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[fairdinkumseeds]

This is why I haven't been around much lately, been flat out germinating before winter sets in.


I kinda got the idea from you cacti folks, this> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_solarization and just necessity, as I have been accumulating more seeds than I have pots/water/space/time for......

This will probably the way I do things from now on as it works great in a limited area. Each table fits 60x 1000ml containers.
I started with takeaway containers, and using a hot butter knife I melted a small slit in the lid where it attaches to the base. This is where I will thread the label with date and species.
I then sieved a nice sandy potting soil mix, just using a fine mesh waste paper basket.
The container was filled in layers, with no compaction or pushing down at all.

First the bark and rock chunks, then the fine sand sized soil is sprinkled on and the container is tapped on the table once, just to level the surface. The soil must remain loose for this to work well.
So now you have a container lid with a label, and it contains layered soil, sprinkle the seeds on top, and give a very fine mist with a spray pack, wack on the lid and wait.
The water sinks to the bottom of the container into the "catchment area" that is created by the spaces in the bottom. Works just like a mini self watering pot/terrarium and no mould issues at all so far.

The trapped heat and moisture forces all seeds to germinate in days not weeks, and once you seal them you must check 2 times a day(or more) for a couple weeks to prevent seedlings reaching too much and getting damaged/burnt/rotten. This also prevents damping off as the seedlings are removed and planted elsewhere, before infection is an issue.

Every individual seedling is carefully removed from the loose soil(with zero damage as there is zero compaction and the are just like a bean shoot), and they are repotted into small pots of the same soil mix(minus the sweaty soupy environment).

1 packet of seeds per container, the best 40-60 seedlings from each variety are selected from each container and planted into 100mm pots, this is further narrowed down to 20 plants per variety.


Works great, better than just planting in pots alone as there is less watering issues, and less time wasted on dud seeds.
Unknown caapi seeds I found behind the cupboard, zornia, leonurus, and a couple hundred other species so far, all up within DAYS/WEEKS, not weeks/months and for time efficiency and minimizing water use I really recommend it.

4 Likes Caium, Greentoe, gnosis and BubbleCat like this.