Playing with seed!

I saved a lot of Limbaughs Legacy "Potato Top" seed this year so I will have a lot for folks who want it in the future (it was one of my best this year). I had not used the paper towel germination test before. This year I used it to test all of my saved seed to determine germination rates. While everything germinated at 100%, I was throwing the test pads away after determining rates.

I remembered that many people germinate in paper towels to produce seedlings for growing. I germinated six Limbaugh seeds with the intent of moving the seedlings into pots after germinating. My belief was the seedlings would be very, very fragile. They were not at all fragile. The seedling roots penetrated the underlying towel layers and grew as much as an inch into the towels. When I lifted the top layer of towel, the underlying seedlings sprang upwards as if they had little springs under them. When I lifted them to remove them, the root had grown into the towel layers beneath them and it required a small amount of force to pull the root out. They seemed to hold up well to the force and transplanted easily into prepared pots in little holes I made with a pencil.

It's to hot outside too attempt growing them outside. I sat the six seedling pots in a south facing window sill and covered the lower part of the window with a layer of "Press and Seal" food wrap to diffuse the strong afternoon sunlight. I hope it works to protect the tiny seedlings from the sunlight until they grow a little.

I have in the past up potted normally germinated seedlings in order to disturb the tap root and force the plants to produce hairy root balls instead of a tap root. I'm wondering if moving the seedlings from paper towels to pots will have the same effect as up potting.

Ted