Two Popular Germination Techniques

One:Pre-soaking in water

Soak seeds overnight in a glass of water.Make sure seeds  get good and wet so growth is activated.Do not let seeds soak more than 24 hours,or they might get too wet,suffer oxygen deprivation,and rot.Once soaked,seeds are ready to be placed between moist paper towels to sprout or to be planted in a root cube or fine,light soilless mix.

In a warm location(21-32 ℃),place seeds in a moist paper towel or cheesecloth,making sure they are in darkness.Set the moist cloth or paper towel on a grate (for drainage) on a dinner plate.

Water the cloth daily,and keep it moist.Let excess water drain away freely.The cloth will retain enough moisture to germinate the seed in a few days.The seed contains an adequate food supply for germination.Prevent fungal attacks by watering with a mild two-percent bleach of fungicide solution.Once seeds have sprouted and the white radicle is visible,carefully pick up the fragile sprouts (with tweezers) and plant them.Take care not to expose the tender rootlet to prolonged intense light or air.Cover the germinated seed with 0.25-0.5-inch (1-2 cm) of fine planting medium with the white root tip pointing downward.

Two:Direct seed

One of the problems with rockwool can be that the seeds heave out before germinating.That is why it is best to germinating.That is why it is best to germinate seeds before putting them into the rockwool substrate.

When seeds sprout,the white radicle will be visible;use tweezers to gently pick up the fragile sprouts and plant them in a pre-drilled hole in the rockwool with the white root tip pointing down.Be very careful and do not expose the tender rootlet to extended periods of light or air.Cover the seed with 0.25-0.5-inch (1-2 cm) of moist rockwool.

Keep the rockwool evenly moist.Once the taproot sprouts,small,fuzzy feeder roots will grow in 12-14 days.

Water penetrates the outer protective shell,continues to wick in,and activates dromant hormones that induce germination.Once a seed receives moisture,there must be a constant stream of moisture to transport nutrients,hormones,and water to carry on life processes.Letting germinated seed suffer moisture stress now will stunt or stop seedling growth.The telltale sign of a moisture-stressed germinated seed is a dry root tip.

Soggy growing mediums cut oxygen supplies and cause seeds to drown.Planting seeds too deeply causes poor germination.Seedlings do not have enough stored enery to forece through too much soil before sprouting.Plant seeds twice as deep as the width of the seed.For example,plant an eighth-inch seed one-quarter inch deep.

Seeds do not need any extra hormones to germinate.Household water contains enough dissolved solids,food,to nourish seeds through their first few weeks of life.Supplemental nutrients will disrupt internal chemistry.Some gardeners prefer to germinate seeds with distilled water,which contains virtually no dissolved solids.

Sow (direct seed) or move the sprout into a shallow planter,small seed pot,peat pellet,or rooting cube.Keep the planting medium evenly moist.Use a spoon to contain the root ball when transplanting from a shallow planter.Peat pellets or root cubes may be transplanted in two to three weeks or when the roots show through the sides.Feed with a dilute,quarter-strength fertilizer solution.

Construct  a moisture tent over the seedling container to help retain even grow-medium moisture.To build,place a baggie or piece of cellophane over the seeded soil.The cover will keep the humidity and temperature elevated.Seeds usually need only one initial watering when under a humidity tent.Remove the cover as soon as the first sprout appears above ground.Leaving the tent on after seeds sprout through soil will lead to damping-off and other problems.

Place planted seeds under an HID lamp to add dry heat while germinating.The heat dries soil,which requires more frequent watering.Place a heat pad or soil heating cables below growing medium to expedite germination.Most seeds germinate and sprout quickest when the soil temperature is 24-27.5 ℃ and the air temperature  is 22-23 ℃.But stems of many plants will stretch between internodes if temperatures exceed 29 ℃ for long.

Overwatering and underwatering are the biggest obstacles most gardeners face when germinating seeds and growing seedlings.Do not let the growing medium surface dry for long.Keep it evenly moist,not waterlogged.Setting root cubes or planting flats up on a grate allows good drainage.A shallow flat or planter with a heat pad underneath may require daily watering,while a deep,one-gallon pot will need watering every three days or more.A properly watered flat of rockwool cubes needs water every three to five days when sprouting seeds.When the surface is dry (0.25-inch [7 mm] deep),it is time to water.Remember,there are few roots to absorb the water early in life,and they are very delicate.