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Germinating seeds with polymer water crystals or beads

Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 5:54 am
by stevelau1911
One idea that I thought up of is to germinate seeds on top of water crystals. This spring I used them to mix into the soil for germinating vegetable seeds, and overall it appeared to lead to seedlings with a better start than the ones planted outside of the areas with just plain soil. This could potentially work well with just germinating seeds.

Here is a time lapse video showing what I'm talking about.


http://gardening.yardener.com/Yardeners ... orbingGels

Re: Germinating seeds with polymer water crystals or beads

Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:54 pm
by justin venter
Hi stevelau1911
This is a great idea, as it keeps moisture levels constant.
Please post more results. I just received a batch of moso seeds that I am ready to germinate.
I have given some thought to an agar-agar germinating medium. My concern is that the medium will dry too soon and there is a possibility that mold will inhabit the surface of the medium.

Re: Germinating seeds with polymer water crystals or beads

Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:41 pm
by stevelau1911
I've found that gel based substances have oil in them which inhibit root growth, and is not very good for sprouting moso seeds. Agar is usually used in tissue culture. If you are just growing seedlings, some kind of well aerated professional potting mix will work fine.

Let us know if any of your seedlings turn out to be anything special. There's already over a dozen moso cultivars, but I think it's possible for more emerge spontaneously.