...since I posted this morning, another watermelons started to sproutapplestar wrote: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.
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.