenient that i have tried has been the peat pellets - they are easy to handle and can be put straight into a pot after germination and a little bit of growth.

2) As far as DIY i have been very successful mixing perlite, vermiculite, seed raising coir and peat. I have this put into take away containers, its a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to transplanting though so i think ill start putting this mix into miniature pots.

3) Rockwool has worked pretty well and the rockwool can be planted too - the peat pellets seem to have higher germination rates and quicker growth however.

A good strategy is not giving the seed too many nutrients, this promotes the roots to grow out to look for nutrients you will have a healthy root system started. I like to give the seedlings just enough nutrients to survive more than a couple weeks inside the propergator but not enough to promote leaf growth over root growth.

It is dark here at the moment but sometime this weekend ill take some pictures and show the steps i am personally taking to getting a seedling going - i have lots of seedlings at various stages of growth so ill take lots of pictures, ill take you the various approaches i have tried recently and even show some pictures of some mistakes i have made along the way

Edited October 12, 2012 by BentoSpawn

[Stillman]

fist thing I do when I get seed is sit down in front of the computer and google. The plant its natural climate, cultivars in collection then germination then how to propagate. environmental control is important. If the seeds are very hit and miss I might soak in Gibberellic acid solution http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibberellic_acid but usually I'll try a few naturally first. Some things will grow something will not, but if your consistent you'll have a win more often then not.

[bogfrog]

fist thing I do when I get seed is sit down in front of the computer and google. The plant its natural climate, cultivars in collection then germination then how to propagate

Clever chap!

It can be so easy to over-look such neccessary preparation sometimes.

[Zaka]

Irie,

I germ 80% of my seeds in a plastic sandwich tub, usually surface sown on a bed of damp vermiculite.

Seeds are usually soaked for 5-48hrs in fresh water....

Respect,

Z

[space cadet swami]

I germ 80% of my seeds in a plastic sandwich tub, usually surface sown on a bed of damp vermiculite.

 

Would you apply this same method for caapi & psychotria species as well..?

I used this same method for "Brunfelsia australis" just recently...with really good success rates.

[applesnail]

I plant as many seeds as i can get of what i wanna plant, this way some are guaranteed to grow survive the elements of nature or my clumsy catastrophe of hands i have..... i also try to read or research the type or species of seed that i wanna germinate as much as i can before planting so as to know whether scarification or any other treatment such as GA3 etc is needed.

I planted 25 khat seeds last year and got none up was highly disappointed but i guess that is natures way.......

[Zaka]

Irie,

Yes spacey, both of them..

Also khat & kratom...(no pre-soak on small/light seeds)

Respect,

Z

Edited October 16, 2012 by Zaka

[space cadet swami]

I planted 25 khat seeds last year and got none up was highly disappointed but i guess that is natures way.......

 

The seed was probably past it, apple...I've got about 30 lil' khat babies at the moment. Both PH & WB told me to keep the seed in the butter compartment of the fridge until I was ready to plant out. I followed their advice & was very happy with the results.

[Max Cady]

for one variety of plant I used to grow I'd put the seeds in a cup or glass of water and then hide somewhere dark like a drawer or the wardrobe

after some days the root will pop out of the seed.

plant with this root thing pointing down and it soon grow and discard the seed shell.

I have a lot of success at starting seeds like this hope this helps

Edited October 16, 2012 by Max Cady

[waterboy 2.0]

I'm with some of the above, research what the species likes and needs and then provide it. There is no real one size fits all I reckon.

[mindperformer]

you especially wanted to know what generally can be said about germinating seeds, apart from stratification,etc.?

I put seeds which are more difficult to germinate in GA3 (Gibberellic acid) at concentrations from (depends on the size and the hardness) 0,005-0,01g on 10ml distilled water. The most for 15-30min, some for 24h.

For most seeds warm temperatures around 24-27degrees C are ideal, but some need cold stratification or germinate in cooler environment like saltbush.

CSS is only necessary for very difficult slowly germinating seeds, for the others I use different ratios of sand, diatomite, clay granulate, germinating soil, kanuma, hard quality and sometimes vermiculite.

With some species (like saltbush) the seed hull contains germination inhibiting substances and must be removed. The saltbush seeds also should be soaked in water for some days to remove any salts.

Edited October 17, 2012 by mindperformer