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Why Pre-Condition your Seeds?
By pre-treating or
pre-conditioning your seeds you will be able to save a lot of time and
money. You will plant only seeds that are viable and have
germinated, and not waste potting medium or flats on seeds that are not
viable. A
viable seed is an entire plant or tree wrapped up in a tiny
package, but until germination starts it is in a state of suspended
animation. If the right conditions are met, it will become the
plant it was designed to be. By providing certain conditions that
seeds need in order to break dormancy, you are in effect giving it a
boost or a head start........and if you have a more seeds than you
actually want to plant, you can choose just the strongest and
healthiest to grow on.
Besides, its fun!
When winter seems to drag on and you are anxious to see things
grow watching your tiny seeds become plants faster than they would
normally helps pass the time until you can get outdoors and
plant. Then in the spring you have so many more plant already on the way!
So what exactly is pre-conditioning?
It
could involve damaging the seed coat in some way in order for the
embryo inside to get the moisture it needs to start growing. It
can also be providing a soak for the seeds and/or giving it the right
temperature and light for it to sprout. Lets sum up some means of
pre-conditioning:
- scarification (nicking and filing)
- hot-water baths
- stratification (moist-chilling)
- overnight soak
- treatment with GB (Gibberellic acid )
- drying
- heat
The method I have found sucessful for most seeds is a combination that I will describe here.
While this method may not be for everyone the nice thing about it is
that you will not waste your time and materials on seeds which are not
going to grow on. Although I use coffee filters, this method,
sometimes known as the Deno or paper towel method, has been very
successful for me.
Lets start with what you know about the seed.
In the worst case scenario, you have no information on it. Hopefully you will at least have seen a picture of the plant and have a name for it. At the very least, you know what size it is and can tell something about the hardness of the seed coat.
Next, research the plant on the web.
First try a search using "germination + name of plant".
That search may yield all you need to know. If not, here is where
common sense comes into the picture. If you can find out where it
comes from or grows in nature, you know enough to get started.
You will try to duplicate those conditions. If you have no
information, you can try the following method.
Assemble this equiptment:
- seeds
- ball poin pen
- coffee filters
- zip lock baggies
- tea bags (green or black)
- bowl or other container
- distilled or well water (this may not be absolutely necessary, but when working with plants try to avoid treated city water)
- magnifying glass
- toothpicks
- chopstick or pencil
- possibly: scissors, razor blade, and pad of paper for notes.
Here we go!
- Make a cup of tea. Use black or green, not herbal tea. I use one green tea bag and one black tea bag to 16 ounces of water.
- Let the tea steep for 4 minutes.
- Dump the tea, but save the tea bags
- Make another cup of tea with the same used tea bags.
- Let it steep.
- Fold a coffee filter into quarters.
- Using the ball point pen, write on the filter the name of the seed and todays date.
- Put some of your seeds in the coffee filter but hold some back for another method in case of failure.
- Fold over the top of the filter
- Put the filter containing seeds into the baggie.
- Dilute the tea with warm water (distilled or well).
- Test the temperature of the tea. It should be warm, but not hot enough to be uncomfortable to your skin.
- Pour the tea into the baggie and zip closed. Let is stand until cool.
- Drain all excess tea out of the baggie into your bowl which you can zap and use for more seeds.
- Put the baggie with the seeds into the refridgerator (not freezer) for at least 8 hours, overnight is good and 24 hours doesn't hurt.
- Take the baggie out of refridgeration and put in a warm
spot. Many of us like the top of the refridgerator. I have
even germinated seeds on the top of my computer monitor. A great
many seeds germinate at about 70 degrees farenheit.
- Wait and watch. This is what the magnifying glass is for.
Now we come to the fun part!
Checking the seeds and finding
changes. Use the
magnifying glass. If there are no changes within a couple days and the
contents of the baggie smells bad, toss it, because your seeds were not
viable to start with. If contents smell alright and the seeds
have started to swell, put it back and continue waiting. Recheck
your directions, as it may need a cooler temperature or it may need
darkness and you are giving it too much light. Also remember that
a most perenials take a long time to germinate.
How long will it take?
That is hard to say for sure. The time it needs is built into the
seed, but with this method I usually see something in a week or
so. Annuals are usually fast. Do you wonder why? They
have only one season to complete their life cycle so they better get on
with it. Perennials are usually slower and sometimes
intermittant. Trees from temperate regions are usually much
slower and may have even more complicated requirments. In many
cases it can take a year or more to break dormancy with alternating
cycles of warmth and cold. Some seed coats are impervious to
water and must be treated with something else in order to be able to
absorb water and break dormancy. Those seeds are beyond the scope
of this guide, but again, think about the natural conditions of the
plant and try to duplicate them.
Nothing is happening, what can I do now?
Use your common sense. If the plant is native to cold regions,
put it back in the refridgerator and check for signs every few days or
so. If it is a woodsy plant it may germinate only in shade so
move the baggie to a dark warm spot. Some plants germinate only
in light, so in that case tape the baggie to a warm window but don't
let it over heat and cook the seeds. You could put it on a table
under a light or tape it to a mirror or anyplace warm and
light. As long as the seeds are hard or solid, not mushy or moldy
they are still alive. Keep trying.
Glossary
- seed: a ripened plant ovule containing an embryo
- viable: capable of living, developing, or germinating under favorable conditions
- germinate: to begin to sprout or grow
- steep: to soak in liquid in order to extract a given property from
- dormancy: in a condition of biological rest or inactivity characterized by cessation of growth or development and the suspension of many metabolic processes
- impervious: incapable of being penetrated
- seed coat: the protective outer layer of seeds of flowering plants
- temperate: characterized by moderate temperatures, weather, and climate; neither hot nor cold
- annuals: a plant that completes its entire life cycle in a single growing season
- perenial: a plant that lives 3 or seasons or more
- common sense: sound judgement, not based on specialized knowledge; native good judgement
Guide created: 02/20/06 (updated 08/23/08)
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