Be Careful What You Wish For

      Wow.  The paper towel germination method!  There have been times that no basil came up from a planting in cell packs.  Well these basil seeds are certainly coming up.

Boy did they sprout,  1/20/2012

A little closer, 1/20/2012

      Whoops, we have a little problem.  The shoots are doing so well, that they have rooted right through the paper towels.  Little white roots on the other side of the towel.  A picture would not really show the roots against the white towel, so you will have to believe me when I say, "I should have done this earlier".  So now it is too late to remove the sprouts from the towel, so we will plant them towel and all.

      With this method, I teased the towel into little pieces, then covered up those pieces with some dirt.  The towel will rot away, and I may try to divide the plants later.

Plan B,  1/20/2012

      Having quickly realized that Plan A was quite tedious, I moved on to Plan B.  I cut the towel into bigger pieces, then placed those pieces over dirt.  Then I sprinkled dirt over the sprouts, trying not to bury them.  If Plan B works, I will have very successfully delayed my greatest time requirement to another day.  Pretty clever, kidding myself.  So easy too.

Paper Towel Seed Germination

      The earlier post about the life expectancy of seeds got the old sap flowing in my veins to get some of those seeds started or trashed.  I have read about germinating seeds in moist paper towels to get little sprouts for transferring to cell packs.  The upside is that one can set the seeds up for germination in just a matter of minutes.  The downside is if you are successful with the germination, there is a heck of a lot of transplanting tiny seedlings required.  And yet, with all of the aging seed I have on hand, the temptation for easy germination has won out.
      The basic idea is to moisten a paper towel, place seeds on it, fold the outer edges of the towel over the seeds, then place it in a plastic bag or sealed plastic container to await germination.  Time required to germinate the seeds should be close to the suggested time on the seed packet.

Onion Seeds to dampen,  1/12/2012

      The photo above is of onion seed placed on a towel on 1/12/12.  I then used a small eye dropper to get a few drops of water to moisten the towel, not to flood the container.  The towel was then folded over the seeds and the container put on the shelf.

Parsley seeds,  1/12/2012

      I have found parsley seeds to be difficult to get good germination in the past.  This method seems worth a try.  These were dampened, and the towel folded over the seeds to make a little square packet.  This packet was then slid into a sandwich bag with a label.  You can watch the swelling and development of root hairs without having to pull the packet out of the bag.

Parsley ready to start,  1/12/2012

      On 1/12/12 I started this extra curled parsley, Krausa parsley, giant red celery (tiny seeds), American flag leeks, red burgundy onions, yellow sweet Spanish onions, giant winter spinach, American spinach, and sweet basil.  Yesterday, on 1/16/2012, I put on towels, more American spinach, corn salad (no germination last year), salsify (new to me), parsnips (no germination last year), Australian brown onions, and Lisbon white bunching onions.

Dollar store containers work well

      The basil I had started was not because of short seed life, but rather that in past years I have often had lousy germination.  Last year was pretty good, and this year is already looking good as the seed started five days ago is already sprouted!

Basil,  1/17/2012

      Lots of the basil seeds have sprouted roots, and some have little green buds that will be leaves.  I used my trusty little spatula (from my grandmother's kitchen) to move some of those budded seedlings.  Put them two to a cell, as they would not be too crowded if they all survived.  The cell packs were then covered with small panes of glass to maintain the high humidity for a couple of days.

Basil seedlings,  1/17/2012

      Peppers are next on my agenda, as they are slow to germinate and slow to grow.  This method seems to have promise, as it eliminates the possibility of waiting around for a month for a flat to show some sign of germination.  I will be very busy however, as the leeks, onions, and spinach planted on 1/12/2012 are all showing signs of root growth.  I might pot up the leeks even before any green stem growth.

Seedy Notes

     One of the foremost reasons to write this blog is for my own record keeping.  The journal thing became tedious, lugging a notebook around while gardening.  Little notepads worked fine, though piles of notes get jumbled, or lost.  Going back over copious notes becomes tedious.  Getting pictures to match up with notes on my computer is a skill that I don't currently possess.  Except when using this blog.  Where it becomes easy.  Easy to reference past posts with labels.  So this blog will have some note keeping functions for me, such as this post which will be some notes about the current seed starting process.

The garlic started from last fall from puny cloves is doing well.  They should be planted outside next week when the weather is expected to improve.  The Ice Bred Arugula on the right can also go in a cold frame.  Will free up a whole flat for new stuff.

 

  The radicchio that was so beautiful last year is starting to sprout.  It was part of a Mesclun mix, the only thing that lasted through the summer heat.  So this year, I actually started plants from straight seeds.  Hope it equals last year's performance and beauty.





     The seedlings on the porch look better than they appear in this washed out photo.  I believe the cool porch temperature keeps their growth rate slow and prevents them from becoming leggy.
     I gave up on the Prizehead lettuce this morning.  Planted Windsor Fava Beans in the same cells.  Will certainly be no trouble telling them apart if the lettuce comes up late.  Fava beans are unusual in that they can go out in the garden in cool weather.  Cold actually.  Gave up on the Baby Romaine as well, and planted Little Marvel peas in the same cells.  Peas can be started outside here in a month, so these will have a good head start when transplanted.
     Basil is usually very tough for me to get started.  But, I have lots of nice tiny sprouts emerging.  That seed was planted 2/4/11.  Parsley is also usually tough for me, but those seeds too are just starting to unfurl after having been started 2/2/11.  No pictures for either.

In the cardoon / artichoke race, the cardoon on the left has a slight head start on the artichokes.  The cold temperatures on the porch will hopefully trick the artichokes into fruiting in their first season (vernalization).  What will you bet that it does not work?

   The weather is supposed to start to warm up a bit, with next week maybe hitting the 60's.  Hopefully last night's low in the low 20's will be the coldest of the year till next December.  At least that is my hope.  Time to plant soon directly in the cold frames.  George