2014 pre-germinating/sprouting experiment Peas, Corn, Curcs

[applestar]

Subject: Pre-germinating/pre-sprouting pumpkins and squash -- anyone?

I soaked for a couple of hours then drained and nicked with nail clippers a bunch of watermelon and melon seeds to put in the sprouter last night. I decided watermelon seeds may not have good viability so dumped the few that were left in the old packets together. If any of them germinate, it will be bonus.

BTW two of the previous batch of pre-germinated watermelons have sprouted in the pint size containers of potting mix. Two more are still sleeping.

Also soaked and drained a bunch of cucumber seeds.ALL OF THESE ARE SEEDS I NORMALLY SOW DRY SEEDS DIRECTLY IN THE GROUND but in the name of experimentation, I'll see what happens if they are pre-germinated first.

...since I posted this morning, another watermelons started to sprout

It's been bothering me that the loosely filled potting mix in the squash seed containers have been settling down to only 1/2 full, so as the seed leaves completely stretched out,
I have been carefully upending them in my hand, cradling the seedling between my fingers and adding more potting mix under them.

...and I noticed something I didn't know before...
When they first sprout and while the seed leaves are folded together and held upwards, the roots are few and not holding the soil together very well -- I can't upend them without the mass falling apart. But by the time the seed leaves are fully stretched out and the first true leaf is showing as a little bud in between, the roots have spread out and are actually starting to hold a rootball of soil.

Note the soil level raised in the orange pot and most of the others compared to earlier photo. Watermelon seedlings are in the three cut off soda bottle containers in the back

Some more squash seedlings. Square berry container on the left is zinnias seedlings.

[applestar]

Cucumbers germinated all at once yesterday, but I didn't get the chance to sow them and here they are, getting too long....

I have a bed almost ready for them, but I'm already exhausted ...partly from watching some acrobatic birds -- but mostly I was trying to work out a way to trellis the cucumbers.... After lunch, I think.

[applestar]

So, to re-cap...

Pre-germinated Green Beauty Snow peas sown outside 4/21. Almost all sprouted 5/1
Pre-germinated Tall Telephone shell peas sown outside 4/21. Most are sprouting 5/1
Pre-germinated Sugar Snap and Sugar Daddy snap peas sown outside 4/23. Just starting to sprout 5/1.

I know if I sowed peas in mid-March to late-March -- a month before last average frost -- it takes 2-3 weeks before they sprout. Is one week to sprouting normal when sown a week before average frost? Or did I successfully save time/shave off a week by pre-germinating?

[applestar]

Directly sown pre-germinated Cherokee Long Ear popcorn have all sprouted:

Cherokee Long Ear Popcorn

[applestar]

Trying to help warm the soil where the pre-germinated cucumber seeds are planted. -- I bought these tempered glass replacement shelving on clearance sale a while back thinking about doing something like this. I wonder if these will help?

Half of the area covered by the glass A-frame

Ugh! WHY is the preview upside down!? O_o

[applestar]

Still sowing germinated watermelon and melon seeds. 3 more today, but really the remaining seeds may be duds. I need to inventory what I have sown and what have sprouted and are growing, and maybe decide I have enough.

I wasn't in a statistical frame of mind so I didn't count how many seeds I started out with, and I can't remember if I haven't already thrown out some, so I guess I won't bother to figure out the germination rate. But I used up out all of the remaining leftover watermelon and melon seeds for this experiment (except for Charleston Grey which I received last year), and I'm happy to have any that germinated. Some winter squash seeds that were new last year are not doing so well, too. I think I have more of some and not so many of the other.

I must say some of the new last year melon seeds are not performing so well either, though I haven't been storing my seeds very carefully and last year no even in a tightly fitting large tin like in previous years so maybe that explains it.

I should have sown the cucumber seeds that germinated today, but I didn't get the chance. I'm planning to sow these in 2" mini soilblocks. Hoping the ones I sowed outside will make it even though the forecasted lows are going down from 45°f to 43°F (likely about 42°F to as low as 40°F in reality).

Those of you who live in really cool summer areas -- do winter squash, watermelon and melon survive after sprouting and growing true leaves even if the night time temp get down in low 40's and daytime temp on cloudy days doesn't get higher than mid 60's? In my experience, peppers and eggplants sometimes will get stunted and not recover if exposed to low temps like that for several days/nights in a row.

I've been bringing the eggplant and pepper seedlings and the melons and watermelons inside, but have left the winter squash seedlings with true leaves outside along with most of the tomato seedlings to harden them off.

(PS: just occurred to me that I forgot to start Kikuza and Sweetmeat winter squash )

[applestar]

These winter squash seedlings have been hardening off outside. True test, of course, would be when I go to transplant them. We have a dip down to low 40's tonight and tomorrow night, then looking at a heat blast up to mid 80's on Friday. Looks like I should be able to plant them after the cold snap.

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These have been kept inside and are not yet hardened. They were just seed leaves when the others with true leaves were sent out. Now cozy without the cold (40's-50's) nights, they have caught up.

This is one of the maxima varieties. It's seed leaves are HUGE!

[applestar]

Did I mention I'm trying sunflowers and beets now? Started soaking them two nights ago and after full day of rinse and drain, the sunflower seeds have already started to germinate:

Pre-germinated sunflowers

I already knew it works for sunflowers after last year's experiment, but I had a couple of sunflower seed heads hanging upside down on the end of a curtain rod all this time (completely forgot about them) and I had no idea if they were still viable after being near the window and all.

Still waiting on the beets. Started nasturtiums and cleome.

Green Beauty snow peas

Looking at the nice unbroken rows of sprouted peas and corn already growing in the garden, I'm really liking how the pre-germinated seeds hardly ever fail to grow where you sowed them. I'm going to try growing a fence row of sunflowers (along a difference fence than the last time where they were all facing the neighbor's house when they bloomed ). I'm planting them along the fence with the neighbor who is using a lawn service. Hopefully, the sunflowers will help to provide a screen barrier against wind drift, soak up any unwanted chemicals, and also act as warning by indicating any sign of broadleaf herbicide.

[applestar]

Didn't take pictures but most of those sunflower seeds germinated. More than enough for double staggered row along 24 ft span of fence as planned -- especially if they all sprout -- and along part of the SW facing garage wall to hopefully shade it from the hot sun in the summer.

Last time I tried sowing sunflower seeds along the garage wall, chipmunk dug them up and ate them all. We'll see if the pre-germinated seeds have better luck.

[applestar]

I was going to be done with sunflowers and took the seeds out to toss in the compost pile, but saw that four more had germinated overnight This is how they look.

Sunflowers

I sowed them in an empty part of the lemon balm patch which adjoins the 24 foot span.

Beets started to germinate yesterday and I sowed a bunch in wide gaps between onions in the Spiral Garden. More beets germinated today and were sown in the rest of the outer onion spiral. (And a few in the SF&H)

Beets

[applestar]

These are winter squash under cut off gallon jug hot caps. One was a couple of pre-germinated seeds, and they have just sprouted.

Pre-G squash seeds sown under a hot cap

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The other one had lost it's taproot in the sprouter, but went on to shed it's seed shell and opened seed leaves PLUS GREW a 1" radius branched roots -- all while still in the sprouter. You gotta reward that kind of enthusiasm so I planted it under a vinegar jug hot cap... And it has grown the first true leaf.

Originally transplanted at seedleaf stage under a hot cap

The other pre-germinated seeds were sown in pint size containers and allowed to sprout on the heatmat, upstairs, or taken outside in the hot sun during the day. They were grown inside, then taken outside during the day and brought inside for the night. This group were left out 24/7 since last week and were covered at night when temps dropped to mud or lower 40's

Pre-G seeds sown in containers

They will be planted in the garden tomorrow or Monday.

[applestar]

Started these nasturtiums in the sprouter on 5/8. I think I see some starting to germinate

[applestar]

Cucumbers are all sprouted -- I don't think the glass A-frame is making any difference, do you?

Cucumbers have sprouted in the New Kitchen Garden

I don't know if you can really see them, but the sunflowers along the fence are starting to sprout:

Sunflowers are starting to sprout along the fence

[applestar]

You can see the sunflowers sprouts better today. EVERY ONE OF THEM ARE UP exactly where I sowed. Granted there may be future mishaps -- notably slugs, but I gotta say that's a satisfying sight.

Can you see the offset double row (zigzag pattern)?

Further sunflower progress will be documented in the Tomato Gardens thread.

[applestar]

Planted the winter squash seedlings today.

Oldest watermelon and melon seedlings:

Oh! But the cool looking two white-veined seedlings are Thai Kang Kob that were planted.