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seeds Paper towel germination questions

lazienfat

lazienfat

Do to having a mixed results with germination in heated soil, first batch great rates, second batch terrible germ rates. So I decided to try the wet paper towel in a ziplock technique and BAM within a few days I have white sprouts popping out of seeds already. I was shocked at how fast this has happened. What I would like to inquire is the white things coming out of the seeds, is it the roots or the sprout? Should it be placed downward in soil or upward? I have been searching the forums but havent found the answer to this basic questions.

Thanks in advance, the fatman.
 
the hook is the root but I always just put them in shallow on their side with no problems! I am sure that there are others here with more input!
 
It's the root. Don't worry about which way is up because the plant will know. Just like a when animals are born and know how to nurse from the mother. The plant will always grow the roots down and the sprout up. Hope this helps!

Charles
 
cjbrewer5 said:
It's the root. Don't worry about which way is up because the plant will know. Just like a when animals are born and know how to nurse from the mother. The plant will always grow the roots down and the sprout up. Hope this helps!

Charles
Click to expand...

What happens if its in a topsy turvy grower?
 
It is the root. But if you let it go too far you will have the stem too. If the stem or cotyledon is coming then you need to be a bit more careful of how you plant them.
 
lol CJ

You should Sean, the seeds you just sent are one of the ones that germinated and I didnt start when you sent them I waited a few days.
 
I have been experimenting with this a bit, too. I put a few in soil right after their roots appeared, but for others have waited until the cotyledons grow out a bit before moving them into starter mix. Yes, you have to be careful when putting them into the soil when you do it this way, but I've found it informative and even a bit entertaining. For example, Saturday evening I pulled a sprout out of the ziploc, and it was kind of folded up like a letter 'v', which frankly made putting it in soil a bit tricky (note they don't all do this.) Put it in the light all day yesterday, and it straightened up nicely in almost no time at all. I have the light to the side, and clearly need to change it to directly above, as by noon today the little one was bent almost clean over towards the light. Turned it away at that point, and found it bending back towards the light again later in the afternoon. While plants do this naturally, regardless, I'm finding the new sprouts do this very dramatically in their first few days - they will firm up and stay straighter in about a week. Also, I don't have a fan directly blowing on them, but lightly flick them a few times a day, and it is interesting to notice how the stems are firming up over just a day or two.
 
DAMN flicking them is crazy ballsy!!! LOL I baby them way too much. Just got a fan on them. Maybe I will flick one just for fun tonight lol.
 
500 chilies would be a lot of work doing it this way, I’ll use grow plugs, domes and propagation mats. Save the paper towel trick for the stubborn ones. I did start about 350 seeds last year that way, but have learned from this forum that there is more than one way to “skin a cat”.
 
Try using coffee filters cut in half in place of the paper towels. I started using them this year and found that there are some advantages. With the paper the roots coud grow into the paper towel itself, but the coffee filter is so finely woven that the roots never grow into it. I have caused some damage removing the germinated seed from the paper towel in the past. Just a suggestion to try.
 
I had thought about coffee filters one day, but then somehow forgot about this approach. Thanks for the reminder - I will definitely give that a whirl on my next batch. For the few that have grown into the paper towel, though, I have cut it closely around the root and just planted the paper with it.
 
I've had mucho success using the coffee filter in the baggie trick. Great way to test seed viability without taking up much real estate. Especially great to check old seeds! This is my 1st year doing these ungodly tests. LOL.

I also use a weak solution of tea as initial wetting agent. Also spritz the baggie with a weak solution of hydrogen peroxide from time to time while waiting for the sprout. Might help the damping off thingie.

Thank you oh great forum members and internet for these ideas and (perhaps) old wives tales to speed and confirm germination. Stuff is growing. It is awesome. :cool:
 
I am currently using peat pellets, seeds planted with ProMix in cups, and the paper towel method all in a covered and heated tray to see which method works the best. Today I was trying to pull a Lemon Drop carefully out of the paper towel. The root was stuck and it broke in half. My first murder of 2011! I was cutting them out, but had to try pulling one and it resulted in death. I think coffee filters it is for me from now on.
 
Also, before going all out for baggies consider this...Using a baggie, you pretty much roll up the seeds regardless of paper type.

After reading PepperJams experiment inspired by Mills cups vs baggies I'm thinking of trying the cups. To try to match the water holding power of the paper towels, use 2 or 3 layers of coffee filter underneath the seeds. The extra layers underneath to provide a little more moisture, but still benefitting from the tight weave. No covering on top of the seed.

With the cups, I like the idea of checking the germ action without disturbing the little fellas. Plus makes for better organization and structure than the baggies. :cool:
 
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