I have all my seeds from last year sown in trays of 50% screened potting mix & perlite with 1cm. of perlite as seed cover.
So far germination has been low and as we are coming to our hot(normally 35-40degC) period I am looking for suggestions on how to manage them from now until temps. moderate in Feb-Mar.
Any help would be appreciated. Russ.
Hi Russ!
Season’s greetings to you!!
What have your experiences been in regards to this issue in previous seasons??
This happens to be my first season for sowing achenes/seed, so I have no experience in such matters, and can’t help you as such, however I am very curious about this interesting topic you raised here.
When I lived in Texas and the seeds stopped sprouting in spring, I just left them outdoors (shaded from the sun, and screened to keep birds and rodents out of the flats), and when the late summer rains came the seeds would start germinating again. I would expect that the same would happen with your seeds. I usually got almost as many seedlings from the fall season as from the spring.
Peter
Hi george
Last year I had major problems with my seed trays when I tried to grow my plants out in the tray(I eventually abandoned the trays because the plants were doing so poorly) So I dont really have previous experience to draw on. I did get some germinations after watering again later but there was no planning in what I did.
I am sure I have read somewhere (either on this forum or in some of the “advanced breeders” notes I have seen) that someone used to dry the trays out then rewater at a later date to restart the germination process.
I have searched but have been unable to find any reference to this process so I was hoping to find the source by this post and learn from their experience.
Given the extreme heat we get here in summer I am sure that it would be better to hibernate the germination process than let it continue but would like to know about moisture levels and any other factors that should be considered.
I have at least learned there are some advantages to germinating in the fridge where this would not be a problem.
Russ
lol…In the case of my ~70 OP Iceberg achenes which I had water soaked in the fridge for 8 weeks as a crazy experiment, I was shocked to have even had one germination shortly after sowing in our spring, let alone ~10% + … the point here is, that I also may have made a mistake callling the whole experiment off in the late spring after the wave of germinations ceased…maybe if I left it intact, more germiantions might have taken place in the ensuing fall, given what has been talked about here.