Seed germination in polybags

I mentioned this in passing on another thread, but thought that it warranted a place of its own.



I have recently been germinating a batch of seeds in polybags - pictured above. And am very pleased with the results so far.

The method I have used is to put a piece of folded kitchen roll in a resealable polybag. Then spray it with water, or better still a dilute copper solution to kill mould, so that it is moist without being too wet. Don't wet the paper first and then put it in the bag, as the wet paper will stick to the sides and be very difficult. Now put your seeds on the damp paper, stick a label in the bag and seal it up. As long as there is some moisture and some oxygen in the bag the seeds will be quite happy and germinate in due time.

You need to inspect them every day and when one seed germinates you need to carefully remove it (with tweezers) and place it on the surface of a small pot of compost, and cover it with a very small amount of fine moist compost or vermiculite. This is the same as sowing a normal seed except that this time you are sowing a seed that has already germinated.

So why should you do it this way? There are several reasons.

1) It takes up very little space. I have just sowed 40 bags this way, and when they are stacked they can be put in a dark corner and take up no more volume than a half sized seed tray. If the seeds need light for germination then you need to give them that - but most seeds don't.

2) If I wanted 50 plants for a bedding plan I wouldn't sow them this way, I would use an ordinary seed tray. But this method is very useful for small numbers of precious seeds. Its also easy to sow seeds from last year if there is doubt about whether they will germinate or not, as you are taking up almost no space at all. I have been using it when I have only one or two seeds left, perhaps from last year. I would never bother to sow them in a seed tray.

3) You can see exactly when and how many seeds germinate. I believe seed banks use this method to test seed viability and to calculate percentage germination rates. Though I think they use dishes of algar (upmarket kitchen roll). :D

4) As there is no soil at this stage, there is nothing to contaminate your seed or make it mouldy. If the seed does go mouldy as some of mine have in the past you know that the mould was in the seed itself and didn't come from the compost or anywhere else.

The disadvantage is that it is more fiddly, and removing the just germinated seeds requires a steady hand. But I am already very pleased with my results so far. I have already managed to germinate some seeds that I failed to germinate with several goes in compost.

 

Thank you very much Peter!

I am considering giving this method a go, and your guide will be most helpful. Also the addition of a photo is very useful.

 

Hi Peter
I had been going to try this as I have some Adenium and Plumeria seeds to sow and I don't have any room left ... I will try tomorrow...

Dave

 

Thansk Peter. Just in case you haven't seen it here's an article I found on the InterWeb when following your advice to me a few months back about "Baggy Germination"

http://www.robsplants.com/seed/baggy.php

 

Thanks Kristen - thats a very interesting article.

One great advantage of this method is that it is so easy and economical that you can affort to experiment. I have been meaning to try some in the airing cupboard. As the article said, its also a very convenient size to put in the fridge if seeds need cold stratification. Before I used polybags I used to put entire pots of compost in the fridge in a bag.

I like the idea of storing the bags vertically, as there is a problem with roots growing into the paper. Also I like the idea of using coffee filters as you know that there won't be any nasty chemicals on them. Kitchen roll could be treated, though I have always bought the cheapest and never had any problems.

I used to sandwich the seeds between two layers of paper, but I found it difficult to see what was going on. So now I just lay the seeds on top of a piece of doubled paper. This was you can see very clearly when the seed starts to germinate. Also the seed is in contact with the damp paper on one side, but the thickness of the seed holds the polythene away slightly on the otherside ensuring that there is a bit of air round the seed as well. I inspect my bags at least once a day, if not twice. And remove the seed as soon as I see any signs of germination. I removed some this morning where the radicle was less than a fifth of the length of the seed case. That way there is no chance of the roots growing into the paper.

I also think its more fun that looking at a pot or seedtray.

 

I've use this method to germinate daylily seeds but using slightly damp vermiculite instead of paper (seeds are much larger) take around 6-8 weeks but very high germination.

 

I like this idea very much Peter,specialy for seeds that I have gathered over the previous season as they can be hit and miss.Anything that can help avoid dissapointment by highlighting void seed early.
I will be experimenting later this morning.....

 

Simbad, I like your point about using vermiculite for big seeds, I think I will try that. I have put some Brugmansia seeds (huge knobbly things) into a bag, and they look a bit silly sitting on damp paper making almost no contact with it.

Roders, I think one of the strengths of this method is that you can use five year old packets of seed that you were about to throw out. I wouldn't bother to sow dubious packets in a seed tray - but a bag takes up so little space.

 

I soaked my Brug seeds for 24 hours or so and then cut the "cork" off with a scalpel to reveal a much smaller seed.

(I got almost 100% germination from the seeds I got from Moles, and almost nothing from the ones from Jungle Seeds ... but J.S. have a good reputation so I expect it was just me - although they were side-by-side and should thus have had identical conditions.

 

Never heard of Moles - thanks for the intro Kristen. You get a lot of seed for your money with them - just a shame they don't have a bigger selection. I also soak the seeds, but have never dared remove the cork. I must try that.

I bought several packets of Brugs from Jungle seeeds. I had a disaster early on from something - damping off or fugus gnats - I don't know what. And I lost the few that had germinated, with the rest still not germinated and probably unlikely to do so. So I bought a second lot, this time 5 different packets. And I have been pleased with the results. But it does depend on the particular seed. From 2 packets (20 seeds) of an unnamed pink Suaveolens I have had not a single germination. Of the other 40 seeds (4 packets) 17 have germinated, including 7 out of 10 B 'Herzenbrucke'. As they are coming at three or four day intervals, I am hopeful of some more, especially as I have only just put the last few unsown seeds into polybags.

 

[Moles are] More appropriate for Veg Seed where you need quite a bit - Peas / Sweetcorn / Green manure - or where you can share Veg Seed with a mate(s)

They have some quite nice charts for things like Red Cabbage too - showing which varieties mature when

 

I was going to give the wet kitchen towel method a try this year, and have bought some small plastic food containers with snap on lids (8 for £1 @ Poundland).

Is there any advantage to using a bag over a tub other than they'll take up less room?

 

I think you'll be allright with your tubs, Scrungee.
Sometimes for big seeds I use a glass jar stuffed with crumpled, damp paper and a lid screwed on. That way I can press the seeds down into the paper.

For the flat kitchen paper method, sometimes I cut little stamps of paper and put each seed on a damp stamp then on the paper. As they germinate it's easier to remove the little stamp with the seed than fiddling about trying to lift the seed with tweezers. I just plant the seed on its stamp.

 

That sounds ideal, as it was generally large (and/or expensive) seeds that I was going to try germinating this way and they wouldn't get tangled roots and would have minimal disturbance.

 

Scrungee - I am sure the containers will do just as well. I suspect there are many equally valid ways of doing this.

The thought that passes through my mind is that you can get 80 polybags for £1 at Poundland. and having already sown about 40 bags, the space saving of bags is considerable.