How can we make sure that all the seed we sow in our organic gardens will germinate and give us plants? Wise gardeners store their seed, year after year, especially rare heirloom seeds. Of course, seed saving also saves money. But old seed often disappoints.
If
in doubt about old seed, it's always wise to pre-germinate a test sample. Soak
ten seeds overnight and lay them on damp kitchen paper in a warm place in a
plastic bag. After a few days, count what percentage are showing signs of life.
To do this scientifically you should use at least 100 seeds. But that might be
your entire supply! Ten is good enough as a rough guide. oberon
Don't
waste the seed that germinates, of course. Sink it in a pot of weak compost,
with its growing tip just visible, and water - ideally - with diluted kelp
solution. Kelp is a great help to any young seedling. namdhari
seeds
If
only 20% of your soaked seeds show life you'll know that - if you plant five
seeds from your remaining supply in every module - there's a good chance at
least one seed will germinate.
If
nothing germinates from your seed test, the seed is clearly dead or uselessly
dormant. Eat the remaining seed! For example, in granola or as a topping for
home-baked bread, according to the seed type. Of course, not every vegetable
seed is palatable or wise to eat, and obviously you'd shun commercially
pre-treated seed. As the late John Seymour of self-sufficiency fame would
tirelessly say: 'use that good old mother, Common Sense!' nativo
fungicide
Seed viability is the true test
Around
75oF is the ideal germination temperature for almost any edible temperate
plant. Aubergines, peppers, tomatoes, squash and other hot-climate plants
prefer 85oF. But they'll still germinate well enough at 75oF. Either way, we'll
know in around eight days if that batch of seed will give us eg. 75%
germination or just 15% germination. Or none. bayer
pesticides
Then,
when we sow it en masse, we can adjust the quantities of seed accordingly, as
we've seen. That advice saves a lot of wasted time, but... it's limited.
Why?
Under ideal germination conditions, we might get, for example, 50% germination
of parsnip seed that has been saved very well but is several years old.
Textbooks say you cannot germinate the seed of parsnips, lovage, angelica and
other umbellifers if it's much more than one year old and has been stored at
room temperature. bayer
products
(That
said, seed is full of surprises. One year I grew a large plot of parsnips, and
a lot of other umbellifers too, from seed that was verifiably five years old
and had been kept in my sock drawer.)
Why
indoor seed germination can give misleading results
If
you germinate the seed of umbellifers, and several other plant species indoors,
the results can be misleading. Because parsnips don't take kindly to
transplanting. They have to be planted in situ, outdoors. So how can we test
their likely performance outdoors without wasting a lot of seed? syngenta
seeds
Answer:
test the germination of such seeds in sub-optimal conditions. The kind they'll
actually meet - outdoors. Scatter your seed on damp kitchen paper but put it for
eight days in a cool, dark place with harshly fluctuating temperatures, say,
from just above freezing to 28oC. Or whatever represents the true conditions in
your garden. lancer gold
For
example, your garage in spring? Any seedlings that emerge will give you an
index to the true percentage viability of that seed! You can now sow the
balance of the seed outdoors with confidence. (Or not.)
Develop
your own new heirloom vegetable variety!
Here's
another benefit of testing seed under challenging conditions. If you
pre-germinate seed under those conditions, and plant out only the seedlings
that survive, you will get very sturdy plants indeed. When they grow, save the
seed from them. Provided they are open-pollinated (ie. not F1 or other
hybrids), and you save the seed from them year on year, and grow it on, you may
go on to develop - and stabilise - your very own unique variety. One that is
acclimatised just to your micro-climate.
Lo,
you have become a plant developer! And your stabilised cultivar is now on its
way to becoming a legitimate 'new heirloom'. Your very own.
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