Well, I have read a ton of posts from ppl that have trouble getting seeds to germ etc so I just wanted to post my way. If the seeds are viable, I get a 95-99% success rate.. Here goes..
ITEMS NEEDED
1. Seeds ( lol duhh )
2. Jiffy Pellets ( Jiffy 7 Peet Pellet Seed Starters ) With the included Humidity Dome And Tray. ( I buy the 25ct.)
3.
Bounty Paper Towels ( Its what
I always use.. Any brand will do, but I like the thickness of the Bounty's )
4. Cup Of Water ( Lukewarm )
5. Small Tupperware ( or similiar ) Container
6. Heating Pad or Specialty Nursery Seedling Heating Mat
Where To Get Above Items
1. From A Bag Of Weed or A Seed Bank.
2. Lowes,WalMart, Home Depot etc.. Just ask for "Jiffy 7 Peat Pellet Seed Starters" )
3. Any Chain Grocer And Most Corner Stores
4. Cupboard And Sink
5. Walmart etc.
6. Walmart etc.
Step By Step Instructions
1. Choose the biggest and darkest seed(s)
2. Place seeds into the lukewarm cup of water and allow to soak until they sink.Keep watching the seeds ( check app. every 4 hours ) so you can remove each seed AS they sink.. Some will sink faster than others. Never leave a seed in water after it has sunk.. I feel this is running the risk of "drowning" your seeds. Always remove the seed from the cup of water within a few ( 4 hours max ) hours after sinking.
3. Place the sunk seed(s) into a moist folded paper towel ( again, I prefer Bounty ). I like to actually cut my paper towels into seperate pieces and "layer" them untill I have 4 layers on the bottom and 1 layer on top. The reason for only 1 layer on top is so the seeds can obtain some oxygen and doesnt get "smothered" between wet paper towel layers.. So I only use a single layer paper towel on top of the seeds. After seeds are in the paper towels, I like to drop a little
hot ( tap water hot.. NOT NUKE HOT ) water onto the seeds and then on top of the top layer of paper towel also.Not alot of hot water.. Just 3 or 4 times using my fingers dipped into water then drip onto the seeds and top layer of paper towel.
4. Place the moist ( But NOT SOAKING WET ) paper towels with the seeds in them into a small tupperware container and seal shut.
5. This is the "tricky" part.. Diff seeds germ better at diff temps I have found out. But this is my method and I have found it to be the best for me.. I place the tupperware container with the seeds in it on top of my TV so it can get a little "warmth".. If your TV doesnt give of alotta warmth, try a monitor, modem or wherever there is a "slight warmth" given off..
6. Check the seeds every 12 hours.. I like to add a few drops of Hot ( again, tapwater hot.. NOT NUKE HOT ) to the top of the towels every 12 hours to give them a little heat boost and more moisture..
7. If your seeds do not crack at all after 48 hours , move your tupperware container to a heating pad set to LOW ( DO NOT GO ANY HIGHER THAN LOW.. TRUST ME YOU WILL COOK YOUR SEEDS ) and contuinue checking them every 12 hours until germination.BUT DO NOT SKIP STEP 5!.. You may not need to use a heating pad at all.. And you may do more harm than good by skipping step 5.. Always do step 5 before moving to step 7!!... Most seeds will crack within 5-7 days if viable and alot will crack within 48 hours.. But not all, so just be patient. Some need a
little more warmth than others so a heat pad is great for this. And I have found that it does definately make a difference.
8. When the seed has cracked open and a small taproot has emerged it is time to transfer the seed to your Jiffy Pellet. I always transfer my seeds when they have a 2 - 4 millimeter taproot. I dont feel the need to wait till it gets long as you run the risk of damaging it more the longer it is. Just as long as it has cracked open and the taproot is sticking out long enough that it looks like it is as long as this > " -- " then it can be transplanted into the Peat Pellet.
9. Soak your Jiffy Pellet in HOT ( YES HOT.. Tapwater Hot, NOT NUKE HOT ) water for 2-3 minutes untill it has fully expanded.. Then squeeze it untill you feel that you have squeezed it to about 1/2 of its size ( squeeze out about 50% of the water ) and then"fluff" it back up using a nail or something similiar.. Make sure to "fluff" the peat inside the pellet back up after squeezing it.. Just poke down into the top with a nail untill all the peat has broken back up and then sort of "swirl" the nail around to fluff more..
10.Place the seed on top of the peat and place a small amount of peat over the seed. Just put a very small "pinch" of peat covering the seed. It doesnt need to be buried into the pellet, it just needs to be "covered" slightly.. The root will grow down so no need to bury it, it will onlys slow the proccess.
11. Place the Jiffy Pellet(s) with the seeds in them into the tray that came with them and place about 1/4 cup of water in the tray to help add humidity and then place the dome lid on top. Then place the entire tray on top of the heating pad set to LOW ( Again, LOW is your friend.. HIGH Is NOT ).
12. Its merely a waiting game from this point on.. Keep checking the tray every day to ensure the pellets are still moist.. You may need to spray the outside of the pellets with ( I prefer warm water ) water every day or so if you have the tray under lights. After 4-7 days you WILL have a sprouted seedling .
13. I transplant my sprouts about 5-7 days after they have sprouted. I just remove the outer netting ( carefully ) and place the peat pellet containing the seedling into my preffered medium ( Happy Frog soil ) .
I hope this helps some of the newbies.. I went through a ton of expensive seeds before I finally found a method that works.. And it works 99% of the time for me.
Happy Gardening
