I soaked my seeds overnight. Do I need to nick them of at least abraid them with a file?
seed treatment
Usually they will peel easily after soaking, so the outer husk should come right off. Otherwise, it would not hurt to nick them, but is probably not necessary, especially after soaking. If they are too small to peel, just plant and they will be fine.
It isn't necessary to peel your seeds either. It is just a lot of work. After soaking, lay the seeds on top of soil that has had boiling water run through it and allowed to cool. Press the seeds so that they make good contact with the soil. Put the pot in a clear plastic bag and tie it shut. You won't have to do anything with the seeds until after germinated. The reason for the boiling water is to kill all molds, bug eggs, etc. Fungus gnats are a problem for many, who sow their seeds directly into potting soil without sterilizing it. Some have no trouble. This method keeps them out and your seeds won't end up with little worms in them.
woodspirit, I would soak them for 48 hrs. It speeds up germination. Brugie has given you already all advice needed.
OK I did it. You will laugh at what i put them in. I have 2 mini-muffin pans and those expanding peat pellets fit in them perfectly so that's what I started them in. Should I give them a shot of MG or Peter's when I water?
I wouldn't fertilize them until they have true leaves and not full strength.
I have done that myself. It worked for me!
they look pretty silly, but I'm not using the muffin pans at all. I use a turkey baster to water seedlings.
Hey,I use a baster!!LOL!!
You people here are amazing. I read and read the forums because I am constantly learning new things..and keep thinking...Why didnt *I* think of that..Thanks for the good ideas and the grins that come along with them.
Kris
I use a plastic Pepsi bottle with one of those things on it that come on bottled water for drinking out of. I don't know what they are called, but you pull them up to let the liquid out and push them down to close it. Anyone know what those are called? I use them in the greenhouse too, and they are especially nice for new seedlings. I don't seem to flood them or knock them over using it. I mix my fertilized water in a 30 gallon plastic trash container and it makes it handy for filling the bottles up. I keep gallon jugs of plain water in the greenhouse for watering new seedlings. If the humidity isn't very high, I use spray bottles and mist everything several times a day too.
Brugie,
How long will that container of mixed ferti be good ?
.... Funny , as much as I hate plastic , there are so many uses for it in the garden.
I don't have a problem with it lasting very long. I probably mix every two weeks and it seems to still work for me. It is in the shade under a shelf in the greenhouse.
Do you have to stir it, Brugie before every use?
No, I don't stir it. My fertilizer seems to dissolve very well in our water. There is no sediment in the bottom of the container when time to refill. I'm sure just the motion of the water when I dip into it keeps it stirred up a bit anyway.
I am glad I read ALL these posts, I learn something new every day, thanks to all you Brug lovers.
Brugie...wanted to ask, do you still pour the boiling water through the potting mix, if you are using a new bag of potting soil?
I sure do Margie. So many of the soils are actually not soil at all and critters/eggs can lay in there just waiting to be watered. Boiling water isn't their favorite kind. LOL!
You guys are so full of information, being so new to Brugs, I'm learning a lot here, now if I could just keep those pesky snails away from my one and only that I just brought back from Southern California!
Good luck, Hanna on those snails. I have enough to supply the world and they are playing havoc with my Brug seedlings. The leaves have that shiney, slimy junk on them in the mornings. Some of these slugs are so huge. They're three or four inches or longer and fat as mud. Yuck!
Ya I didn't see them down South, but We have what they call banana slugs here, yuk, and the regular ones also, and those snails have made so so many babies, I think they need birth control, lol