Basic seed instructions:

Seed need to be sown in a sterile medium, so you know just the seed come up, not weeds that will use all the nutrients. Culterra has a Germination mix that works for practically anything, if that is not available, a seedling soil can also work if you mix in 20% Vermiculite. I strongly advice however that if you are able to find Germination mix that you only ever use that.

Take your medium and place it in a seedling tray or pot, wet and let drain. Level it. Now sow the seed evenly. Cover the seed with the same mix with 2x the diameter of the seed. Wet again by either standing in a container with water, or using a fine mist sprayer.

Place the seed in a warm area that gets light, but not full sun.

If you are not able to check on seed throughout the day, cover the container partially with a piece of glass or with a plastic bag. Keep the medium moist, not soaking wet. Make sure to remove any covering as soon as the first sign of green appear.

Three days after seedlings are standing upright you can start giving the fertilizer, seedling fertilizer or a foliar spray at half strength can be used.

Seedlings can be transplanted when the 3rd pair of leaves has formed.

Germinating seeds:

Anyone can do seed successfully in my opinion, it doesn’t require expensive equipment or some complicated skill. It just requires a willingness to learn.

Often times instructions are too vague or too complicated when you receive them that is why I want to get back to basics.

 I do a great range of seed, but I do not for instance use heating mats or a grow box. What I have at my disposal is what most people have, namely common sense and being involved. Most of my seed are done in nothing more than plastic basins with holes made using a normal 3mm electric drill. Most of the time I use Culterras’ germination mix as medium. In few exceptions like with succulents I use other mediums. The one advantage I have over the average gardener is a plastic tunnel, which you can compensate for by using a piece of glass.

The first step is easy: look. As I collect rare and difficult plants I have learned to look at a seed and see what it requires. When you get your seed, first of all look at it. You can forever be reading and following instructions on germinating seed, or you can learn to be observant and learn that way what to do with the seed you find at hand. The seed you are looking at tells you a lot about what is needed for germination.

Use these links to skip down to relevant seed germination sections:

• Small sized seed

• Medium sized seeds

• Large sized seeds

• Chilling

• Seeds that need light

• Seeds that need darkness

Medium size seeds:

Smooth hard shelled seeds. Simply looking at these seeds suggest to me that somehow or another the outer shell needs to be penetrated for the seed to be able to get out. So what method does nature use? Sometimes it is simply time on the ground that does the job, other times the acid of being digested by an animal. Using two basic techniques covers your bases.

Scarification is when you use a physical method to “scar” the shell of the seed so water can penetrate the seed. Take two pieces of sand paper and rub the seed between them, take care not to harm the “eye” of the seed as this will harm the seed. Scarification should only be done when suggested; there is a less invasive way to breach the outer hull, soaking.

Soaking- exactly what it says. Use luke warm water (NOT BOILING) and soak the seed overnight in a thermos. Next morning rinse seed and use warm water again. Soaking periods can be 6 hours or 48 hours, generally if the seed has started to swell you can plant it.

Plant seeds following basic seed sowing guidelines. Pea family seeds should be planted directly in the ground or in polystyrene cups, so they can be removed root ball intact when transplanting.

Also check if seeds might need:

• Chilling

• Light

• Dark             

Large seeds

Some seed truly are large. Sometimes it is because it is the actual size and other times it is because there is a thick outer shell that needs to be penetrated to get to the inner core. If the seed sounds like there is something moving inside when you shake it, chances are has a second layer inside which is the actual seed. Helping moisture penetrate that layer generally helps germination. But if not actual brute force is employed, a good warm water soaking shouldn’t do damage. Most big seeds need constant high temperatures to germinate, so plant twice their diameter deep and cover the seed tray after watering, and these seed trays should do fine in full sun if only partly covered. 

Seed that need chilling

There is a simple reason some seed respond to chilling in a refrigerator. In nature the seeds’ growth hormones get stimulated by prolonged exposure to a certain temperature. The reason is that should the seed experience a freak warm week in winter, it will not germinate only to die of cold a few days later, because nature protects it by it’s germinating being dependant on a certain period of cold, followed by a certain period of heat. Trees like Acers need longer periods of cold treatment than annual as they have longer to live before seeding, annuals can take a chance that in a short period they will be able to get around to making seed before the cold gets them. So what to do? Once again, easy: simply take a Ziploc bag, half fill with semi-moist vermiculite, mix seed in and place in refrigerator for suggested amount of time. I suggest a Ziploc bag as it will keep out chemicals released in the refrigerator and keep in moist. I have found that if I treat seed for a period of time in the refrigerator but plant them out before spring arrives, so that nature does it’s part as well, I have better results.

Seeds that  need light

Generally seed that are distributed by wind or animals in nature might need to be only partially covered so light can reach them.  But on the other hand seeds need to be moist to germinate, so how to do both? Actually quite easy, if you use vermiculite to cover the seed, they should get some light, as vermiculite is bigger than most other mediums, and therefore will let through light, or simply cover the seed slightly, but pull a see-through plastic over the seed tray or glass. This will let in light and keep in moisture.