Soaking Seed in "Fortified" Water Does Make a Difference

Q. I am new to starting my plants from seed. I read an article about soaking seed with fish or seaweed solution before planting. I am trying broccoli seeds which are small and I used water from a fish solution. Am I on the right track?

A. Yes, you are on the right track. Let’s focus on vegetable seed which are fairly easy to germinate. When seeds germinate, they first “soak up” water from its surroundings. This is called imbibition.

            Imbibition causes seed to swell or enlarge and begins all of the internal chemistry which pushes it towards germination. That is, IF the temperature is correct for that seed. By the way, imbibition does not tell you if the seed is alive. Imbibition occurs if seed is alive or dead.

            If a seed imbibes water and begins the process of germination and the seed dries out after this, living seed will die. It had its chance and failed.

            For imbibition to occur, the seed must be in contact with the water long enough for water to be absorbed. This is an important concept in the desert. If the seed comes in contact with water for five or 10 minutes, and then dries, it will not imbibe water. The seed will not germinate but it may still be alive. If this happens too many times in a row, the seed will die.

Large seed like this runner bean seed is easy to soak in water, surface dry and plant. Small seed are difficult.

            Seed must be in contact with water for a fairly long time for imbibition to occur. This is the reason I encourage gardeners who are germinating seed in the garden during the summer months to use a thin surface mulch. This surface mulch reduces evaporation from the soil and leaves soil water in contact with the seed for a longer period of time.

            The water that moves into the seed during imbibition carries with it whatever nutrients are in solution. So if you have dissolved nutrients from sea kelp or a fish solution, that water will enter the seed and provide nourishment to the seedling.

            That was a long winded answer that basically says, “Yes, the quality of the water used for germinating seed may have an impact on the growth of a seedling.” I will caution you though. You do not want a strong solution when imbibing seeds with water. If this water has a high nutrient content from the sea kelp or fish solution, it could kill the seed or damage the seedling. It is best to dilute it.

            Another word of caution. Once you retrieve these small seeds from this solution of water, they will be wet, cling together and be difficult for planting. It is much easier if they are allowed to dry before planting.

            Here is where you have to be careful. If you dry seeds too long before planting you risk the possibility they will die. If you do not wait long enough, they are difficult to plant. Allow seeds to dry on their surfaces, only, before planting. Do not let them dry further than this or you may kill the seed.

When seed first begin to germinate (left) the beginning of the root, the radicle, is the first to emerge.

            And another word of caution. If you wait too long before planting and these seeds begin to germinate, you will see a tiny projection coming from the seed. This is the beginning of a root called the radicle. It is very easy to break this radicle when you are handling the seed as you are planting. If it breaks, the seed is dead.Throw it out.

            Imbibe the seed with cool water for 24 hours. Surface dry the seed long enough so it can be planted easily and immediately plant it in warm soil.

Starting Texas Mountain Laurel from Seed

Q. I harvested some Texas Mountain Laura. Can I expect them to grow if I plant them in garden soil? Should I remove the outer shell first?

Texas mountain Laurel dried seed pods

A. Texas mountain Laurel can be started or propagated from seed but there is at least one major hurdle you must overcome. This hurdle is the very hard coat around the seed, not the pod.

The seed is best harvested from pods that have not fully matured. If possible harvest the seed from pods that have not yet turned brown but give you a clear indication that there is a seed which has fully formed.

Texas mountain Laurel

For seeds to germinate they must absorb water, be at the right stage of development, have warm temperatures and air. This very hard seed coat does not permit water to enter the seed and begin the germination process.

 To my knowledge, this seed does not have to be stored in cold temperatures prior to starting them from seed. Some seeds from temperate climates have to go through a simulated winter in the refrigerator before you plant them or they will not germinate. 

This seed does not seem to need this. However, to be on the safe side take half of your seed and give them an 8 week cold treatment in the fridge and take the other half with no cold treatment and see what happens. Give them a cold treatment before you damage the seed coat.

Damaging the seed coat without damaging the seed permits water to enter and start the germination process. If the damage to the seed coat is too deep, the seed may die.

           The easiest way to damage the seed coat safely is to use a file or sandpaper and scratch or nick the seed coat deep enough so this barrier is breached but not deep enough to damage the seed itself.
           There will be some variation in these plants because they are propagated sexually, that is by seed. When these seedlings first come out and reach about 1 foot in height you can begin to discard plants that don't have the size or shape that you desire. This is called "roguing" out the seedlings.

Here is a good website to look at.

http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~harms/MtL-seed.html

This website seems to say it needs a cold treatment

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-mountain-laurels-seed-25353.html

Peas Not Germinating Evenly

Q. I have had problems with germination of peas. Placed directly in prepared soil germination has been inconsistent and I had to reseed several times.