Propagation: Saving Seed * Collecting Seed * Drying Seed * Storing Seed, 1 by RickCorey_WA

RickCorey_WA wrote:
Thanks for the paper towel / baggie / fridge tip! Have you tried coffee filters to prevent roots from piercing the towel?

My hands are too shaky to use a turkey baster / grease syringe as a seedling watering can (see Post #6318377). And it only holds a little water. I use them to suck drainage water out of trays and saucers.

I use a ketsup bottle or mustard bottle for watering trays of sedlings. A little shake or dip while moving along a row in a tray releases a little squirt. The size of the opening, and the flimsiness of the walls of the bottle, determine the size of the squirt.

Or I can just move along the row while squeezing steadily, and get a steady stream.

I read that I "should" always water trays from the bottom, but that sounds drippy and there's no room left in my bedroom for another tray full of muddy water. Carrying them back and forth to the bathtub every few days? If I ever have copious spare time, and also cover those rugs with plastic!

I just switched from Dixie Cups to plastic inserts in an 11x21" tray: 32, 36, 50, 72, 98 or 128 cells per tray. I'm still figuring out what works, and these don't tip over like Dixie Cups. But I think they aren't deep enough for many plants.

I'm still trying to create a bigger, brighter area for starting seeds indoors: I now have four compact flourescent bulbs allegedly with 100W output each, on a stand. These are pretzel bulbs in mogul bases, not T5 tubes.

RickCorey_WA
Zone 8a