Posted by Bradley, PDX
on March 19, 2008, 12:05 pm
I'm germinating Hesperaloe seeds in small containers filled with cat litter. A poster on the Growing on the Edge board is doing this with Dyckia seeds, so I thought I'd give it a try. I soaked the medium for a couple of days to hydrate the clay granules and rinsing often to clear the small particles. Lesson learned: look for the cheapest stuff you can find that isn't scented. My cellar now stinks a "clean n' fresh" scent.
I put the seeds right on top of the medium, without covering them. The tray was placed on a standard germination mat, the kind calibrated for 20F above ambient temp. The cellar was about 60F. The tray was covered with a clear plastic hood and under standard fluorescent shop lights. I misted the surface daily.
Within a week, the seeds in containers on the outer edge of the tray began germinating. Three weeks later, those closer to the center hadn't germinated yet. I moved a few of them to the outer edge, trading places with some that had already germinated, and within 24-hours, these germinated. POP! Nearly all of them, almost over night. Second lesson learned: Temperature matters and it may be too hot or some germination mats might not heat evenly. I've read that different seeds germinate at different temps. Now I've seen it.
Anyway, I'm getting excellent germination rates from these Hesperaloe seeds after learning a few lessons.
Bradley
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