Indoor Seed Planting

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XVSLF 10 November 2010 Indoor Seed Planting.

It is too early to get serious about planting seeds for 2011, but I decided to test my new greenhouse as to heat and Sun. Twelve pots, three for each variety, were prepared with bak choy, lettuce, bunching onions, and spinach.

The pots are made from strong plastic cups, with holes made by heat from a typical soldering iron along the sides of the pots to make a reservoir for water. A simple coffee filter to keep soil from falling out of the drain holes was used. This filter also tends to keep roots contained when transplanting. Soil was added, which was made during the Summer and stored. Soil consists of sand, coconut fiber, compost, garden soil, and small wood chips. After the seeds were planted,watered,and labeled; the pot was placed in a folded at the bottom (gusseted) plastic bag and sealed with a pipe cleaner ( used for crafts) from a Dollar Store. The plastic bag tends to keep the humidity high, which experience indicates is one of the most important attributes for germination along with heat. The gusseted plastic bag insures the pots sit upright. Using the described method means very high germination rates.