In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

General Schvantzkoph wrote:
I
thought I'd post that info here. I define the start date as the day I
put them in a glass to soak. My technique is to soak in water
overnight, then put them on a wet paper towel placed between two
plates. I add water to the towels as needed to keep them wet (once or
twice a day).


This method is used to display the progress of growing seedlings for
eductaional purposes but I don't understand why you would you do this to
grow the plants. What is wrong with starting them in trays of seedling mix
and pricking them out when big enough?

David

Sorry, David, I was attributing the picking out of the freshly
germinated seeds for transplanting, not the paper towel routine to the
book "Creative Propagation".

This is what Peter Thompson said in his 1992 edition of his book. (Let
me know, if you find any typos.)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...stripbooks&fie
ld-keywords=Creative+Propagation&x=15&y=21

ANNUALS AND BIENNIALS FROM SEED

Effects of Soil Fertility on Seed GerminationSuccessful germination
seldom depends on the fertility of the compost, but may sometimes be
reduced by highly fertile conditions, and especially by the presence in
the surrounding soil of high concentrations of inorganic salts or other
chemical compounds. Traditionally, seed composts contain smaller
quantities of added fertilisers than potting composts, but this is nor.
a practical necessity for germinating the seeds of most annuals.
Nurseries, where very large quantities of compost are used, can make
worthwhile economies by reducing the fertilisers added to the composts
in which seeds are sown. On a smaller scale the use of two different
composts, one for sowing seeds, and the other for growing on seedlings,
is itself likely to be a source of waste, and almost always it would be
more economical either to use a dual-purpose compost, or to use a
standard potting compost for both purposes.

Traditionally, seeds are sown by scattering them over the surface of a
suitable compost, and then covering them with a layer of sifted compost,
applied very scantily, or more thickly, according to the size of the
seed sown. The method has been used very successfully by gardeners for
many centuries, and there can be no doubt that it has stood the test of
time. Nevertheless, it does not always produce good results, and often
fails to provide seeds with the best possible conditions in which to
germinate and develop into healthy seedlings.

The compost used, whether based on peat or a fibrous loam, is itself the
cause of some of these problems. The physical qualities required to
provide good drainage, high water-holding capacity, good porosity to
encourage oxygen diffusion, and the stability needed to maintain these
features, are most easily obtained from a compost with a high proportion
of coarse, fibrous particles in its composition. A coarse-grained
compost of this kind is not so good for seeds while they are imbibing
water, and for very young seedlings establishing the first traces of a
root system. The usual solution to this problem is to use a fibrous,
relatively coarse compost as a base; to level its surface, and perhaps
top it with a light layer of sifted compost before sowing seeds; and
finally to cover the seeds themselves with a light topping of sifted
compost.

The seeds are sown in a layer of very fine compost from which all the
large and more fibrous particles have been removed, and this is the part
which is most likely to cause problems. If water is applied too-
vigorously the seeds in it become water-borne and start to float—most
will end up in a pile in one corner of the container. It is not easy to
apply the final covering over the seeds evenly, or even to judge its
exact depth, without a good deal of experience and confidence. The layer
of dust-like particles is not at all stable: loam-based composts tend to
dissolve into an ooze of mud, or silt; peat-based composts to become
dust-dry very rapidly or, if overwatered, to become slimy, the surface
clogged with minute algae. Seedlings emerging in this compact layer,
liable to drain poorly, become susceptible to stress, vulnerable to
invasion by soij-born fungi and may start to damp off. These traditional
ways of sowing seeds are not

55


easy for part-time gardeners to manage; small errors or misjudgements
quickly lead to problems, even under ideal conditions, and when
conditions are less than ideal—long spells of damp and low light in
winter, bright sunshine and high temperatures in summer, or seeds which
delay their germination, perhaps for weeks—it can tax the skills even of
experienced gardeners to produce a satisfactory stand of seedlings.

Standard Method of Sowing Seeds

These problems can be avoided by sowing seeds in ways which are much
easier to manage. The simplest method is based on the principle that a
seed compost should consist of two parts: a lower layer which provides
space for the roots to develop, and a reservoir of water and nutrients
to support their growth, and an upper layer to accommodate the seeds and
provide them with ideal conditions in which they can germinate, and
seedlings can become established. Any good quality potting compost can
be used for the lower layer, but this should be free-draining, and
contain high proportions of fibre to enable it to hold water like
ftasponge, and yet drain freely to dispose of surplus water. The upper
layer must consist of a material which is porous and water-retentive,
but free-draining and very stable. Loams and peats do not match these
requirements and are unsuitable in any form. Grits and sands dry out too
rapidly and are not very i satisfactory. An ideal material is a porous
grit (similar in consistency to the debris of heavily crushed clay
flower pots). Crushed clay pots have been included in recipes for
potting composts from time to time in the past but are not available to
many of us today. Alternative materials which are easier to obtain
include:

(a) Calcined clay minerals of the kind that are used for cat litter, or
soaking up oil spillages from garage floors, or marketed from time to
time for horticultural use.
(b) Horticultural vermiculite or perlite.
(c) Crushed brick, marketed as a dressing for hard tennis courts.
(d) Crushed tufa, sifted to remove dust.

All of these have the right consistency, they are stable materials which
retain their integrity for a long time and are easy to manage, they are
inert, they hold water and yet drain freely, and produce an environment
for seeds which is moist, well-aerated, and easily penetrated by the
emerging plumules and developing roots.

In practice, containers in which seeds are to be sown are prepared by
two-thirds filling them with potting compost, to provide the lower
layer. The topping of porous grit or vermiculite is then added to fill
the container, apart from a gap below the rim about C.5 cm (I in) deep
to allow for watering. Very small seeds, such as lobelias and begonias,
are scattered over the surface and allowed to sink into the upper layers
of the grit when they are watered;

Figure 5.3 Seeds should always be sown in the smallest container that
will hold the number of plants needed. A gritty well-drained compost
reduces risks of damping off, and makes management easier.

57

medium-sized seeds, which would include pansies and cabbages, are
scattered evenly over the surface, and then 'ploughed' in using a pencil
or pointed stick to break up the surface and bury the seeds beneath it.
Sweet peas, lupins and other larger seeds are sown on a shallow bed of
the porous grit immediately above the lower layer of compost, and more
grit is added to bury them about 1.5 cm (^ in) beneath the surface.

When seeds have been sown in this way their management becomes extremely
simple. They should be covered until they start to germinate, and
nothing does this better than sheets of expanded polystyrene—ceiling
tiles can be used, the pot holders used to deliver pot-plants to
florists shops, or sheets of salvaged packing material—all can easily be
cut to exactly the size required, and the material does not provide a
cold surface on which water condenses and drips on to the seeds below.
When seedlings emerge these sheets should be removed each morning and
replaced each evening, until the seedlings grow up and come into contact
with the polystyrene. The seeds and young seedlings must never be
allowed to become dry, or suffer stress from lack of water. If in any
doubt they should always be watered copiously, using a watering can with
a fine rose, from above. There is little danger of causing damage from
overwatering because the layer in which the seeds are sown drains freely
and retains no surplus water. Later, as seedlings develop, the parts
which are most vulnerable to the fungal infection which cause them to
damp off are also located in the porous, free-draining upper layer and
are much less likely to suffer from these problems, even with less than
skilful watering.

It is well worth making an attempt to standardise the containers in
which seeds arc sown if this is at all possible, by choosing a
particular shape and size, appropriate to the number of seedlings
needed. Plastic containers are easier to manage than clay ones, and a
square cross section is more economical than a round one. Drainage is
vitally important, both through the compost surrounding the seeds and
out of the base of the container, because much the easiest system of
management is to water frequently and allow surplus water to drain away.
In normal circumstances the smallest square section plastic container,
which will accommodate sufficient seedlings, is the right one to use. A
small square plastic pot with a surface area of about 50 sq cm (i.e. 7x7
cm) (7 1/2 sq in, 2 3/4 X 2 3/4) will hold about 100 seedlings of all
the more finely built bedding plants, up to the time they are ready to
be pricked out, about 50 African marigolds and something like 25
seedling dahlias. Fifteen of these pots will fit into the space occupied
by a single seed tray and the latter, which is constructed to hold
thousands of seedlings at this stage of their development, is almost
always wastefully large for the purpose.

Pricking Out Seedlings

Traditionally, whether plastic pots or seed trays are being used, seeds
are sown quite thickly, but not too thickly, and soon after they have
germinated the seedlings are transplanted into another container,
individually or in small groups, by an operation known as pricking out.
At this stage each seedling is spaced out to give it room to develop and
a seed tray becomes an appropriate, convenient and practical choice.
Seedlings should be pricked out at the first moment when they can
possibly be handled. Normally this is when the seed

58


leaves, known as cotyledons, have just become fully expanded—a prospect
which dismays many novice gardeners. It appears to be impossible to
handle something so small and certainly absolutely impossible to handle
it without crushing it to death. In fact these tiny seedlings are
surprisingly easy to handle, holding them firmly by their newly expanded
seed leaves, and they suffer much less damage than they would if
attempts were made to move them later when they appear to be more
robust. Many seedlings produce roots which grow so rapidly and strongly
that any delay results in damage to the roots and makes it much more
difficult to place the seedlings quickly and neatly into their new
positions, using a small pointed stick to open up planting holes and
guiding each seedling into it by hand.

The aim should be to keep these little plants in seed trays only for as
long as they need to grow large enough to establish themselves
successfully when planted out in their final positions in the garden.
Wide spacings between seedings pricked out into seed trays waste space
and are not helpful. A standard seed tray should hold about 40 plants of
strong-growing annuals like dahlias; moderate growers like snapdragons
and verbena about 70, and small tufty plants like alyssum and lobelia
can be packed in so that each tray holds about 90 clusters of small
plants. Seed trays are large objects which occupy a great deal of
valuable protected space in springtime, and lap up enormous quantities
of expensive compost, but too many gardeners are not aware of their
potential capacity, and are reluctant to pack them with as many plants
as they can hold.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html