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Old 29-03-2011, 05:27 PM posted to rec.gardens
zxcvbob zxcvbob is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2006
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Default Starting seeds in agar or gelatin?

Brooklyn1 wrote:
On Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:56:43 -0500, zxcvbob
wrote:

I have some very old pepper seeds that I'm trying to grow mostly for
a seed crop to keep the variety going. I've planted them twice
already; I put them in a damp paper towel on a heated bathroom
floor, and they germinate *very* quickly. But they are weak, and
when I move them to a little flat of seedling mix they die almost
immediately. I'm not sure if they can't push through the dirt, or
if they can't get out of the seed coat, but I think it's the former.

The fresh seeds (a different variety) that I handled the same way 2
weeks ago are vigorous young plants and ready to be transplanted to
individual pots already.

How about starting some in sterile gelatin? (I have enough seeds to
try this 2 or 3 more times if necessary) Would that work? Or
agar-agar from the Chinese market? I could put them under the
growlights a lot sooner that way too -- they would receive light as
soon as they sprout, even while under the surface of the gel.

What do you think? If it works, it might be an easier way to plant
begonia seeds, etc.

I've also heard of treating hard-to-grow seeds with potassium
nitrate, but I'm not sure what that's for. Fertilizer, I suppose.
Maybe I should put one or two drops of KNO3 solution on the wet
paper towel before this current batch dies...



What do you mean by "very old"? Sounds like those old seeds have been
damaged by improper storage.



They've been stored just fine, but they are 9 years old. Five years
is about the limit for pepper and tomato seeds. (Onion seeds are only
good for 1 year.) I had some fresher seeds of this variety 2 years
ago and planted them for a seed crop and had a total crop failure due
to rabbits and poor weather. I found this other packet from 2002 over
the winter.

-Bob