| Get the best result germinating
your seeds |
The most common
mistake you can do, which causes your seeds to fail, is sowing them too
deeply. A seed has only enough food within itself for a limited period
of growth
and a tiny seed
sown too deeply soon expends that energy and dies before it can reach
the surface. Another common mistake is watering too much. Seeds need a
supply of moisture and air in the soil around them. Keeping the soil
too wet drives the air out, and the seed quickly rots, on the other
hand - insufficient water causes the tender seedling to dry out and
die. I always recommend the plastic baggie method, which helps to avoid
this problem.
Most seeds will of course only germinate
between certain temperatures. Too low and the seed takes up water but
cannot germinate and therefore rots, too high and growth within the
seed is prevented. Fortunately most seeds are tolerant of a wide range
of temperatures but it is wise to try to maintain a steady, not
fluctuating temperature, which I recommend in my seed
instructions.located above in the menue bar. Once the first seeds start
to germinate, you can reduce the temperatures by about 5 degrees F.
Now, ventilation and light should be given.
Some perennials, tree
and shrub seeds can be very slow and erratic in
germination. This may sometimes be due to seed dormancy, a condition
which prevents the seed from germinating even when it is perfectly
healthy and all conditions for germination are at optimum. The natural
method is to sow the seeds outdoors somewhere where they will be
sheltered from extremes of climate, predators, etc. and leave them
until they emerge, which may be two or three seasons later. Dormancy, however,
can be broken artificially.
| Breaking the dormancy,
called stratification (cold treatment) |
Some seeds need a period of moisture and cold after
harvest before they will germinate. This is necessary to either allow
the embryo to mature or to break dormancy. This period can be
artificially stimulated by placing the seed in a refrigerator for a
certain period of time (usually 3- 5 weeks at around 41 F). With tiny
seeds it is best to sow them on moistened compost, seal the container
and leave everything in the refrigerator for the recommended time.
Larger seeds can be mixed with 2-3 times their volume of damp peat,
placed direct into a plastic bag which is sealed and placed in the
refrigerator. Look at seeds from time to time. The seeds must be moist
while being pre-chilled. Make sure, the medium is not too wet and the
temperature doesn't fall below freezing.
After
prechilling the seeds, it is nessesary to immediately provide light.
Place them in seed trays and only cover them very lightly with compost.
A plastic sheet to cover the trays will help to keep the moisture.
Some seeds even have a combination of dormancy's and each one has to be
broken before germination can take place. Some Lilies for example, need a 3 month
warm period (68-86'F) during which the root develops wiothin the seed
coat and then a 3 month cold period to break the dormancy of the shoots, before the
seedling actually can emerge.
Alternatively the seeds can be sown directly outdoors in fall. This is
as effective as the stratification process, just needs a bit longer. To
protect your seeds from prediators, they are best sown in a container,
slightly covered with compost and covered with a glass sheet.
| Breaking a hard seed coat, called
scarification |
Some seeds like Cannas
or Hawaiian Woodrose have an extremely hard
protective seed coat that is impermeable to water. You can help the
germination process by removing a bit of the seed coat. Prior to
planting, take a piece of sandpaper and sand the end of the seed until
you get through the seed coat. You'll know that you're through when you
see the white endosperm. Basically, what you're trying to do is make a
hole in the seed coat so that water can get through.Once the seeds have
been scarified, they are easy to grow
|
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