seeds Preferred Seed Starting Method

Phil · Apr 21, 2015

Spicy Mushroom said:
Just for the hell of it I just made 10 cups with 10 different varieties and put them outside. Late in the game of course but that's alright I have other peppers that have been growing. This image says poke holes. Poke holes in the bottom of the cups....or does it assume use of Saran Wrap and holes to be poked in that?

When it says poke holes, it means poke the soil a bit and drop the seed in the resulting hole (no more than 1/4" deep). Zero need for Saran wrap unless you're just using it to keep humidity in while they germinate, which would not require holes poked. The Saran wrap would have to come off once they sprout.

juanitos · Apr 21, 2015

i wait for cotys (about 7-20 days) then transplant them most the way deep in soil so its only really 5mm and cotys sticking out. this helps the stem be stronger.
this method helps you eliminate wasted space / replanting / over planting seeds. You only put 1 per pot/cell and it's pretty much guaranteed to grow, no need for culling / separating.
ive been using a custom berger.ca mix my local nursery uses, go talk to a local nursery and ask what their "house" mix is. Big box stores don't really care / aren't in the business of growing plants, only selling stuff.

Coldgrowth · Apr 21, 2015

Soaked seeds in weak camomille tea solution for 24 hours. Put seeds in moist/wet soil in cups, covered them in foil and put them in a room at 26 celsius. Works fine, very high germination rate, most up within a week.

Valleyman · Apr 21, 2015

I like to keep em all warm and close when they're babes. Once they have a good set of true leaves. I step them up. Once I see roots start to poke out the bottom holes, I step em up again. Always SOILESS indoors. Made the mistake 1x adding some composty manure into the mix and I had F@&n fungus gnats fest

SavinaRed · Apr 21, 2015

valley man what are those plants in instead of soil ?

alkhall · Apr 21, 2015

I use netted coir, two seeds per, in 5x10 tray with humidity dome, on heat mat @ ~86°F.

This year I had approximately 93% germination.

alphajam · Apr 21, 2015

Valleyman - do you use a fertilizer on your seedlings? Mine stall right after the 2nd set of true leaves with a soilless mix. It's hard for them to catch up. . .

I should also mention that the seeds I started indoors are outpacing my outdoor starts(same medium and solo cups). I am guessing the nights are still a little cold in my area for them.

READY2BURN · Apr 21, 2015

Good way to sterilize your soil without making your house stink like a horse farm is a nice foil roasting pan on your gas grill. Meat therm will let u know when you've reached target temp. Go low a D slow and stir often to not cook off nutrients.

mpicante · Apr 21, 2015

alphajam said:
Valleyman - do you use a fertilizer on your seedlings? Mine stall right after the 2nd set of true leaves with a soilless mix. It's hard for them to catch up. . .

I should also mention that the seeds I started indoors are outpacing my outdoor starts(same medium and solo cups). I am guessing the nights are still a little cold in my area for them.

Best to use seaweed (diluted of course-one tablespoon per gallon of water)until you pot up.

JUR-Z-Devil · Dec 24, 2016

juanitos said:
i use commercial potting mix that my local nursery uses, if its good enough for them then it will be good enough for me. They order it fresh every year in Big pallets so i know they aren't messing around.

But my preferred germination method is in tupperwear containers with a piece of paper(news paper, paper towel, coffee filter, cardboard all work).

Are you just laying them on top of wet paper towels or in between? will just on top work?

MarcV · Dec 25, 2016

hottoddy said:

Works fine for me too

although I have no sunny spot available at the moment. I put the cups in a heated propagator that heats the soil to about 24°C/75°F. They usually germinate in less than a week time. As soon as the germination starts I put everything under a grow light. When all seeds have germinated the soil heating is turned off.

juanitos · Dec 25, 2016

JUR-Z-Devil said:
Are you just laying them on top of wet paper towels or in between? will just on top work?

on top

grover · Jan 7, 2017

I just took your tupperware germination advice and my seeds are exploding like mad right now. Best results I've ever had! THANK YOU!!!

juanitos said:
i use commercial potting mix that my local nursery uses, if its good enough for them then it will be good enough for me. They order it fresh every year in Big pallets so i know they aren't messing around.

But my preferred germination method is in tupperwear containers with a piece of paper(news paper, paper towel, coffee filter, cardboard all work).