seeds Sewing seeds in potting soil

wordwiz · Oct 25, 2008

I ran across an article related to toms a few days ago and it suggested something I had never heard of (that's probably one of a few thousand things!).

According to the article, one should fill a tray full of potting soil and then completely water it, so the soil compacts. Damp it down and repeat so the cell is full of soil. Then, poke a small hole 1/4" deep and place the seed there and cover it.

Anyone gone this route? I'm getting about 75% germination from toms seeds but would like to get to 90+.

Mike

macmanmatty · Oct 25, 2008

That is close to what I do. I use a mix of 4 parts peat 4 parts compost 3 parts vermiculite 2 parts perlite and basically do the same thing with the trays. I use a 128 celled tray for toms peppers and eggplant and wick water them. I works great I get around 100% germination with toms this way.

millworkman · Oct 25, 2008

I am still very small scale so the peat pellets work well for me.

chilliman64 · Oct 25, 2008

sounds similar to using jiffy pellets. I'd be wary of compacting the soil too much though, chiles like a loose soil for easy root growth.

Pepperfreak · Oct 26, 2008

That sounds like what I use accept I used ProMix last year with superb results.

talas · Oct 26, 2008

Pepperfreak said:
That sounds like what I use accept I used ProMix last year with superb results.

Agreed the best germinations ive had are in quality Loose soil :lol:

texas blues · Oct 26, 2008

My tried and true is this...I take the soil and size pot that they will ultimately grow in and toss several seeds in and push down with my finger. When they come up, I cull all but the best.
Works the best for me and no transplanting. I have had poor luck with little starter pots and a heating pad.

Cheers, TB.

imaguitargod · Oct 26, 2008

Yep, that's what I do!

wordwiz · Oct 26, 2008

I do with peppers but not toms. I've tried sowing toms six-eight times. Using a potting soil that is more coarse, the one that peppers love best produces atrocious results for toms. But either using a finer potting soil or sifting the one I use for peppers has great results.

Last year, I had a 36-cell tray that I used the pepper-type soil and after nearly three weeks, I had six toms. Dumped it, sifted the potting soil and of the 36 seeds, about 32 germinated. But I had not tried watering the soil first and compacting it as the article suggested.

Mike