2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Growing good seedlings and an excellent harvest is not an easy job, but how nice it is when it pays off with interest by the end of the summer season! However, it is no secret to anyone that even the most experienced summer residents from time to time make certain mistakes, which ultimately lead to either extremely unimportant germination or to the complete death of crops. And a rather impressive part of the mistakes are made in the work with seeds. What are these mistakes, and can they somehow be avoided?
Over-treatment and seed dressing
Before sowing, it is recommended to subject the seeds to various treatments: disinfect, warm up, harden, etc. - these procedures have a beneficial effect not only on seed germination, but also on the subsequent development of plants. The most important thing in this case is not to lose a sense of proportion: if you first generously nourish the seeds with all kinds of trace elements, and then harden and soak them in aloe juice, you should not hope that they will sprout safely.
However, there is another extreme here - many gardeners believe that in order to protect tomatoes from destructive seedling diseases, it is quite enough to hold their seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for a couple of minutes before sowing. In fact, this opinion is erroneous - poor concentration is not able to eliminate the causative agents of dangerous ailments. To prepare an effective solution, take half a liter of water and dissolve 5 g of potassium permanganate in it. Seeds in such a solution should be soaked for at least fifteen minutes, ideally half an hour. And then they are thoroughly washed and soaked in water at room temperature for another six to eight hours.
And when acquiring seeds of a rather unusual color (blue, pink, etc.), it is important to understand that they have already been treated with certain fungicides and do not need additional disinfection at all.
Storing seeds in damp or too warm rooms
Moist and warm air is one of the most dangerous enemies of stored seeds. In just a couple of months, the seeds in this case can lose their germination, but if they are stored even with free access of air, then a few weeks will be enough for them to completely lose their germination. In order for the stored seeds to germinate, they must be placed in a sufficiently cool place.
If the amount of moisture in the seed is relatively small, then its shelf life can be extended by storing it at a temperature of five to ten degrees above zero. And if the humidity is too high, the seeds will deteriorate much faster than even in a dry room, the temperature of which is twenty-five degrees.
Dry seeds that have been deeply frozen (at a temperature of minus fifteen degrees or even lower) retain their vitality very well, but sometimes they can fall into a state of deepest dormancy and behave during germination as non-germinating. In order to return them to an active state, a certain stimulating effect (warming up, etc.) may be required.
The most ideal conditions for storing seed are considered to be moderate humidity (no more than fifty percent), temperature without significant changes in the range from twelve to fifteen degrees, and limited oxygen access.
Hardening of hatched seeds
If hardening of seedlings is not included in the immediate plans, it is not worth doing this procedure with seeds: during the period of growing in an apartment, seedlings easily lose the immunity acquired as a result of hardening. True, if there is an opportunity to place the seedlings on the balcony or in some other cool place, hardening will only benefit the seeds, the main thing is to harden them correctly.
How are seeds hardened? To do this, they are placed in small bags and soaked in ordinary water for a period of six to twelve hours. Further, the seeds are kept for twelve hours at a temperature of fifteen to twenty degrees of heat, and then they are left in a room for a similar period, the temperature in which ranges from one to three degrees above zero (by the way, a refrigerator is also quite suitable for this purpose). This procedure will be especially useful for crops growing in the open field: onions, cabbage, parsnips, carrots, celery, parsley and beets. In this case, the seeds will certainly please with good germination!
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