Seed germination

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pichu Salt Spring Island, Canada Jun 20, 2007

I was experimenting and planted peas in six different sections, six with one seed, six with two seeds, six with three seeds ect... The ones with more seeds grow faster that the ones on their own. Does anyone knows why?

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kls_01 Champaign, IL(Zone 5b) Jun 20, 2007

Well, when you say different sections, do you mean completely different sections far away from each other? If so, then they may be getting different sunlight or nutrients.....I have no idea why they would...but maybe seeds give off some sort of hormone thing or something when they sprout that aids germinations...since they're planted together maybe one germinated causes a chain reaction. Or, maybe they are growing so vigourously because they know they're competing for nutrients? I don't know...I'll have to look it up and see if I can find something.

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pichu Salt Spring Island, Canada Jun 20, 2007

The plants where planted in a green house as an experiment for my son's science class and they where all treated equaly. I agree with you it might have to do with competing for nutrients but I don't n know for sure. Thank you for your response

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kls_01 Champaign, IL(Zone 5b) Jun 20, 2007

No problem. I've looked a little bit up on the internet, but nothing definitive. It did say that once the seeds take in enough water to swell and then burst, growth hormones are released. Perhaps they're feeding off each others growth hormones? Or, I suppose it could be something unique to peas...maybe if you continue the experiment you could try it with different plants to see if they react the same way.

Kristie

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jkehl Rome, GA(Zone 7b) Jun 21, 2007

Hi Pichu,

Critterologist has a real good growing guide over in the Pepper forums. Here's one thing he says that I found interesting:

"I've been planting basil and some other things (alyssum, lobelia, dill, parsley) in clumps for several years now, following the directions Tom DeBaggio sets out in his "little book" (_Growing Herbs from Seed, Cutting & Root: An adventure in small miracles_), and I've had great success. He's a fan of clump transplanting for several reasons. A larger clump of roots in the pot means it's harder to drown the little seedlings (root & stem rot are less likely when the roots take up more water and accelerate the drying of the growing medium"

He's talking about transplanting, but I think the concept applies to seedlings as well. In effect, when they're really small, the seedlings help each other out. With more seedlings there's a bigger root ball to use the moisture up in the soil quicker and they have a stronger, more stable base. Eventually they'll start competing with each for water and nutrients but when they're small it's better to have several close together in my opinion.

Jeff

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