Roku for seed starting

[Labradors2]

I've been sprouting a few seeds so that I can grow things in pots this winter, mostly broccoli and tomatoes.

I like to put the seeds on a dampened piece of paper towel in a baggie, and then leave them in a warm place to germinate. I was putting them on the windowsill in the sun during the day, but the problem is that the house gets a bit chilly at night and I don't think it's particularly warm on top of the fridge where I had been putting them.

Then I discovered that my little "hockey puck-type" Roku felt nice and warm. I put a couple of packets of seed on that, and (maybe it's just coincidence) but some seeds sprouted overnight!

The only warning is that one of my paper towels dried up and the seedling, which had sprouted, but hadn't emerged from its helmet was now dead . Perhaps I hadn't closed the baggie properly, but I'm careful to keep them nice and damp now.

Hooray for Roku in more ways than one .

Linda

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

I've been sprouting a few seeds so that I can grow things in pots this winter, mostly broccoli and tomatoes.

I like to put the seeds on a dampened piece of paper towel in a baggie, and then leave them in a warm place to germinate. I was putting them on the windowsill in the sun during the day, but the problem is that the house gets a bit chilly at night and I don't think it's particularly warm on top of the fridge where I had been putting them.

Then I discovered that my little "hockey puck-type" Roku felt nice and warm. I put a couple of packets of seed on that, and (maybe it's just coincidence) but some seeds sprouted overnight!

The only warning is that one of my paper towels dried up and the seedling, which had sprouted, but hadn't emerged from its helmet was now dead . Perhaps I hadn't closed the baggie properly, but I'm careful to keep them nice and damp now.

Hooray for Roku in more ways than one .

Linda

Linda, I haven't the faintest idea of what a Roku is but the very last method I would use is using a damp paper towel inside a baggie.

If you've ever looked at any of the germination result threads from my seed offers you'll see what I mean. Those who have the worst luck are those who use the baggie method, b'c that can rot the seeds and before that one can see the actual molds that develop on the seeds.

Yes, I know it works for some, but all those feedback threads show it can be a real problem.

I'd rather sow seeds in a shallow container containing artificial mix, give them some bottom warmth, cover the container with a large plastic baggie but leave one end open for air to circulate by actually propping it open with a pencil or whatever.

Carolyn

[Labradors2]

That's disappointing news Carolyn!

I hadn't made the connection when reading the reports on your seeds. I did wonder why some people seemed to have such bad luck in getting seeds to germinate.

I've always had great success with the paper towel method. I check on the seeds every day, and the only ones that have rotted on me have been those that take forever to germinate (can't remember if it's Basil or Parsley - or maybe my herb seeds were old), but not tomatoes unless they are dodgy to begin with and sit for a very long time.

I must be lucky that my seeds have been fresh and usually sprout in less than a week.

I wonder if the paper towel failures are due to people making them too damp. That's easy to do if you just splash water on the paper towel! Since I put more than one variety in a plastic bag, if I make one too wet, I will sandwich it between others that are dryer and it all seems to work out.

Roku is a device that can be hooked up to the TV to watch Netflix etc. It's fantastic!

Cheers,
Linda

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Linda, I haven't the faintest idea of what a Roku is but the very last method I would use is using a damp paper towel inside a baggie.

If you've ever looked at any of the germination result threads from my seed offers you'll see what I mean. Those who have the worst luck are those who use the baggie method, b'c that can rot the seeds and before that one can see the actual molds that develop on the seeds.

Yes, I know it works for some, but all those feedback threads show it can be a real problem.

I'd rather sow seeds in a shallow container containing artificial mix, give them some bottom warmth, cover the container with a large plastic baggie but leave one end open for air to circulate by actually propping it open with a pencil or whatever.

Carolyn

[Lindalana]

Since I do not have TV I do not know what Roku is also... I do have heated floor in my bathroom which works wonders for seed germination, unless of course dogs get to trash those boxes first
Moist paper towel or coffee filter inside of plastic bag has been my top choice for easy to germinate seeds, i.e. those that do not have special needs like stratification, total dark etc. Have grown lots and lots of seeds this way for many years, mmm, can´t remember ever having mold unless seed is not viable to begin with. I do presoak tomato seeds so generally takes only couple of days to germinate seeds. And it does not take any space so one can start 30 varieties in one small plastic container all at once.

[OmahaJB]

I have a friend who tried getting me to use the paper towel in a baggie method several years ago when I mentioned having trouble germinating seeds older than one year. He swore by that method, but after trying it I realized it wasn't for me. Seemed too much of a hassle. Finally, about a year ago I wised up and took people's advice on this forum and started soaking seeds overnight in a bowl of water. Only seeds I don't do that for now are seeds that grew out the previous growing season. After soaking in a bowl of water I then water very well the small hole I'm about to drop the seed into, and water again after I cover it up with a little more soil. Some may think that's overkill with watering, but it works well for me. So well in fact, that the same friend who recommended I use the paper towel method asked how I start seeds after seeing my seedlings under lights. He had tried starting seeds from the same pack I had and was having trouble.

As for Roku it's very nice to have. I started a forum for it several months ago in the 2 cents forum. If I didn't have Amazon Instant Video I wouldn't be as impressed, as most of the channels in the channel store don't have good enough or enough content to make them worthwhile, in my opinion. And the private channels I've found haven't exactly overwhelmed me either.

Edit: I forgot to mention after sowing my seeds I then place the 2" or 4" containers in either my little Jiffy or Planter's Pride greenhouse for bottom heat.

[Labradors2]

DOGS! Been there, done that! I decided to put some dried bunny droppings on my broccoli pots - they looked like little round slow-release ferts, but what was I thinking? My Labrador thought they were very tasty .

Soaking overnight is a new one on me, so thanks to you and Omaha for the tip. Anything to get these babies germinating sooner!

I love the fact that the paper towel and baggie method takes no space and I can tell very quickly which seeds are duds.

Linda

Originally Posted by Lindalana

Since I do not have TV I do not know what Roku is also... I do have heated floor in my bathroom which works wonders for seed germination, unless of course dogs get to trash those boxes first
Moist paper towel or coffee filter inside of plastic bag has been my top choice for easy to germinate seeds, i.e. those that do not have special needs like stratification, total dark etc. Have grown lots and lots of seeds this way for many years, mmm, can´t remember ever having mold unless seed is not viable to begin with. I do presoak tomato seeds so generally takes only couple of days to germinate seeds. And it does not take any space so one can start 30 varieties in one small plastic container all at once.

[Doug9345]

After some great successes, some failures, and some just plain weird results, I've come to the conclusion that much of variability in germination between one person and the next has to do with the differences in the moisture and heat AT THE SEED.

I was having inconsistent results sprouting peppers and started to do careful observations. The set up I had was plastic shelves with a string of little Christmas lights fastened to the bottom of the shelves. I enclosed the whole thing with taped together brown craft paper.

I found was running into two problems. One was that, while the cups where watered to the point of being soggy at times, the area where the seed was would go from being wet when I watered to dry in between. I found covering each little cup helped a lot. I also tend to plant a little shallow. It helps some with old seed but increases the incidence of helmet head.

The other problem was temperatures that varied too much across both the set up and also across time. I used a kitchen thermometer to check each pot and different places in each pot. The seed in containers that had temperatures over 95°F even for short periods of times had very low germination rates. Some cups would be 90°F on the bottom and less than 80°F on the top.

How does this relate to germinating seeds in baggies? Given their small thermo mass I suspect that some peoples setups varied wildly in temperature and they didn't know it. I use to do some on top of the water heater, some grew great some molded. I also never achieved a consistent moisture level in the paper towel.

Finally I think one variable is your water. Is it water from a municipal water supply that is treated or well water that is just as it came out of the ground. I think their is also the luck of the draw shall we say. Did this particular time did you happen to suck enough spores into the bag to grow mold faster than the seed is going to germinate?

[Labradors2]

Hi Doug,

You make some very interesting comments.

To tell the truth, my usual modus operandi is to put the baggies on top of the fridge and leave them there, except for checking on them every day. I seem to get the dampness right and the seeds that I save myself have excellent germination.

This winter, I had some Red Robin seeds that I had saved 3-4 years ago. They hadn't germinated in over a week and I really wanted them to hurry up, so I started putting the baggie on a sunny windowsill where it was very hot during the day, but then they had to go back to the top of the fridge, where it was cool. Those seeds haven't germinated in a month. Even the second batch, which I soaked first in tea, haven't germinated, and the fresh garlic chive seeds which I harvested myself, gave me only two sprouts out of 8. Could it be the variation in temperature????

When I discovered the warmth of the Roku, I put my recently-purchased seeds on it and they obviously liked it and sprouted in just a few days. However, I also found that moisture level is more critical with the higher temperature, and that the paper towel can dry out very easily (maybe the baggie wasn't air-tight, or perhaps I didn't close it properly.)

Linda

[Doug9345]

I'd think that the sunny window would cook the seeds. It only takes once getting too hot to do them in. I assume that chive have similar needs to onions. If you look at this chart http://tomclothier.hort.net/page11.html you will see that as you climb above 95°F for sustained periods the germination percent drops out of to nothing for most species. I suspect that, for a lot of seed, a spike to 110°F will reduce germination. I understand that hot-water treatment of tomato seed reduces the germination rate. I believe that temperature is 121°F or 122°F.

Another thing I think with the baggie method is that it is more related to tissue culture methods than any other. Tissue culture practitioners go to great length to achieve sterility in their scions.

[Labradors2]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for sharing the germination chart - most interesting and it would explain what happened to my garlic chives and maybe it did-in my old R. Robins too. It probably did get too hot on the windowsill and cooked them!

I too was thinking that at least the seeds are kept relatively sterile in their paper towel and baggie. So far I haven't had to deal with damping off in any of my little tomato seedlings.

Tissue culture? That takes me back to when I bought my first Stella D'Oro Daylily plants that had been reproduced by tissue culture. They took YEARS to get going - slowest daylilies on the planet, but at least they survived. I once bought a hosta from a local nursery that kept getting smaller every year until it finally disappeared. I suspect that tissue culture may have played a hand.....

Linda

Originally Posted by Doug9345

I'd think that the sunny window would cook the seeds. It only takes once getting too hot to do them in. I assume that chive have similar needs to onions. If you look at this chart http://tomclothier.hort.net/page11.html you will see that as you climb above 95°F for sustained periods the germination percent drops out of to nothing for most species. I suspect that, for a lot of seed, a spike to 110°F will reduce germination. I understand that hot-water treatment of tomato seed reduces the germination rate. I believe that temperature is 121°F or 122°F.

Another thing I think with the baggie method is that it is more related to tissue culture methods than any other. Tissue culture practitioners go to great length to achieve sterility in their scions.

[Doug9345]

Tissue culture is basically high tech propagation from cuttings. There's more to it than that, but that is what it amounts to. May potato varieties have become viable again though tissue culture.

[KarenO]

Hi Linda,
Like Carolyn, I am not a pre-sprouter and I just plant directly into seedling mix or jiffy pellets depending on the seed as I think it gives them a better start to germinate in soil and begin their growth in a natural way plus it saves a step and I don't see an advantage to pre-sprouting easy to germinate seeds. That's my way but I do know many people like to pre-sprout and that's their method and choice which is fine.
on the subject of providing a heat source for seed germination, The last couple of years I have used a purpose made heating mat for seed starting and I think you'd find it's worth the small investment for the steady ideal germination temperature they generate. conveniently sized to fit under a seedling flat too.
Christmas is coming, maybe ask Santa for one you'll love it
Karen