I know this has been covered many times here but I have a question.I am helping a elderly woman start her grow and don't want to mess up.she soaked her first seeds and put in a ziplock bag wrapped in a paper towel.the seeds sprouted but then rotted.she soaked them 12 hrs first before putting them in.any idea what went wrong?being a old farmer/gardener I soaked my seeds 4 hrs,till they sank,planted in peat cubes placed in a mini greenhouse,commercial bought,then placed it on top of a milk crate that was placed on my heater vent on floor.the warm air made it 85 deg inside.I got 100% germ.all 20 seeds in 24 hrs. they were palced immidiatly into greenhouse after sprouting and planted in 6 in clay pots.this seems to prevent shock in my veg crop and worked well this time. was my method just a fluke?This is how I have always done veg seeds that needed sprouting.My friend is on SS with little money so I don't want to advise her wrong.any help would be appriciated.

Here ya go.Scott06 style.

http://www.greenpassion.org/f16/tuto...t-style-10562/

I personally dont soak or use a matt but lots of methods work.
I sandwich my seeds between two wet paper towels and use ceramic plates to make a humidity dome .Cheap and easy.
Best of luck to ya

You may have had too much moisture in the ziploc. The towel should be just damp, but not wet.

I've had pretty good luck with just the damp towel in a ziploc bag method, sans soaking, but putting my beans right into moist (again, not soaked) seed starter has yielded decent results as well.

Your method sounds fine to me, though, but I would let the more experienced growers weigh in too.

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"We'll work it out as we go along. Let our practice form our doctrine, thus assuring precise theoretical coherence."

hey i dunno about you guys, but as soon as i see a little white taproot cracking through the shell i put them in soil. about half a cm under. whith the pointy end up.

works every time, hassle free

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Hi bob,how are you.
from Dutch Passion site:
Germination

To get the best seed germination results, we advise you to germinate the seeds according to our standard procedure, with which we obtain germination rates of ± 95 % for all varieties:

• use a grow room with a stable temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.
• use soil with a pH-value of ± 7.0.
• the soil should not be too dry or too wet.
• sow the seeds in a container about 5 mm deep.
• after sowing press the earth lightly, this stimulates even sprouting.
• spray the soil lightly with water.
• cover the container with thin transparent plastic foil to achieve an optimal greenhouse effect.
• after 1 to 10 days the seeds will have sprouted. Now remove the plastic foil.
• sprinkle the soil regularly with water, wait till the upper layer has dried out, and sprinkle again with water.
• after 1 - 2 weeks the seedlings will be strong enough to put them in a larger container.

from me:
I soak seeds for about 24h in a cool and dark place prior to putting them into soil. 20 degree Celsius = 68 degree Fahrenheit.don't put them in zip bag...they need air like we all
all the best

i tend to be lazy when i germ seeds probly because ive only done bagseed up till now. but i soak for 4-12 hours (untill thay sink) but a mazof 12 hours then wrap in moist papertowl. in a tupperware container spraypainted black. check ever 6 hours... ive fergot and transplanted plats that grew to 4 inch taproot. think it was goords lol. but gota plant them green seeds as soon as you see a taproot push out a few milimetters.


zuke

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This is all fake, like the matrix it does not count i dont actully do any of this stuff. ifi loadid a pic i ound it on the cyber inter web space.

I agree, it sounds like there was to much moisture in the baggie. I usually squeeze all of the water out of the paper towels before I put the seeds in, and then place them in the baggie and put the baggie on top of my fridge. Works every time.

Soak seeds till they sink, no longer or they will rot not much after that.

Also, going dry is very popular too
This is how I'll germinating next time.......

This breeder is one of the best and knows his sh**
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Spongepots are free and send along with order from Sannie's seeds
Spongepot is a great medium for germinating seeds. The material is organic and made of black and white peat wich is held together by a polymere. The material has the capacity to retain lots of fluid and remain airily, the two ideals for an optimal germination and start of the newborn seedling.


Free complementary fun-package to guarantee optimal startoff:

• spongepots
• Sannie's Bacto
• Sealbag
• offcourse the ordered seeds and a free pack of Sannie’s special seeds (freebees)

To get started make a liter of water, ph around 6,5 (ph spongepot is 5,5), temperature around the 25 C°. Disolve the bag of Sannie’s Bacto in the solution. The enclosed quantity is just right for a liter of water.

Place the spongepots on a plate or, just like the picture, on a layer of seramis or perlite and pour the solution abundantly over the spongepots. These bacterials create a natural defense system in the medium. The trichoderma in this product eliminates unwanted fungusses.

There need to be made a whole in the spongepots where later the seeds can be putted in (see picture's)

Then place the seeds on top of the spongepots. Now press the seeds approximately 5-10 mm into the spongepots.

A tested method is to moisten a layer of seramis or perlite in a small propagator. Place the spongepots in the propagator provide a high humidity and a temperature from around the 22-25 C°.

Under these conditions it usually takes only a day to see the first movement. But more likely most seeds will show after 3 days. If you did your very best you will see this:





After this the seedlings can be potted to their final destination.

Good luck germinating!

Greetz Sannie

if her seeds rotted then i have one question how long did she have them in the paper towel after the tap root popped?

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they call me ishmael, and mobys music sucks. smile if you get it.

Thanx everyone for your responce.It always amazes me when you ask a group of people how to do something how many ideas come up.it seems all of you do it a little different.and apparently each method works for you.I am going to buy a heating mat soak seeds 4hrs,till seeds sink,and put in peat pellets in my mini greenhouse. I think that will work for me.basically what I do now but adding a heating mat. what can I say I am a stubborn old fart. It is just a seed after all!I read everywhere how important ph is.I have been using jiffypot peat pellets as sproutimg medium.Will the peat ,when it decomposes, be a problem?or is it too small of an amount too matter.I had to plant the peat pellets with my first plants 48 hours after planting seeds because the roots were already sticking out of bottom.again thanx everyone for your input.there is a wealth of information here because of your williness to share your knowledge.