Deno method

Just beginning to get information starting my own seeds this year indoors and have been reading all I can get my hands on here.
Can someone here explain to me what is the "Deno Method" & what is the "Wet towel" method.
I have no experience and want to learn all I can, but this is got me stumped.
Thanks in advance for any info and happy gardening to all.

If you are just starting, I would suggest picking "easy" plants and starting in fresh seedling mix or very light, airy potting mix.

Dr. Deno figured out the paper towel - plastic bag method for very difficult seeds that needed to be chilled, then warmed, then sometimes chilled again, for weeks or months! (Cold-wet stratification, which I like to spell "start-ification", since it is just "starting" very stubbornly dormant seeds.)

You CAN use the paper-towel method to start seeds if you want to watch the process happen before your eyes. It is cool to watch with big seeds, or cheap seeds, or saved seeds.

However, AS SOON AS the baby root emerges, it would be much happier in soil.

Better to start the seed right in the soil, if it is a normal easy-to-start vegetable.

Having new, clean, almost sterile seedling mix is a big help. If you can find a small bag of really good, profession starting mix like "Pro-Mix" or "Sunshine", you might wonder why anyone would have trouble starting seeds.

Cheap peaty, powdery mixes like Miracle-Gro or generic Home Depot junk will help you learn every possible thing that can go wrong with seed starting.

A good, professional mix is "fluffy" and stands tall with lots of air trapped in it. Eveemn if you over-water, enough water will drain right out that some air remains in the mix.

ROOTS NEED AIR at least as much as they need water.
Roots will drown in a fine, powdery mix that is over-watered even breifly.

If you buy cheap potting mix, add 20% - 30% coarse, gritty-size amendments like crushed rock grit , coarse Perlite, small bark nuggets (a few mm in size). They will help the excess water to drain out, so that NEEDED AIR can diffuse through the mix and reach the roots.

"Why not just avoid overwatering?" you ask. Excellent question: master that and you will have good luck starting from seeds.

I'm still struggling to avoid overwatering.

turningbasin
Hi, I am the one that started spreading the Deno seed sowing method here on Daves. It is the one I use 99% of the time, except for tiny seeds. It prevents oversowing and wasting seeds. It can be used for annuals and perennials. Best of all, this method will let you know exactly how many seedlings you will have as they sprout. The Deno method and the "wet towel" method is the same just called by a different name.

Here is How.
( For annuals, skip the fridge and just place the Deno bag at room temp (70F, or higher)

Most hardy perennial seeds require 3 weeks of stratification (moisture with cold temp) to improve germination. That makes the fridge perfect for the next step if sowing hardy perennials.

First, soak the seeds overnight in hand hot water to soften the seed coat and to remove some of the seed germination inhibitor present in the seed, or seed coat.

You can simulate nature using a damp kitchen paper towel. Cut it into ½, then ½ again. You will have 4 squares. Use one for each cultivar. Wet the square, and then squeeze out the excess water. You want the towel damp, not wet. Fold it in half. Place the seeds in the middle and fold one end over the seeds twice. Place this package into a small zip-lock bag (available in Walmart craft dept) with an Id label and zip it closed. Place in fridge for at least 2 to 3 weeks to stratify the seeds. After stratification time, move to room temp to germinate. I usually put the bag on top ot the fridge where it is warm. Check them frequently, and pot up any seeds that sprouted. Seedlings should begin to appear in 2-3 weeks, depending on the cultivar. Tardy seeds can be returned to the fridge for more stratification.

Sprouting time is a genetic factor. At this point, check the seeds every 2nd or 3rd day, starting after the 3rd day. As soon as seeds have formed a radical (tiny roots forming) use a tweezer to grasp the seed casing and transfer to seed flat or pot. Make a hole with a pencil and guide the root into the hole. Plant so the seed is 1/8" below the surface, 1" or more, apart. Be sure to place roots downwards in the hole. If the roots have grown into the paper towel, just tear around the roots and plant it. Do not try to remove the roots from the paper. The paper will eventually rot.

I plant the sprouting seed in a 6-pack, using seedling mix. I like Jiffy mix.It is made with very fine peatmoss and vermiculite. Perfect for tiny roots. Available in Wal-Mart,. The 6-packs are 6, 1” pots that are attached (see photo2). Also available in Walmart with a tray.

If when sprouted, it is difficult to see which is roots, and which is the top. In that case, place the seed on its side and cover. The roots will grow downwards by itself. Do not allow the roots to become too long before planting. The seeds can be planted as soon as germination is seen.

Until the sprouted seeds have broken through the soil, they do not need light. However, once they do, grow them in a sunny window, under light, or place the flat outside in a protected area if weather is warm.

When the seedlings are large enough to handle 2nd pair of leaves, pot them in a 3" pot. I use the 3" foam cups made for coffee. At this stage, seedlings can be potted in any good potting soil. A screwdriver will easily punch drainage holes in foam pots. The cups are cheap to buy at Wal-Mart. Plant outside when all danger of frost is past in your zone. In my zone 4, that is the end of May.

Harden them off before planting out. I place the pots in a large plastic bin with drainage holes and placed on the East side of my garage. I keep the cover ready incase of bad weather. After 1 week of morning sun, they are ready for planting in the garden, or border.

1] Columbine seeds sprouted in kitchen towel and prior to potting those that have sprouted.
2] Heliopsis planted in a 6-pack and growing.
3] Datura (White Moon flower) growing in a 3" foam mug to be planted outside end of May.
4] Sprouted seedlings can be planted in flats also as these had been. I ran out of 6-packs.
5] Seedlings placed in a clear plastic bin on the East side of my garage for mornings sun to be acclimated to weather before planting out. Cover will be used incase of rain.

For tiny or dustlike seeds I sow them in clear plastic container with fine peatmoss that is moistened. Gently pat down the seeds, cover and place in the fridge. Will germinate when brought out to room temp.

If you think about soil in the ground that will germinate seeds no matter how bad the soil is, tells me that it isn't so much the type of potting soil that successfully sprout seeds. The factors are temperature, how the seeds were stored, maturity of the seeds (harvest), and a built-in dormancy factor. All seeds have special needs. If those needs are not met, the seed will not sprout. It is natures way of assuring their survival.

,b>HINT: when a seed package states "need light to germinate" it does not mean it literally. It has been taken out of contex. It simpy means to surface sow (scatter on top) and lightly press seeds don't bury. It is usually stated for small or tiny seeds. Tiny or dustlike seeds would never reach the surface if covered. Larger seeds are usually covered.

Good potting soil is well draining yet holds moisture. It seems to be hard to find lately. Miracle-Gro and other brands have wood pieces in the mix. I swear I think they scrape it of the ground in wooded areas. It works, I have my seedlings in it. I don't like it. I used to mix peatmoss and perlite and add plant food. It makes for a perfect potting mix, also to root cuttings in. It is what commercial nurseries used to ship plants in before the 90's

Watering, place pot in a shallow container with 1" of water. Pour a bit of water on top to begin the syphoning action. Water will be drawn up from the bottom and penetrate the whole root ball.

If the potting soil is too dry, it will shrink away from the sides of the pot. You can figue where the water will run if ony watered from the top---along the sides without penetrating the root ball.
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Lastly, I will add that seeds that you harvest from your tomatoes, pepper, etc) will not come true from seeds, including flowers also. That is important to know if you want a specific type of tomato. I know this from my own experience. Only flowers that are native or non-hybrids will come true from seed. In other words, those that humans haven't fiddled with will come true.

Each seed that you harvest will produce a brand new and different variety never seen due to many generations of genes that were bred into the parent plant. Iris and daylilies are prime examples of that. It is how all the new and beautiful flowers are produced. They are hybrids.

To avoid disappointment, if you want a certain type of tomatoes, you are better off to get what you want when you purchase seeds from a seed company or store. That goes for green peppers also.
The popular tomato Early Girl is a hybrid.

Good luck and enjoy. Somewhere on Dave you will always get an answer to your questions.

Thank you very much for these responses. these are very helpful in helping me understand the process enough to start my seeds, using this method.
sounds like it would be more convenient versus planting the seeds in small containers and not knowing what seed is going to germinate.

My only question here is: Why put them in the refrigerator for several days. I am having trouble understanding this part of it.

Not all need to be put in the fridge. However, many hardy perennials require--what is called stratification---meaning cold with moisture to signal them winter. When you then place the seeds in warm room temp, it tells the seeds "spring is here, wake up and grow".

Perennials from tropical or warm climates don't need to be stratified.

Below is a link where germination and growing is much discussed.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1344533/

Ok, now it makes more sense to me.
Thanks

turningbasin You are welcome.

Since seed sowing will come soon again, here is an update that I am trying now with daylily seeds but can be used with any seeds that are large enough to handle.

Instead of using paper towels, I am doing Deno a la Vermiculite. I fill the 2x3" zip lock bags 1/2" full (tampered down) with moist vermiculite. Then I place 3 seeds on top, then another 1/2" layer on top of the seeds and close the bag.

Continue as with paper towels--hardy perennials in the fridge for 3 weeks, etc. You can place more seeds in the bag, just add enough vermiculite. I only use 3 for daylilies because I plant in 6-packs after sprouting. Vermiculite is working great for me. It is sterile. Also you can tell if a seed has germinated by stirring the seeds around a bit.

1] QUICK START---a hormone to help roots establish quickly. I use it when I plant in the house, and in the garden/nursery.
2] Seeds (daylily) in vermiculite ready to be covered and placed in fridge.

I use a Seeding Mix to plant when seeds have sprouted. The mix is fine in texture, unlike potting soil.