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Starting old seeds
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Posted by mark_brown (My Page) on Tue, Nov 9, 04 at 4:36
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Starting old seeds or seeds in general. It will not be very long, I start a bunch right at the first of the year.
Seed costs are high and I have many older seeds and some seeds well grow easily and others are more difficult.
The other thing is better germination means fuller flats and better use of space and time under the lights.
In the tomato fourm Carolyn Male posted the advice below.
For best results soak seeds over night in water with perhaps a pinch of MG or Peter's or similar for more nitrate ion. Sow seeds shallowly in a good artificial seed starting mix.
I think I will try this with my peppers this year as they are always difficult for me [others to form posts earlier this year]
Any one have any other seed starting tips. I know there is a fourm for this but I'm tring to tap some info from people who may not visit that fourm.
Thanks and happy holidays and happy seed starting.
Mark
I'm always very proud of my seedlings, I have done pretty well with it from the first time I did it under these cheap shop flourcent lignts.
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Starting old seeds
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I've always had good luck with starting seeds. I have always kept my seeds in the freezer and some of the seeds are up to 3-4 years old. Depending on the time of year, I like to start the seeds on a heating mat. I have 4 water bed heaters that I use. I set the temp to 70 and cover the trays until I see any germination. Never allow the seeds to dry out and when you see any germination, uncover the seeds. I germinate in a greenhouse so I dont use overhead light anymore. I did in the beginning but couldnt tell any difference with overhead light or without.
If I have especially difficult seeds to germinate I soak in Clorox for about 30 minutes before sowing. I dont know what the clorox does but it works for me. Kathy |
RE: Starting old seeds
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I pregerminate peppers and lots of larger seeds in moist paper towel inside a plastic bag. I place it someplace warm
and check on them regularly. When I see growth I transfer them to soil. PQ |
RE: Starting old seeds
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| For pepper and tomato seeds, bottom heat is very important in my cold house. I use a regular heating pad set on low- not an expensive seed-starting one. Last year I got 98% germination from three-year old pepper seeds. |
RE: Starting old seeds
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| Hydrogen peroxide will promote seed growth. I've been using 35% food grade diluted in water to no more than 3% to increase germination. A 3% solution is 1 ounce of 35% H2O2 diluted with 11 ounces water. I did some experiments with sprouting broccoli and wheat seeds by soaking a tablespoon of each in two separate jars with water and about 20-30 drops of 35% H2O2. I did the same with another two jars but added only plain water. I let these soak for a few hours and then drained them. The next morning I rinsed the seeds for a few minutes with the same materials as the day before. The rinsing and draining was done twice a day. In about a week, the difference in the sprouts was very noticeable, with the H202 treated sprouts showing more germination and larger sprouts. The wheat seeds were only a couple years old, while the brocoli seeds were about 3 or 4. The peroxide worked well on these, I'm not sure how it would work on other varieties. GG |
RE: Starting old seeds
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last year i started some of my old seed in small pint size clam shells with a little soiless mix. this way space in big flats weren't wasted when only a few seeds germanated. it is a great way to start afew seeds when you are wanting a few of many kinds of peppers, tomatoes etc
gl |
RE: Starting old seeds
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Where do you get th food grade hydrogen peroxide? Is this the same as you would spray on the plants?
becca |
RE: Starting old seeds
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| Becca, Yes, food grade is the same as what you would spray. The source I originally purchased from, is Parkway Scientific Products, in Michigan near Detroit. Number is 1-800-253-2748. I bought 5 gallons at the time and I know he has smaller quantities down to pints or so. I think it was around 8 bucks per gallon, but that was a couple years ago. It may be that much per pint in smaller quantities. Another source I found in the latest issue of Acres USA, is Pure Waterworks, Inc. Their number is 320-234-7135 and that is in Minnesota. Their ad shows a minumum container size of 5 gallons. Check the web for other sources. Make sure you learn about safe handling of 35 percent H202, since it can cause major burns to the skin if you don't wash it off in time. Once you dilute it down to 3 percent, you can safely do a lot with it, but it must be used within a few days as it will deteriorate. GG |
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