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Syracuse, NY

IS A DESCRIPTION OF HOW TO SPROUT '05 SEEDS
IN A NEW FASHION USING A CD SPINDLE CONTAINER IN PLACE OF THE
ZIPLOC BAGGIE METHOD, WHICH HAS NEVER WORKED WELL FOR ME:
i have yet to try it on older, less-viable seeds, but i WILL!:

here's what you do:
take a CD spindle container, a CLEAR one.

take out the spindle itself and the little clear FAKE CD
they always have in there along with the real ones.
turn the clear container upside down. top is now bottom.
okay, take ONE paper towel, fold it over twice, so it is
1/4 the original size. next, fold the corners under so it is
like a little stop sign that fits nicely into the bottom of the CD
container. put it in there. try not to have any big lumps or
ripples in the paper towel. now, put some water in there
directly from the tap. no need to have it hot, although
tepid or room temp. might be better. once you have
SATURATED the paper towel, turn the container on its
side so the excess water drains off into the sink.
it is OKAY to have this sucker really wet!
next, grab a few seeds to test-germinate.
with TOENAIL clippers, snip away the edge of the seed
coat on all these seeds, including the much-feared
radicle tip.....you can literally snip-away up to about
1/16th of an inch from the actual tip of the seed, and
all the way around the rest of the seed. simply NIBBLE
away at the edge of the seed coat. you do not want to
actually snip though the edge of the seed coat, merely
allow the clippers to break away the very edge of it....
this is to ensure that the seed can effectively break free

11/9/2005 4:29:38 PM

Syracuse, NY

of its coat without much of its own effort.
i, myself, like to pick away at the radicle tip until i can
actually see it. i have not yet tried this method with
un-snipped seeds, but i'll bet it will work.
okay, now, place your snipped seeds at an equal distance
from each other, about halfway between the center and the
edge of the CD container. place the FAKE CD on top of the seeds,
giving it a little downward force to help the seeds make contact with
the paper towel, place the spindle back into the container and
twist it on there tight, this whole thing REMAINING upside-down
throughout this whole process. now, the hard part:
ROOM TEMPERATURE, 24-36 hours, sprouts will form.
48 hours, you are ready to put the sprouted seeds into
actual seed-starting mix and the rest is history (in the making).
i have let the seedlings continue to grow in nothing more than
just this little terrarium environment, with only the paper towel and
the original water to support the seeds' growth, until they started
coming out of the container...insanely, the seed coats will basically
be shucked-of of the seeds even though they are not in any soil!
MINIMAL help might be required.
then, i filled the container with
seed-starting mix and they grew like normal seedlings until
the experiment was terminated>>>i have yet to try it on older,
less-viable seeds, (<<<'05) but i WILL!:-------eric

11/9/2005 4:30:03 PM

Syracuse, NY

i should have proof-read again.
put a "HERE" in front of this whole thing, and
i am sorry for having posted it in General Discussion,
but there was not yet a "seed-starting" board in place yet.
perhaps let me know how it works for you if you try it.

11/9/2005 4:32:17 PM

Ontario, Canada.

I've got one of those CD spindle container thingy's right here next to me. I gonna give this a try.

11/10/2005 1:42:15 PM

Billerica,Massachusetts

they actually had those out on the market some years ago, came already with different plant seeds.

11/10/2005 3:35:33 PM

Syracuse, NY

now, the only difference is that a few CD spindle
containers have a new purpose in life, lol!
i knew i was saving them for something...
i also believe i can just plop-in a few more seeds as soon as the first few are germinated. plug and pray!
i have three of my
689.5 Sandercock X 1097.5 Beachy in one right now, and,
as sweetly usual, they are doin' their thing.
no heat, man! okay, tonight i will put some 4-year-old
Gerry seeds in there, some snipped, some not. i like the
snip; makes me feel in touch with the seed.
Russ, room temperature for me is 70 degrees. g'luck! eric

11/10/2005 5:59:37 PM

Barrington N.S. Canada

Thanks Pumpkinpal2, I just put 3 seeds in a cd container, going to give it a try. I just put it on a heat pad, hope that's okay. Will see what happens.

3/18/2017 3:39:41 PM

Syracuse, NY

OK---it is possible that they may sprout sooner that way or will do so if they would not have otherwise, keeping in mind that the beauty of it is that there was no heat needed beyond room temperature of about 70* F; however, if they DO sprout with a little heat where they would NOT have?, then, more power to this method! you can be the guinea pig, lol---
would love to hear back about how it goes--eric g

3/20/2017 10:39:26 AM