After soaking for 24 hours how come some brug seeds are so slippery and slimey? Have they been in the water too long? Where did the 24 hour rule come from?
Seed question
I honestly don't know why, but I had assumed it was for survival reasons. Perhaps the slimey coat protected the seed from drying out somewhat...similar to agrosoke. I don't know about the 24 hour rule either. I just plant my seeds coat and all directly into the soil. I used to soak them first...still, I find just planting them does fine for me. I personally like to simply set up a few tables and lay the seed trays up along the tables so one can simply pour the soil on top and run ones hands along to smooth it down into the individual cells. The one simply pokes the seed down into each cell with one's finger and water. Of course I think putting some sort of screen would help as I have had numerous seeds work their way up out of their compartments and onto the ground during a strong rain. One can plant a few thousand Brugmansia seeds this way in just a few hours though and still have very good germination rates.
Eric, you're not soaking your seeds anymore??
Seeds should be washed clean in clear water after harvesting. They will not become slimy then. Only dried seed should be soaked for 24 hours in 25° warm water to soften the cork shell. It will make germination easier.
77° F, thanks Monika!
I'll remember that for my own seeds after harvesting Monika - thanks. I am such a butter fingers though, this afternoon I had seeds squirting all over...
tig, i am never normal. but i have seeds coming up outside, have been there since december....guess they didn't get under freezing under the soil. they were dropped straight out of the pod into the pot, threw a little soil over them. that's how i am going to plant from now on. i guess everybody has their own ways. that way nature kind of does it. i do like to soak seeds that you can start to see sprout before you plant, but i am not a real big seed person anyway.
This message was edited Tuesday, Feb 5th 9:39 PM
More information that I can use. Thanks everyone. I had wondered about the slimy seeds too, but since I didn't know for sure, just thought it was because they were fresh.
The salvias will make a slimey covering if you soak their seeds in the water, especially the guaraniticas.
Brugie, wasn't it cause they were fresh? i don't think that makes them bad seeds, what am i missing?
I don't know Arlene, we must be on the same wave length. I'm getting so much information now that I can't even think straight. Guess printing it off to read later might be a good thing. Eric's seeds didn't get slimy, so does that mean that they were rinsed? Will have to see if he does that. Guess I just thought slim was normal. :-)
i noticed the slime on some, can't remember, and honestly i have only soaked and started 3 kinds, first kind have started to come up....3 and one seed stuck on that i beheaded. the fourth kind are the ones in my pot outside, like magic, i just dumped them out of the pod into the pot. the ones i sent you weren't rinsed!
I have tried soaking and not soaking. I think everyone has their own method and if it works thats all that really matters. I have saoked my seed in clean "well water" to find that the seeds did produce a clear gelatinous coating around them after 24 hours or so. Perhaps sooner, I just wouldn't swear to it as I honestly don't recall. I have also germinated seeds in the cold winter months outside, in a green house in the spring and winter, and simply outdoors under the sprinklers during the summer. For the species I have grown the heat has definitly helped to speed up germination. Thanks for posting Monika, I am soaking it up rest assured.
just curious, I never wash this coating off, am I doing right?
Tig, I do just fine not washing the coating off. In fact, whehther I soak the seeds prior to planting them or just plant them and let them soak in the soil they always do fine. I can only say that I have tried a few different methods and have finally settled on the method that gets the most planted in the least bit of time.