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seeds Germination and early growth: Jiffy Pucks Vs Seed Raising mix Vs Coir peat Vs papertowel and baggy V

TheFanMan

TheFanMan

There seem to be lots of different ways to germinate seeds and everyone seems to have their favorite, i thought i would try a comparison of several different mediums and see if i can see a difference.

The starting mediums i decided to test are:

Jiffy Pucks
Seed raising mix (the blend i used last year with a bit of coir and vermiculite added)
Damp paper towel in baggy
Coir peat (comes in a block that expands to about 7 Liters)
Dirt (from my garden)

i put 8 Cayenne seeds in each medium and put them all in a tray with a lid to keep the humidity up. i put this tray next to my back door in. As this is a comparison between mediums and not a test to get the best germination possible im not bothering with heat mats/lights/etc. As long as all the mediums get the same environment my test should work. i know 8 in each isn't a very big test but ill still be interested to see how they go.




Jiffys - Left
Seed raising mix - top blue punnet
Damp paper towel in baggy - middle
Coir peat - right blue punnet
Dirt - Left blue punnet
P1000404.JPG
 
Sharp, very sharp! I was pleased to see you went with a single variety - makes it a clean experiment.

My personal opinion is that the growing medium doesn't really matter for germination purposes at all. What does matter, though, is that the seeds are kept evenly moist, regardless of the medium. I think it's more a need to learn how to keep various mediums evenly moist, and people tend to "get it" with some approaches and not with others. (ie - some are more prone to dryness than others.) You've got all of yours in a dome for control purposes, which is good, but I'd like to see you also do a set without a dome, to duplicate the conditions some people have. . . if you're up to it!
 
Will be interesting to see the results. I compared Rapid Rooters to a Sungro #1 potting mix (website says suitable for starting mix also). It was a landslide to the Rooters.
 
geeme said:
Sharp, very sharp! I was pleased to see you went with a single variety - makes it a clean experiment.
Click to expand...
thanks, seeing as this is an experiment, not me starting plants to grow, it really does need a single variety for consistency, so i picked something that i had a lot of, germs easy and is nice and fresh.
geeme said:
My personal opinion is that the growing medium doesn't really matter for germination purposes at all. What does matter, though, is that the seeds are kept evenly moist, regardless of the medium. I think it's more a need to learn how to keep various mediums evenly moist, and people tend to "get it" with some approaches and not with others. (ie - some are more prone to dryness than others.) You've got all of yours in a dome for control purposes, which is good, but I'd like to see you also do a set without a dome, to duplicate the conditions some people have. . . if you're up to it!
Click to expand...
Your probably right about seeds just needing to be the correct ammount of damp to germ, thats why i was also planing to see how the seedlings grow in the various mixes after they germ.
DocNrock said:
Will be interesting to see the results. I compared Rapid Rooters to a Sungro #1 potting mix (website says suitable for starting mix also). It was a landslide to the Rooters.
Click to expand...
hmm, don't think iv seen rapid rooters in the shops here.
 
For the most part I agree with geeme on the medium not really making much of a difference. My only caveat would be the denser mediums getting dry and hard, preventing the seedling from breaking through the top.

I know Alabama Jack was sold on one particular seedling mix and used it exclusively. I imagine others do to. Me? I prefer my medium to be as fine as it can be, don't like sticks and other organic matter in it that is much larger than the seed itself.

Thanks for doing this experiment FanMan, now I have two of these to keep track of.
 
geeme said:
My personal opinion is that the growing medium doesn't really matter for germination purposes at all. What does matter, though, is that the seeds are kept evenly moist, regardless of the medium. I think it's more a need to learn how to keep various mediums evenly moist, and people tend to "get it" with some approaches and not with others. (ie - some are more prone to dryness than others.) You've got all of yours in a dome for control purposes, which is good, but I'd like to see you also do a set without a dome, to duplicate the conditions some people have. . . if you're up to it!
Click to expand...
I agree up to the point where the first rootlet pops out. At that point the plant is ready to take nutrients from the soil and in that case the medium MAY make more of a difference.
 
Pepperhead said:
I agree up to the point where the first rootlet pops out. At that point the plant is ready to take nutrients from the soil and in that case the medium MAY make more of a difference.
Click to expand...
Plants first take nutrients from their cotyledons, then as they "learn" to take nutrients from the soil, the need for the cotyledons becomes eliminated and they fall off. But yes, if you're also attempting to see which mix is better following actual sprouting and the time they depend fully upon their cotyledons, this will be an interesting experiment.
 
NIce experiment. I've found that anything with peat in it really takes the life out of the seedlings for germination. With peat, germination rates were well below 45%. Can't wait to see if your data will reflect what I've witnessed over here.
 
geeme said:
But yes, if you're also attempting to see which mix is better following actual sprouting and the time they depend fully upon their cotyledons, this will be an interesting experiment.
Click to expand...

Yep, i was planning on looking for differences from putting the seeds in the medium until they get too big for a foam cup pot.
This way i should be able to see, differences in: Germination time, germination %, how the roots grow in the different mediums, how much leaf/stem growth.
 
well the results are starting and so far not what i was expecting

13/2/13 - 11 Days

Jiffys - 0/8
Seed raising mix - 3/8
Damp paper towel in baggy - 0/8
Coir peat - 0/8
Dirt - 0/8


14/2/13 - 12 Days

Jiffys - 0/8
Seed raising mix - 5/8
Damp paper towel in baggy - 0/8
Coir peat - 0/8
Dirt - 0/8


the seeds in the seed raising mix are up even before the seeds in the bag have hooked.
 
1 more up today

16/2/13 - 14 Days

Jiffys - 1/8
Seed raising mix - 5/8
Damp paper towel in baggy - 1/8
Coir peat - 0/8
Dirt - 0/8
 
1 more up today

17/2/13 - 15 Days

Jiffys - 1/8
Seed raising mix - 6/8
Damp paper towel in baggy - 1/8
Coir peat - 0/8
Dirt - 0/8
 
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