Coffee Filter Method

18 years ago

After reading thes posts in the paper towel thread I decided to move my seeds from the paper towels I had them in for about 3 days to coffee filters. I am very glad I did.

I used unbleached basket style filters; I paid $1 for 100 of them. They flatten out nicely to about 8" circles when misted. I arranged the seeds (usually about a dozen of a style though up to about 20 seem to fit) inside a pie-wedge quarter of the filter and placed a printed label (I have a wax ink printer that doesn't run when wet) near the arc edge of that pie wedge. I then folded the filter in half and then in quarter so that there is only one layer of filter on top of the seeds. That way I can see the seeds very well without having to open the filter up.

I placed my previous paper towels between the loaded filters and staggered them so I can see each label. Though the paper towels are there by accident, I expect to do use them again between the filters in the future. These are stacked in a seed flat with an inverted clear cover over the top and my digital oven thermometer probe inside. Using a heating mat I am keeping the temps in the mid/low eighties, not particularly easy in my basement which has an ambiant temperature in the fifties.

When I transferred them over the past couple days only a very few had sprouted. Now, 24-48 hours later, most of the varieties I glanced at have started. This includes my Mucho Nacho which I had a horrible time starting last year (a 5% germination rate) using the traditional starting mixture in cell packs. At least half these Mucho Nachos have started in just four days. They are from a different supplier, so it isn't a perfect test.

I plan on starting to move the sprouts to cell packs tomorrow. I will fill the cells up with Farfard starter mix, place the sprout in and cover and spritz. My intention is to move them while the sprouts are still quite small. This will be a peaceful, even zen, excercize in patience ;-)

My main reason for trying the paper towel method was the hassle of having to swap out cells that didn't sprout to save space. It looks like this might give me a faster start in general (I may even regret my 2-week earlier start this year). I strongly prefer the coffee filters to the paper towels for two reasons. My few sprouts had started to catch on the paper towels even though they were quite small, I do not expect the same problem with the filters. The filters also handle the moisture much better.

My gut reaction is that I will do this again next year (though I am going to change the name to the Coffee Filter Method). I'll be sure to follow up if something changes my mind.

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Comments (13)

lil_rhody
18 years ago
UJ, do you have pictures to share of this new set-up?

Paul B.
UncleJohn
Original Author
18 years ago
Cuz it was you who asked, Paul, I just couldn't refuse. Here is a brief primer on what I did.

Here is a link that might be useful: Filtered Sprouts
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Marty_Maraschino
18 years ago
Wow cool! I would like to try this but I only have white coffee filters do you think it would make any difference?
Also do you transplant the sprouts by hand, with tweezers, or how ? I would think those tiny little sprouts could be easily broken.
john47_johnf
18 years ago
When I sprout them on towels, I plant them as soon as the radical emerges so they are not easily broken--just pick up with something with a small tip and put in small hole in soil and cover. It will take a few days for the plant to emerge from the soil.

John
pkapeckopickldpepprz
18 years ago
Where do you get wax labels for a inkjet or laser printer. Also wouldn'y you be wasted 3/4 of the filter by only using 1 quarter for the seeds?
UncleJohn
Original Author
18 years ago
I wouldn't worry about the unbleached filters; they were available to me so I picked them: why add bleach to the picture if you don't have to? But bleached filters should be fine; there probably is no difference.

The tiny sprouts are delicate. As they sprout rather quickly, and not in unison I end up with sprouts ranging from just-emerged (a la JohnF) to an inch. My preference would be the same as JohnF, but I make an effort to transplant them before they reach a half inch. I completely agree with him that shorter is better.

I do it by hand; my sentiment is that tweezers would give me less control given their resistance. If I have to, I use a toothpick to lift the sprout, but mostly do it by hand. The whole process is a zen exercize in patience and gentle touch.

As for the labels, the paper is normal, but my printer is a Xerox laser printer that uses blocks of wax for ink. My only point there is that the ink doesn't run as it would with ink jet. Normal laser printers should not run either.

UJ
pkapeckopickldpepprz
18 years ago
I have a Samsung ML2010 Laser printer, I don't think the ink contains wax. Any ideas I like the idea of printing out labels but if the ink runs then it's not a good idea.
UncleJohn
Original Author
18 years ago
You can always test it first. Most laser printers work by using a laser to charge a drum which then picks up the toner on those charged portions. The toner is then fused or melted onto the paper. My guess is that your printer will be fine, but you should go ahead and test it first.
nevrendin
18 years ago
This is a great idea, i am totally new to this, but the way you laided it out makes it look easy. i used jiffy starter pellets i planted about 4 weeks ago. 4 rotoco (yellow) and 3 Habanero red savina. I'm just now seeing the sprouts on two rocoto of the 7 seeds i planted. I followed the instruction on the Jiffy label, but they really sucked. I just recently found this forum which is great. I think i'm going to try to plant more. Thanks
leira
18 years ago
Until the seeds sprout, do you store them under lights, in the dark, or something else?

Thanks,
Linda
UncleJohn
Original Author
18 years ago
Some seeds need light to germinate; as far as I know pepper seeds do not. My germinating seeds happened to be under lights as that is where my heating mat was. I did not notice any difference in germination rates between those at the tops of the stacks compared with those near the bottoms. I don't believe that light affects pepper germination one way or the other.
leira
18 years ago
Oh good. My heat mat, also, is under the lights, and I'd hoped it wouldn't present a problem.

Linda
canofpoke_dnapl_co_uk
15 years ago
I use to print out all my own labels using either word or excel. I had a few problems with the text on the labels not printing within the margains but i downloaded some templates and since i downloaded them my labels did look a lot better. These days i don't really do any label printing, i have my address labels printed by a british labels company for convenience as i no longer have the time to print them myself.