Need help sowing seeds the size of dust particles...

Hello All :)

I've sown many seeds...and I usually avoid any that are miniscule...like 'Crystal Palace' Lobelia. This year I traded seeds for a Nicitania. the seeds are just like dust (to me)...Good Grief!
How does one sow these kinds of seeds?
Any help would be greatly appreciated :)
Susan

You could mix them with a bunch of sand and then sprinkle that mixture on top of your seed starting mix--that way they'll be spaced out a bit better than if you try to spread them by themselves.

Hello ecrane3,

Thank you for your suggestion :)
Have a great day!

Susan

Hi. Just to keep a handle on things...if you pardon the pun...you might want to winter-sow these in a milk carton with potting soil in the bottom. It would sort of protect them from the elements until they grow big enough, and it would help to keep them in one place when the Nor-easters go through...so they don't end up in Oz...

Has anyone tried mixing tiny seeds with instant potatos and spreading the mix on top of the planting soil? I have read that the instant potatos cover the seeds and helps control the mositure level and allow light to reach the seeds.

I use the wet toothpick method for tiny seeds, particularly if they are relatively expensive small seeds. Dip the toothpick in water, touch it to a seed, and touch the seed to the surface of the planting medium. The surface tension of the tiny droplet of water on the end of the toothpick grabs the seed and, when you touch it to the growing medium, the water droplet goes into the medium, leaving the seed on the surface of the medium. It is a bit tedious, but it works fine for me.

If I were going to be planting a lot of small seeds, I would be interested in one of the vacuum devices for picking up and dropping small seeds:

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?scommand=search&search=small%2bseed&item=9594&category=292&subcategory=621

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?scommand=search&search=small%2bseed&item=9824&category=292&subcategory=621

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?scommand=search&search=small%2bseed&item=9055&category=292&subcategory=621

There are also smaller rubber bulb and tip devices that cost less.

ZM

I was wondering about those - I've been sowing a lot of coleus, not quite as small as nicotiana, but small enough that I struggle to differentiate between bits of soil and the seed.... Zen, have you actually ever used one? I'm wondering if your toothpick idea (patented?lol) is just as effective.

Hello all :)

Wow! So many great ideas!!! I took notes of them all :)
I'm going to try the sand and toothpick methods in different containers and see which results of germination/separation work best...

The potato method sounds like it would work too...but have no flake spuds here at home. I still wrote the info down :)

Thanks everyone!!!

Sheryl,

I have never purchased one of the vacuum devices because I don't plant enough small seeds to justify the investment. The toothpick method method has worked fine for me with coleus, petunias, and pansies. I even use the wet toothpick for larger seeds like eggplants and peppers. I do prefer to plant them one at a time, even if they are small, because I frequently use relatively expensive F1 hybrids. I don't want to have to thin out any expensive seedlings. And I prefer to have each little seedling in its own little square plastic pot.

I grow and breed zinnias as a hobby and their relatively large seeds are easily handled with just my fingers, particularly if I don't trim my fingernails too close.

ZM

I have bought the instant potatos but I have yet to try them. I should have tried them with the foxglove I just started. The starter cup looks like a chia pet. I got way to many seeds in the cups.

How interesting... you breed Zinnias. One of my favorites! The butterflies here in Tennessee adore them.

Wildcat, I wonder if you couldn't flood those seedlings to get them to separate out and -very gently, of course- repot them? Or is it worth the trouble to you?

My plan was to pick out them when the get a little size on them and pot them. My fiirst attempt with foxglove. This is a learning experience. I never started seeds at all until last winter other than throw seeds in a pot and set them outside in the winter a couple times. The only success I had doing that was shasta daisies about 15 years ago. Every time something sprouts I celebrate.

You an' me, both!

I mix sterilized coarse sand with my tiny seed such as lobelia, petunia and others. Some seeds are a powder, and while they can be effectively planted with sand, it may be of advantage to mix the seed right in the packet in order to get the clinging seed out of it. If these powdery seeds are ones I've collected, I store them in glassine bags rather than plastic, because seeds tend to stick to the plastic bags.

Mmm - good tip.

I tried the "drop of water on the end of a toothpick" method the other day and was delighted at how well it worked! Like Majic! ;-) Thank you, ZenMan, for telling about that one.

I also use the wet toothpick method. About 5 years ago I was 'trying' some seeds just for fun, this is when I first started digging around the yard, and I got some bunny tail seeds I think is what it was called, and it looked like dust and I just laughed and tossed them in the garden. Ptue on that! But now this is my 3rd year starting from seed and I'm addicted. I stopped counting potted plants ready to go out in the spring at around 700!

700 - OMG!!! You are gonna be one busy gal. lol.

A folded piece of paper acts like a funnel and a gentle tapping with the index finger of the opposite hand drops a seed or two allowing the next seed(s) to come forward or you can buy a plastic dispenser with the same effect.

As ecrane said about mixing tiny seed with sand - you can go a step further and use the mix in a salt shaker with holes big enough for the sand - I use this method with poppy seeds to scatter in the garden.

I've used the vacuum thing with the bulb as well as the wet toothpick method for small seeds. I've never used sand. They work fine but are kind of fiddly for me. I mostly use the wet toothpick for slightly larger seeds, like belladonna or henbane. With tiny seeds, I prefer making sure my hands are very dry and taking a pinch of seed and just barely moving my fingers over the planting medium but moving my hand quickly over the pellets or pots so that I get a little drifting of the tiny seeds in the air. This works okay. Using the bulb thing or the toothpick is more precise, but I have never been known for my preciseness with plants.

I've also used the folded piece of paper method, and its cousin, the little plastic doohickey you scratch the top of. I found both of these hard to control--I'd get a nice spread of seeds and then nothing and then a big glob.

Tried the toothpick, went well, but still have the problem with the starting medium getting stuck on the toothpick and looking an awful lot like the seed. Grrr.

I went ahead and ordered the bulb thingy from Johnny's - I didn't see any cheaper, but did see some a lot more expensive.

Thanks for the tips, ya'll!

I'm lazy. I planted nicotiana last year and simple toss them out side where I wanted them to grow. I then pulled up ones that i didn't want. I guess it depends what you want to do.

I tried that with nicotiana and didn't get a darn thing... perhaps they'll come up this year?

Just a thought...I used the toothpick trick a couple years ago, then switched to a bamboo shish-kabob skewer. Usually a package is under a buck. I found it easier because of the length. I just spritz a couple drops of water on the table I am working on. The skewers come in handy for other things too, such as propping up one end of a plastic dome on a flat which is under lights when one end is growing faster than the other...or you need prop up the dome to control moisture level but it's not quite time to completely remove the dome yet.

LOL! The "toothpicks" I had on hand when I did this were actually some of those what they call Australian chewing sticks, impregnated with cinnamon and tea tree oils.... I worried a bit if that stuff would transfer to the seeds but did not have time to go get any others, so.....

The bamboo skewer thing sounds like a great idea, thanks!

One note on the bamboo sticks for use in a humid environment such as propping up domes - they are very mold sensitive. Even sitting in a humid environment often causes mold to appear so I use them more for a dibbler than for a stake. Wooden painted pencils (other than they aren't long enough) make better mold resistant stakes.

After 40 years of sowing seeds, I just pinch the center of the seed package to form a crease, then holding the package with one finger free, I tap the package with the free finger to move the seeds downwards into the crease and out. I have learned to control the flow and numbers even with tiny seeds. Works for me.