My method of sowing seeds of flowers and vegetables "with soaking" without chemicals, which gave 95-99% germination, even on "delay"
Do you want to sow only the seeds that will sprout? Then a fiery salute, comrade, a calculating vegetable grower-florist! Today on the agenda is an interesting experience of sowing expired seeds with enviable germination. Moreover, I did not use any purchased funds. I swear by the eustoma that has sprung up - not a drop of Epin, not even a half of a tablet of succinic acid!
How it all began
When we bought a new old house, all February and March were busy putting the building in order. And at the end of March it turned out that we forgot to buy seeds and even plan what to buy.
Fortunately, my wife remembered that in the old Soviet sideboard, behind the hinged door, there was a whole stack of paper bags with these very cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley. Mostly overdue.
We thought that the gardening season was already a failure, not having time to start. Without a twinge of conscience and with timid hopes, they began to stir up the inheritance from the past owners of the house.
First point: starting test for germination
The good old saline test was the starting point for seeding. I have not yet lost my mind to sow everything with a dubious prospect.
The recipe is outrageously simple. In 1 glass of warm water, cheerfully stirred 1 teaspoon of salt. He poured the seeds, twisted it with a spoon a dozen more times and left with a calm soul to watch "The investigation was conducted ...".
According to official recommendations, it is enough to let the seeds swim for 5 minutes. But I left them for 40 minutes, deciding to give the delay more chances
What has fallen to the bottom is theoretically ready to rise. What has surfaced is most likely already undead.
Second point: soaking in the "secret" ingredient
Good old folk recipe improved germination has not lost its effectiveness for decades. There is a natural helper on your windowsill or neighbor's windowsill. Of course, this is aloe tree. Known as the agave.
I don’t know how it works. It is rumored that aloe:
- Disinfects by destroying harmful bacteria and fungi.
- It releases growth hormones and all kinds of biostimulants useful for germination. Due to this, it can breathe life into expired seeds.
I think the truth is somewhere nearby.
Aloe Vera Solution Recipe That Increases Seed Germination
Take a fleshy scarlet leaf and cut it across. Scrape off the pulp, wrap it in cheesecloth and squeeze the juice into a glass. Dilute with exactly the same amount of water - 50 to 50.
Saturate a thick cloth with the solution and wrap the seeds in it.. Soaking is a big word because the seeds don't have to float. They should just be in a very damp cloth. I put a piece of cloth and a plastic bag so that nothing would dry out (what if?) And left it on the windowsill for a day. And then - immediately sowed in the traditional way.
What was my surprise when almost all the seeds selected and soaked in a solution of aloe juice sprouted together. Tomatoes - so generally brushed. However, this is a completely different story.
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Sincerely yours, the fatalist gardener Fyodor Tyapkin-Sklyankin, who finds something to profit from in any old sideboard.