Propagation Season's Results

Starting from scratch in February and now finishing up so to speak in July it has been a challenge. I started with the easy ones that seem sprout before your very eyes. That offered lots of encouragement. I did it the traditional way, sowing the seeds in a 128 cell tray with peat, perlite and vermiculite and put them under the lights in a seed palace I constructed. Temperatures were higher than suggested. Started with a spread sheet that I printed and put under each tray. It was pretty obvious that while lots of stuff grew, too much in fact, there were much better ways to do it. One of the hardest things was dumping good looking seedlings. Lack of even germination, too many seedlings, legginess, spread sheet got wet and misplaced, indicated I needed to make some changes. Checking back with Dave's, where I was now a member after consulting it all through the beginning stages, I could that there were better ways to do things.

Went to coir, which stays wetter longer, went to the Deno method, modified because of the volume of seeds, started using round circles and indelible ink on the 6 packs which were also a change from the big trays. I started using Mr. Coffee type filters in plastic containers, added a second layer to keep the seeds from cross-contaminating each other. I started getting heavy fungus infections so I switched to chamomile tea as the dampening agent for the filter papers. I started getting concerned that the seeds were not getting enough light, so on Cinemike's advice I switched to baggies, quart size and cone type filters. Could not get very many fungicides, but the local Farm Supply place recommended Aliette and Cinemike recommended copper based sprays. I got both, as others recommended switching of.

Big problems aside from the fungi were transferring the tiny seedlings. Toothpicks were recommended, which worked well in combination with tweezers, being careful not to grab them by the stems and lifting off the roots with the toothpicks. Cinemike again recommended keeping to domes on longer which helped increase the number of surviving seedlings. That worked very well. I started transferring more of the tiniest ones to avoid empty cells, that worked well.

Breaking dormancy continued to be a problem. I had read about the proteaceae needing a temperature differential of twenty degrees along with the use of smoke primer. Someone then pointed out that the restios should get the same treatment. We do not get twenty degree temperature differentials in Arroyo Grande even on most winter days. So, putting them in the fridge during the day and the lights at night has worked out. They are slowly starting to sprout.

I started with about a hundred or so packets of seeds before I started numbering them and have done about 600 since then. It is hard to keep track and doing a better job of documenting what I am doing is clearly necessary. I put too many seeds to germinate in the beginning so I have backed off and therefore have lots of packets left over for this fall. Putting them in double baggies and in the fridge was recommended so that is what I did.

It is pretty clear that doing the seed thing is lots of fun, very consuming and will produce more plants that you can possibly use if you go overboard like I did.

The areas I need to work on are damping off, transferring the small seedlings, better documentation, getting stuff moved along to the next stage faster, and finding an outlet for the plants that I cannot use that does not take very much time.

All in all, I am pleased with the progress so far and am looking forward to starting again in the fall. For those just starting, which who this is primarily directed at, the biggest pieces of advice I can give you are: 1. Don't panic, you have more time at each step than you realize. 2. Take it easy, start slowly, use easy seeds to learn on. 3. Use this forum and the internet to get knowlege and advice. 4. Don't worry about mistakes and losses, celebrate your successes, the ones that work. It is a learning process.

Several things I am going to get for the fall: A head mounted loupe to be able to see the tiny seedlings, tinier tweezers to make it easier to transfer the tiny seeds from one filter paper to another when changing filter papers because of the fungi; a small jeweler's saw to nick the bigger seeds. Using fingernail clippers proved difficult and I often cut too deep. Emery boards did not do the job. I think a diamond saw will allow complete control.

Some other things that worked well were using condiment cups available at restaurant supply places for soaking the seeds. You number the cups put the seeds and solutions in them and put the lids on. You can reuse the cups a number of times by using different colored permanent ink marking pens.

The bigger seeds especially erythrinas and alstroemeria seemed most susceptible to fungi. I started rinsing them off in dilute clorox solution followed by a pure water rinse. That seemed to help. I think I will start doing it first when I start the seed thing again in the fall. It does not seem possible to completely eliminate the fungi, but it does seem possible to keep it under control through using a combination of things. Being very careful about contamination is number one, clean everything up, rinse all the containers in dilute clorox, get rid of contaminated papers, plastic bags, other things that cannot be cleaned very well with clorox. If you think a seed based on past experience is going to have problems use a fungicide solution instead of the chamomile tea to wet the filter papers. Changing out papers and sacks and getting rid of the infected seeds helps. Seeds that are soft or discolored or surrounded by fungi or have fruiting bodies on them are not viable. Do not put a whole bunch of seeds in one filter paper. Try to spread them out. If they get all bunched up the fungi get all of them instead of just the bad ones.

If some seedlings sprout in badly infested papers you run a great risk of getting damping off on those seedlings, so don't count on them. Spray them with fungicide after you plant them and keep them isolated from your other seedlings. If they make it and some do, fine, but you run less risk of the infections spreading.

Water only from below, filling the trays with water, letting the sixpacks fill up so they no longer float, taking the sixpacks out so they can drain, dumping the rest of the water out of tray and then putting the six packs back in.

Hi Chuck,

1) finding an outlet for the plants that I cannot use that does not take very much time.
A: Your local Senior Citizen's club, Scout-troops.

2) a small jeweler's saw to nick the bigger seeds.
A: a diamond finger nail file can be found at most drug stores in the nail polish section (revlon is a quality brand name.)

3) 16 ounce plastic cups can be found at the dollar store for using as 4 inch pots in a tight squeeze; puncture 3 holes in the bottom with an awl, large nail or drill.

4) try using rooting harmone when transfering seedlings to soil to give them a better chance; just dip their tiny roots in it, don't cake it on. Keep only a small amount at a time on a teaspoon don't put used portion back in container! Follow directions on package also! Remember to use your pencil to make drill holes for your seedlings, so you don't hurt their roots.

5) Pointed tweezers can be found at electronic supply stores (radio shack)?

HTH

~* Robin

Thanks Robin, good suggestions. Dave's roundup has worked out so far. Went to the one in SoCal, left some plants and did not bring any home. I am hoping I can hook up with the local Botanical Garden and the CNPS to grow stuff for them. It is great fun. I have actually ordered the things I need and they should be here. I will try the rooting hormone. That sounds good. I am deciding whether to spring for the
Subdue for the fungi, I was reading that you need to soak the seeds in bleach, not just dip them. So, I will try that for the fall. They are saying twenty minutes in bleach. I guess the condiment cups will get a workout. When I was watering this morning, I felt very pleased to see the littlest seedings making good progress.

I ordered sheet pots and trays at the beginning and they have worked out fine.

Thinking ahead for this fall, I am planning on working harder to suppress the fungi. I think I lost a lot of seed and seedlings from this. Getting started in the fall instead of late winter will be a help too. Ordering seeds earlier, since there is a significant lead time for the stuff from Europe and the Southern Hemisphere, should help. Doing a better job of keeping track of what is happening and what I have done and the results is another goal. More backup systems for labeling so I end up with fewer unknowns.

More of the smoke treated seeds are starting to sprout. I guess it is just a matter of waiting.

None of the alstroemeria have sprouted and most of them have had severe fungi problems. The aliette and copper spray alternating and changing out the filter papers, dipping the seeds in clorox solution and wiping the mold off the seeds with a small piece of paper towel has largely stemmed most of the fungi attack. It is about time to cold stratify them for a couple of months. Most everything else I have had at least limited success, but the Alstroemerias are a total failure so far.

Hi Chuck,
I have been grwoing plants from seed for quite a few years now, and am still in the learning process. We never know enough, that is why this site is good. We learn from each other here. I have been using a product called Soap Shield for quite of few years now. I spray all of my seedlings with it twice a week, once they have their first set of True leaves. This helps preventing fungus problems. The new tool that I bought last winter was an Ion fan. It works great!! The air cirulation, helps prevent damping off. I use a spray bottle to mist the plants with Soap Shield. I could spend all day on this subject. Just thought I would pass along something that I have learned over the years. Keep the seeds warm, Give the seedlings the right amount of light, and keeping the lights the right distance from the seedlings, will prevent leggy plants. Good luck this year, and Kepp Gardening!

Ironsides

Thanks for the advice. Since the only place the damping off can really come from inside the bags is from the seeds themselves and the biggest problem occurs before I transplant them out, I am inclined to soak the seeds for about twenty minutes in some anti-fungicide. It is just a matter of which one amongst the many choices that will be effective while not killing the seeds.