I start the process with a clean plastic tub such as this one
Then a add my choice of potting soil, the best stuff I've found for straight out of the bag use
approximately 2-2.5" deep in the tub
then i mix in warm tap water, 4-5 cups worth to totally saturate the soil
I rough level it & then spray it down really good with distilled water
then I add 1/4-3/8" washed plaster sand
the idea is to completely cover the wet potting soil, creating a barrier to the potting soil which water & roots can penetrate & isolating mold and algae etc from the decomposing forest products in the potting soil. It also prevents the potting soil from drying out too quickly.
Then if I'm planting multiple varieties of seeds per tub, I'll cut some plastic strip dividers from an old milk or vinegar bottle
then I add the dividers, toss in the seeds, label & date the tags, and then spray things down real good again with distilled water
Then I put the lid on & seal it, creating a nice humidity chamber & put the tub on a heating mat under the lights. I use two each, cheap 2 bulb 4' shop lights with cheap T12 cool white bulbs, although have considered switching out to T5 lighting. Tiny seedlings turn reddish with too much lighting.
I run the lights from around 5:30 am to 9:30 pm & the thermostat controlled heating pad stays on all the time, maintaining a soil temp of around 85F.
I'll open the tubs every few days & spray mist with distilled water.
When the seedlings get around this size, I open the lids and let the seedlings start to acclimate to the outdoor air
when they get around this size, I take them out from under the lights & put them on a table in my gh, which is nothing more than an open air, unheated lean-to type with tinted plastic Suntuff UV coated panels.
As can be seen from the pic above, I got in a hurry & didnt add the washed plaster sand and the continuously wet soil in contact with the humid air allows mold & algae to grow, as well as rotting some of the tinier seedlings.
Another important point is not all seeds (or seed sellers) are the same.
I've learned its critically important to separate the live seeds from the dead (un fully developed embryo's) seeds, as this greatly affects germination rates.
I use water separation for all my tricho hybrids, pouring off the 'floaters' as they tend not to germinate, or if they do at not nearly the same rate as the 'sinkers'. I'll repeat the water separation process several times, eliminating all the floaters.
This pic somewhat illustrates that, a batch of 'floaters' is planted on the left side of the tub. Look at the date all three batches were sown.
1 month old saguaro seedlings hardening off
and not all seedlings of the same batch grow at the same rate
I'm fortunate in location in that i can grow seedlings & plants year round outdoors using natural lighting, and only using artificial lighting for some seed germination.
I dont think there's any way to prevent some etiolation from occurring with columnar's under artificial lights; the sooner a person can get them in natural outdoor lighting the better.
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Topic: Misplant TEK -- Trichocereus Seed Germination (Read 42425 times)