More successful sowing – how to make your seeds germinate bette
So follow these 4 tips to make your sowing as successful as possible.
1. Do a germination test
It’s a shame to throw away last year’s leftover seeds. But before you go to the trouble of sowing, it’s worth doing a germination test. This will tell you if the seeds are still viable. To make a germ test, all you need is a shallow dish, a damp cloth, plastic wrap to cover the seeds and some water. Place the damp cloth in the shallow dish and spread about 20 seeds over it. Water the seeds so that the cloth is well moistened and cover the dish with the foil. If about half of the seeds germinate you can still use them.
2. Soaking seeds
Before sowing, soak the seeds in water, cold chamomile tea, black tea or garlic water. This will help the seeds germinate better and faster, make them less susceptible to fungal diseases and help the plants grow.
It is particularly recommended that larger seeds are soaked in cold chamomile tea for about 12 to 24 hours. Large seeds have a harder shell that becomes softer when soaked in water. This shortens germination time.
Experts particularly recommend soaking tomato seeds in chamomile tea or garlic juice, as this not only makes them more likely to germinate, but is also said to make them more resistant to fungal spores.
Small, fine seeds usually germinate very well without soaking. For them, the moisture in the substrate and the high humidity are sufficient for a high germination rate.
3. Should seeds be placed on the soil or buried in it?
It is worth reading the label on the seed packet carefully before sowing. This is because seeds can be classified as either light or dark germinating. Light-germinating seeds need light to germinate, while dark-germinating seeds need the comfort of darkness and need to be placed in substrate.
If you are not sure whether your seeds are light or dark germinating, the rule of thumb is to sow the seeds as deep as they are large in diameter.
If the seeds will germinate in the light, make sure they do not dry out. Press the seeds firmly into the soil. Cover the seed tray with plastic wrap or a fine layer of sand to prevent the soil and seeds from drying out too quickly.
4. Ensure the right germination temperature
Each seed requires a specific temperature to germinate. Usually you won’t go wrong if you put the seed trays on the windowsill to germinate. If you are sowing outdoors, you should check what temperatures the seeds need to rise to in order to choose the right time to sow.
Cold germinators need to be exposed to the cold for a period of time to germinate. Either leave the seed trays outside in winter or simulate a cold spell by putting the seeds in the fridge.
