Seed germination

I recently bought seeds of the garden Geranium 'Elke'.The planting advice was to sow the seeds then place the seed tray in the fridge for approx. 14 day (5 degrees) to help germination. I have covered my seed tray with cling film and placed the whole tray in a plastic bag. Will the seeds be ok for moisture/water during this time in the fridge and have i prepared the seed tray properly?
Any help appreciated.

 

Hi Lorna. What you have done is called stratification. Its simulating a winter type cold period that some seeds need before they will germinate. What you have done is absolutely correct, and the seeds won't need any extra moisture whilst they are in the fridge, as there will be a very low rate of evaporation at such low temperatures, which when enclosed by a polybag becomes nothing at all.

You do need to moisten the compost before you put it all in the fridge. Seeds will keep for very long periods of time at very low temperatures if they are totally dry. So to get them to germinate they need to be moist. The seeds are unlikely to germinate in the fridge itself as, as far as they are concerned, its still winter for them. The germination process will start after they have been taken out into the warm, which makes them think that spring has arrived.

 

I find an easier, cleaner and therefore better way of stratifying seeds is to put the foil pack in the freezer compartment for a couple of days. Then sow the seed in fresh compost and place in a light, warm enviroment.