Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

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MsCowpea
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Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#1

Post: # 5715Unread post MsCowpea
Wed Jan 08, 2020 7:53 am

https://tgrc.ucdavis.edu/seed_germ.aspx

TGRC (Tomato Genetic Resource Center).
They maintain genetic material of wild tomato species for research

This is how they germinate difficult species and old seed as well.

Talks about the specifics of bleach soak and scarification.
"When we kill off the natural enemies of a pest we inherit their work."
Carl Huffaker

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JosephineRose
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#2

Post: # 11783Unread post JosephineRose
Mon Feb 24, 2020 2:25 pm

Hi there. I got a 404 message when I followed that link. If you find the updated link, I'd love to read it.
Melissa
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Climate: Warm Summer Mediterranean
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pondgardener
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#3

Post: # 11784Unread post pondgardener
Mon Feb 24, 2020 2:45 pm

[mention]JosephineRose[/mention]
The original link was missing a letter on the extension. I added a letter and it should work now.
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter, that tells what kind of life you have lived.

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svalli
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#4

Post: # 17345Unread post svalli
Wed Apr 15, 2020 1:29 am

So far I have not done any bleach soaking, but I use similar system as their starting box. I use any plastic container with a lid, a piece of packing or polystyrene foam and paper towel. The foam floats in the water on the bottom of the container and the paper towel on top of it has edges in the water to function as wick to keep the towel moist. I keep the container with lid closed in a warm place and check the seeds daily.
seed float.jpg

In my log I mentioned that none of my own 2013 collected Wild Sweetie seeds had germinated. After writing that the first one sprouted next day and a second one couple of days later. I carefully moved those to potting soil and now both have grown to cotyledons. It took over two weeks for these seeds to germinate.
germinated.jpg

Sari
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Ginger2778
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#5

Post: # 17354Unread post Ginger2778
Wed Apr 15, 2020 6:38 am

svalli wrote: Wed Apr 15, 2020 1:29 am So far I have not done any bleach soaking, but I use similar system as their starting box. I use any plastic container with a lid, a piece of packing or polystyrene foam and paper towel. The foam floats in the water on the bottom of the container and the paper towel on top of it has edges in the water to function as wick to keep the towel moist. I keep the container with lid closed in a warm place and check the seeds daily.

seed float.jpg


In my log I mentioned that none of my own 2013 collected Wild Sweetie seeds had germinated. After writing that the first one sprouted next day and a second one couple of days later. I carefully moved those to potting soil and now both have grown to cotyledons. It took over two weeks for these seeds to germinate.

germinated.jpg


Sari
What a clever method. Thank you for the photos.
- Marsha

akgardengirl
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#6

Post: # 17424Unread post akgardengirl
Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:52 pm

Thanks for that clever idea on seed germination. I use the paper towel method but they dry out real fast.
Sue

zeuspaul
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#7

Post: # 17436Unread post zeuspaul
Thu Apr 16, 2020 2:09 am

I place mine in a small bowl with water and rinse daily. When I see the beginnings of a sprout I plant them in a 2 or 3 inch pot.

Hatgirl
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#8

Post: # 17596Unread post Hatgirl
Fri Apr 17, 2020 1:42 pm

zeuspaul wrote: Thu Apr 16, 2020 2:09 am I place mine in a small bowl with water and rinse daily. When I see the beginnings of a sprout I plant them in a 2 or 3 inch pot.
I had terrible trouble with some old radish seeds. For two rounds of sowings I had almost no germination. The third time I soaked them with some drops of fertiliser for 24hrs, then poured out the water and replaced it with fresh every 24hrs.
I got such a better germination rate the third time!

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pepperhead212
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#9

Post: # 17598Unread post pepperhead212
Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:12 pm

Sometimes, with old seeds or others that are not germinating the usual way, I'll soak them, then put them in a seed sprouter (I use that thing more for this, than sprouting seeds to eat!). I also do this with very slow sprouting seeds, like parsley, to speed them up. I rinse them several times a day with water around 80-85°, and usually this works, but if this doesn't sprout them, they often get moldy, and I toss them. I rinse them every couple of days with an H2O2 solution, to kill the mold, but after a while, some still get mold on them, and I figure they were dead, anyway.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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bower
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#10

Post: # 18184Unread post bower
Thu Apr 23, 2020 6:32 pm

[mention]Hatgirl[/mention] I remember Carolyn talking about that, using small amounts of N fertilizer to give the old seeds a boost.

I noticed with old brassica seeds, they often germinate normally but the cotolydons come forth or quickly turn yellow and they struggle to get a leaf out. I have rescued some with a quick application of N ferts and that does seem to be the problem as they quickly get over it. Whatever nutrients the seedling was depending on in the seed have disintegrated over time. Sometimes they germinate but don't have the strength to shuck their seed coats.
So I do think a bit of fertilizer can make all the difference.
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Hatgirl
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#11

Post: # 18217Unread post Hatgirl
Fri Apr 24, 2020 10:43 am

Bower wrote: Thu Apr 23, 2020 6:32 pm @Hatgirl I remember Carolyn talking about that, using small amounts of N fertilizer to give the old seeds a boost.

I noticed with old brassica seeds, they often germinate normally but the cotolydons come forth or quickly turn yellow and they struggle to get a leaf out. I have rescued some with a quick application of N ferts and that does seem to be the problem as they quickly get over it. Whatever nutrients the seedling was depending on in the seed have disintegrated over time. Sometimes they germinate but don't have the strength to shuck their seed coats.
So I do think a bit of fertilizer can make all the difference.
Yup, that's where I first heard the idea

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DMF
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#12

Post: # 18369Unread post DMF
Sat Apr 25, 2020 6:09 pm

[mention]svalli[/mention]
I successfully use the paper towel in baggie method, but this one looks even better. Getting the towel in and out of the baggie can be a PITA. This one you just pop off the lid.

Multiple varieties in the container might require some adaptation, though. I'll try a variation next time I put down seeds. Thanks.
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
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eyegrotom
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#13

Post: # 18371Unread post eyegrotom
Sat Apr 25, 2020 6:30 pm

[mention]svalli[/mention] That looks like a better way to start seeds than the paper towel baggie way. In fact I started some seeds today in the plastic tray setup. I will post the results on here as they happen.

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svalli
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#14

Post: # 18403Unread post svalli
Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:06 am

DMF wrote: Sat Apr 25, 2020 6:09 pm Multiple varieties in the container might require some adaptation, though. I'll try a variation next time I put down seeds. Thanks.
You can draw lines and write names with ball point pen when the paper is still dry. Just make sure that the foam piece is so large that it does not move around the container and use just a bit of water on the bottom. One year I was germinating pepper seeds that way and when I moved the container, the water moved some of the seeds from their locations because the foam piece was floating high in the container. I had similar looking varieties as hot and mild, so when they started to make fruit I had to taste the first ones with caution.
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DMF
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Re: Starting difficult seed ie old, etc.

#15

Post: # 18448Unread post DMF
Sun Apr 26, 2020 11:45 am

svalli wrote: Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:06 am
DMF wrote: Sat Apr 25, 2020 6:09 pm Multiple varieties in the container might require some adaptation, though. I'll try a variation next time I put down seeds. Thanks.
You can draw lines and write names with ball point pen when the paper is still dry. Just make sure that the foam piece is so large that it does not move around the container and use just a bit of water on the bottom.
Yes, I'm thinking drawn "corrals". Also replacing the foam with an extra layer or two of paper towel. No loose water or floaty bits.

In my current baggies I use coffee filter "liners" above and below the seeds so they don't get their tails tangled in the coarse paper towel. A bottom layer would do that; a top layer would hold them in place and ensure damp on top. Or maybe not needed at all. (The top layer is nearly transparent when wet so I can spot most tails right through it.)

The biggest difference this year is that I have a whole collection of those containers since lunch meat started coming in them.
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
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