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Picton,ON (j.vincent@xplornet.ca)

I saw a post about using a zip loc bag and a wet paper towel to pregerminate seeds. Any one have experiance with this method? How long does it usually take in the zip loc. I have some seeds I have been told are hard to germinate. I am wondering if this might be a better option. Comments apreciated

1/15/2005 10:11:40 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Hey CountyKid....A good read in the How To section is an Advanced Seed starting method by Joe Ailts...I would practice on some lesser seeds first...but this works for alot of people...Grow Em Big!

1/15/2005 10:18:45 AM

Massillon, Ohio

i use the ziplock then when i see a root popping out i throw it in a peat pot.

1/15/2005 11:40:40 AM

Taber, Alberta

I use the ziploc method and have had almost a 100% germination rate. I put the seed in a slightly moistened paper towel inside a ziploc and stick it on top of my computer monitor which is always on for some heat (ok, maybe I shouldn't do that because of the electrical hazzard. I'll switch to the top of the fridge). Between 30-50 hours I have a root coming out, and then I just stick it in a pot.

1/15/2005 11:56:50 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

48-96 hours with the baggie sitting on a 85*F heat mat. If the paper towel drips water when squeezed it is too wet.

1/15/2005 1:25:06 PM

Picton,ON (j.vincent@xplornet.ca)

I was thinking of using this method, then putting into 8 or 10" peat pots. I want to give lots of room for the new roots to grow. Has anyone found a problem with the roots getting through the peat pot? Last year I planted into 6 " plastic pots. They becam rout bound very quickly and were slow to take off after transplant.

1/15/2005 5:40:53 PM

Massillon, Ohio

i lied when i said peat pot.. sorry its been awhile since last april ... LOL.

when i see a root i put it into a big black container with the bottom cut off then duct taped back on. the size is about 1.5 gallon i'm guessing (? ... they are old rose pots !). then when i plant outside i cut the tape and it slides right out barely harmed.

1/15/2005 6:17:51 PM

Commack, NY

Ive never had success with the zip lock baggie method. I prefer to soak for a few hours, then plant directly into pots in a germination box at 85 degrees. They usually pop in 3-5 days.

peat pots work, ive used them, but, you'll notice that when you dig up the "basal crown" at the end of the season, there is a considerable amount of peat pot remaining. Its for that reason that i switched to plastic pots with the bottoms cut off. I put a plastic coated paper plate on what used to be the "top", fill it with soil, plant the seed, and when im ready to transplant, i just take the plate off, and slide the whole thing right over the plant. it works great, and i dont have to worry about the roots breaking through a peat pot. I think others on the board use ice cream containers with good results also.
Scott

1/15/2005 6:19:32 PM

valparaiso, in

i too have had problems using the ziplock bag method. ive been testing for a few months now, and letting them soak in warm water for two days has been 100% for me so far. thats how i will do it for this year i think.

1/15/2005 7:56:05 PM

Syracuse, NY

okay, great ideas Farmer Scott and Gritch!
so you make the BOTTOM totally removable, the plant sprouts, gets to patch-ready size and then upon transplanting, the "BOTTOM" is removed and the plant is technically allowed to slide out of the pot right into the planting hole. i hope i got it. prob'ly have to turn the assembly on its side to safely remove the "BOTTOM", but that is no problem-o! i better get practicing, now!

Gritch---you get seeds to sprout in plain ol' warm water?
could you tell me how deep, what container, approximate temp.? any and all replies appreciated. thanks eric

1/15/2005 11:28:06 PM

Cameron,ontario Team Lunatic

I use the baggie method, only I put the baggies into a cooler, along with hot water bottles and change them every 6-8 hours. Works great........Phil

1/16/2005 7:34:01 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

I use the zip lock method too and put on top of my hot water heater (with a thermometer). I've also used the zip lock method on top of our heated floors and that works great as well. As soon as they sprout, it the pot it goes.

Glenn

1/16/2005 1:47:02 PM

Itzetown City

The whole family is shaking their heads but: First I file the edge of the seeds and then I water em all night in a cup with warm water on the cooling rips of the fridge. Then I put them in a moisted warm tissue wich I put in a ziplock and up with them for 24 hours on the cooling rips of the fridge. Same time I bake the raising-soil 2 hours by 200degreeC to sterilisize the sooil. Next day I plant em in a peatpot on the radiator and they´ll germinate in 24-48 hours. Only 2 seeds failed in 3 years.
Hope that will work with GERRY seeds too. lol

1/16/2005 3:21:52 PM

Cologne / Germany

Werner, I think 10 minutes at 600 Watt microwave should be enough to sterilize at least 4 pots with soil. Don´t stress your bills LOL

1/16/2005 4:16:35 PM

valparaiso, in

eric i use quart size plastic jar with a lid to put the water in. i usually fill it half full, and i try to keep the temperature between 80-85 degrees. i still file the seeds before i do this, but for the past 2 years ive had 100% germination with this method.

1/16/2005 5:23:48 PM

canal winchester ohio

I use the baggie method the same way Phil (copper) does & my rate is the same, 100%..Paul

1/16/2005 5:42:58 PM

Webster, NY

I use the baggie method pretty much like Tremor. I soak the seeds for a couple hours in warm water. The seeds go in a moist paper towel and that goes in a baggie. I place it on a propagation mat with a towel in between. I generally get 100% success, unless the seeds looks like it has mold on it to start with. Then, this method will just speed up the rate the mold takes over. If I seed mold, I carefully remove the shell (this method is on the advanced seed starting method listed above) and directly put this in the paper towel and baggie without soaking it. That seem to work fine.

Dave

1/16/2005 8:06:01 PM

Montoursville, PA

I hatched the catchey jargone for gallon ice cream containers. The container, step by step chatter and jargone may be seen in my 2003 and 2004 diary.

The new jargone needs one line added: Get a half gallon ice cream container that is not now half hallon. Remove the top and punch, in it, a few holes. The top has just now become the bottom. Lay this aside. Now cut out the bottom, of the tub. The bottom has just now become the top. You are doing fine. Now cut a straight line from bottom to top or top to bottom. It really does not matter which way if you don't now know the bottom from the top. Just cut open the tub so you end up with no tub. Now fondle the cut tub and use the top that became the bottom, by putting it back, on the tube. Now you should have a bottom with the split tube held closed by the lip, of the top, that became the bottom. Got that? Now close the side, of the tube, using, man's best friend, the universal fixall official masking tape. Place tape, on the outside, from the rim, of the bottom to the top leaving a tab at the top. This tab will be your easy open zipper, in the patch. The tape should not be affixed, to the top that became the bottom because that confusing top comes off the bottom first. Your final step in planting is to pull zipper and remove the slit tube. In the making give the cut out, from the bottom that became the top, to the kids, to play, ice cream box top frisbe and drive the cat nuts.

Tell the wife you need at least a dozen more half gallon containers that are'nt half gallon any more and a new roll, of tape, because her's just got used up. :)

1/17/2005 11:43:56 AM

Syracuse, NY

LOL! great methods, everybody, and i'll have a little
reading-over to do tonight, that's for sure!!!!
everybody be sure to check out the pumpkinpal2 method also,
in the pumpkinpal2 '04 diary. far too laborious, at first, but very effective---i intend to make at least one out of a
metal trash can, for sprouting ONE seed in a a 1-gallon
container, just like the one docgipe is talking about, too.
i gotta find some 1-gallon peat pots! anybody? eric

1/17/2005 12:35:18 PM

Syracuse, NY

yeah, i've got a quart Mason jar half-full of tap water,
which has no chemicals in it whatsoever, no chlorine, etc.,
and it is in the same ol' heat register in my room. the temp. of the air that comes out is about 110-115 degrees F, but the temp. of the water is only from 81-86 degrees F.
works for me! seeds (3) are filed(1) plain(1) and the
third has its shell snipped all the weigh around via TOE nail clippers. i think i also filed the faces of the seed, too, further enabling the seed ot take-on the water.
wheel C what happens! eric

1/18/2005 5:35:18 PM

Syracuse, NY

they were dunked a few times to show them who's boss,
and now they're just floating on top of the water. i am certain that they are indeed taking-on the water. eric

1/18/2005 5:37:01 PM

Syracuse, NY

yeah, they sank.
guess i figured thos little bubbles that form on things in warm water would have kept them afloat. naaahhh....
but, if they don't sprout this time i will just
devise a method of keeping them at the top of the
water, like maybe a little mesh screen or something, so that they are constantly wet but never actually submerged...

1/19/2005 12:54:02 PM

valparaiso, in

sorry eric i forgot to mention that i put a papertowel on top of the water so that the seeds do not sink to the bottom.

1/19/2005 4:14:49 PM

Syracuse, NY

thanks---i wondered a moment ago about filling the jar up with paper towels and letting the seeds just sit on top of them....jar half-full of water of course, at about 85-90.
like a modified Ziploc method, lol......

1/19/2005 5:44:17 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Previous life style said ..we only planted the ones that sank over night......LOL

1/19/2005 6:15:07 PM

Syracuse, NY

logical, in fact!
i guess it would indicate that the seed amy be "waterlogged" or at least closer to being ready to germinate. if seeds have been in a rotting pumpkin for a long time prior to harvest, they will sink more readily than ones from a nice fresh one.......but the germination
rate for either of seeds is the same, as far as i have seen. eg

1/21/2005 5:50:38 PM

Circleville ,OH.

I also use the baggie method with great success. I did learn the hard way that most all the water must be squeezed out of the paper towel. If the towel is too wet it will just rot the seed.
One good thing about the baggie method is you can hold a flashlight under the bag and are able to see when the seed first sprouts. Then I will transfer it to a preplanting pot w/ potting soil. Within a few days it then goes into the ground...............Darryl

1/22/2005 10:12:51 PM

Cologne / Germany

Right after watering I always put my seeds into cosmetic pads (the round ones used to remove wife´s make-up). Several layers of betting there, easy to open them in the middle and put the seeds inside. I lightly spray them with water and close them again before putting into the baggie. It was never too wet this way.
It´s important to keep the seed "compact" because the tip has to grow outside and away from the shell. If the shell opens before the tip is on its way, the whole thing might fail (had this before...)

1/23/2005 7:55:16 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

One thing I've noticed with the baggie method is that You can determine a bad root development (corkscrew) ..Now I'm not sure if this is because I've changed the bag position ie putting it back on the heat source upside down or it was just a genetic flaw...but what I did find was corkscrew seeds when placed in a peat pot never did as well as a straight line root.

1/23/2005 8:29:03 AM