I'd never heard those terms. When I looked them up it appears that it only applies to pre-sprouting tubers. At least that was all I could find.

the book was called 'gardening when it counts', and the author said that while sowing from seed was the most cost-effective method of gardening, transplants were a sure bet of unwasted garden space. he talked about pre-sprouting seeds indoors, just until a growth tip emerged, and then planting that directly outdoors. that way there's no hardening off period and weak plants are eliminated. i looked up 'chitting' seeds, but also only found references to potatoes. just wondered if anyone has ever tried this method, but if not i might still give it a try this spring as i don't have room to grow transplants myself. it seems to make sense

I sometimes soaked the seed until they started to swell or just began to break and found this an easy way to hasten the process of getting the plant into the garden and growing. I don't recall ever waiting until the growing tip had emerged.

Greensprouting and chitting are new terms to me.

i saw the word "chit" in a seed catalog recently, it was new on me also.

:)

Complete Book of Plant Propagation, Graham Clarke ( British horticulturist) .

"Chitted Seed:
Chitting is an operation applied to seeds that are difficult to raise outdoors - they may be costly to buy, so losses should be minimized. Included here are such vegetables as summer lettuce, parsley (notoriously difficult to germinate indoors), carrots and parsnips (avoids thinning), salad onions, melons. Let the seed fall evenly onto moist blotting or tissue paper in a shallow dish. Put the lid on and place in a warm cupboard of 61-64F. Soon the tiny radicals (roots) will form. Before roots are 1/2" in length, sow individually in rows outdoors in soil that is damp and fine not lumpy. At all costs be extremely careful as the tiny chits are very fragile."

Now we've learned what it is, but I have nothing to add :) Sounds much like the first steps of paper towel method which I don't use.

It is the paper towel method with a British accent. The trick is to retrieve the sprouted seed before the radical has enmeshed its self into the paper. I use coffee filters instead of paper towels to help avoid this problem. Al

I find many gardeners pre-sprout (more common label for chitting) seeds of corn, peas, beans, melons, squash, etc. the items that are normally direct seeded anyway. It is a time saver I suppose but a great deal of work so depends on if your time is less or more valuable than the cost of seeds.

But the timing on it is crucial - determining exactly how many days prior to the proper transplanting time and proper soil temps for planting to sprout your seeds could be difficult. Once sprouted they won't wait for planting for long and a sudden rain that drop soil temps can cost you all those plants. And I don't think it is something that will work for ALL vegetables - tomatoes and peppers specifically.

engk916 - if growing space is your main problem then you need to explore the concept of winter sowing over on their forum. It allows for growing massive numbers of transplants outside in very little room. That forum is linked at the top of this forum's front page.

Dave

thanks everyone, i was thinking of pre-sprouting peas, broccoli and brussel sprout seeds - ones which are cold-hardy but usually go out in the garden as transplants. that's good advice about rain - i didn't think of that, and since it's still very early (thank goodness! :) i'll check out the winter sowing forum as well.

I found an online definition of chitting, (UK, dialectal) To damage the outer layers of a seed

I presprout seeds to get them grow outdoors in the cold soil of late February and Early March. It cuts down on germination times without transplant shock.

clumsygrdner, what seeds do you chit? i'm pretty new to gardening and am not sure what will survive the frosts of feb/march.

Chitting, nicking, or presprouting is useful for any seed that A) Has a hard seedcoat B) Tends to sit in the ground or C) Germinates at a higher termperature than is convenient.

I chit or presprout peas and spinach in February. I soak them for only 30 minutes and then place them in a damp paper towel until I see the white roots forming. In the afternoon, when the soil is warmest, I sow the now sprouted seeds just like I sow any other seeds.

I do this because the optimal germination temperatures are much higher than the acceptable growing temperatures. Peas and spinach grow in temps as low as 40 degrees, but they would take weeks to germinate at that temperature and would probably rot before then. Presprouted they take about 7 to 10 days.

I also use the same method to plant beans in the summer. It's not necessary but I get impatient and beans can take a while to sprout sometimes and can fall victim to rot. Never plant beans in cool soil though. It'll set it back for life.

I have practiced chitting of pea, bean and corn seeds for many years. Where I live, south of Seattle, the soil takes a long time to get warm enough so that corn and bean seeds sprout in the garden easily.

Peas and corn can be soaked in tepid water overnight in a glass jar with cheesecloth or similar material fastened over the top. After the initial soak, the seeds are rinsed a few times a day and the water is poured off. Seeds are planted when they have visible roots and hopefully before roots are so long that they break easily.

I am currently experimenting with bean seeds and find that they seem to tolerate a six hour soak fine. Then they are treated as above.

This allows me to plant beans and corn earlier. And seeds that do not sprout are discarded, making it more likely that I will get plants where I want them with less empty spaces. - Dick