Instant Gratification: From Seeds to Seedlings in 1 week.
By kestrel
I don't know about you but for me, whenever the days are clear during winter, with the sun shinning and the ground devoid of any greenery , I start planning what I want to plant where come spring. This fanciful pastime just gets worse as the days get warmer and longer. Normally we'd have to wait til March (at least here in PA) before the nurseries start pushing flowers and shrubs. Then, we'd have to wait even more until the chance of frost is gone. You could do this...
Or, just start the plants inside yourself. Tradtionally you would start with a growing flat of some sort, put in some soil, poke in your seeds, water, cover, and then wait. And wait. Hope they germinate. And wait some more. Usually anywhere from 2 to 5 weeks.
Being a bit anxious to get a jump on spring I followed some suggestions from the forums over at GardenWeb.com and tried something called the baggie method. Basically, you start your seeds in damp coffee filters (clean), put them in a zip lock baggie and your seeds start germinating in half the time, if not less, than normal.
The basic steps areas follows:
1. Take a clean coffee filter and mist it with enough water that it is damp, not dripping. If you are using cone filters I usually rip them at the seem to open them up. If you are doing more than one coffee filter it is a good idea to label each one with a permanent marker.
2. Sprinkle the seeds on to the coffee filter. Make sure they are spread out otherwise the roots can get entangled.
3. Fold the coffee filter over in half, and then again in to quarter. You should end up with your coffee filter shaped like 1/4 of a circle or an ice cream cone if you use cone filters.
4. Press down gently to make sure the seeds have contact with the filter. If they seem a bit loose in the filter I usually give it another fine misting.
5. Lay the filter down flat in a gallon size zip lock baggie. If you are doing multiple seeds I try to keep it to no more than 4 filters per gallon sized bag.
6. Once you have the filters in the baggie take the baggie, zip it almost all the way up, and then blow in to it to fill it up with warm air. Zip the baggie once it is filled with air. The idea is that you are making a little mini greenhouse for the seeds.
7. Place the zip lock baggies in a warm area that gets atleast indirect sun. I place mine in a window leaning up against some plants that are wintering inside. Make sure that baggies are standing up so that as the seeds germinate the roots stay inside the filters. If you lay the baggies on their side the roots will grow through the filters and then you risk ripping the roots when you move them to pots.
8. Check the baggies dailt to make sure they do not dry out. Likewise, make sure you don't make them so wet that the seeds rot. If you do over water the filters just take them out and lay them open to air dry.
9. Once the seeds have germinated and have a complete set of leaves I move them to peat pots. To do this gently open up the filter being careful not to rip the roots. I mist the filter and roots a bit to make it easier to lift them loose.
The time it takes for the seeds to germinate really depends on the plant. I find it happens anywhere from a few days to about 2 weeks. The Zinnias in the photos took only a week, as did some Hollyhocks. The Zinnias measured 3 to 4 inches from top of leaves to bottom of the root after only 5 days!
Using this method I have had great luck with Zinnias, Hollyhocks, Cosmos, Sunflowers, Petunias, Echinacea, Salvias, Poppies, Carnations and other Dianthus type
Just a word of caution. Don't start your plants too early. A few years back I was so anxious to get going that I started my seeds the week after Christmas. By February I had sunflowers that were over a foot tall and no place to put them. ooops!
Have fun and enjoy,
Jim
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DIY Maven
WOW! What a great idea!
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