Hi, Prairiemoon, I use alot of vermiculite, it works like tiny mirrors and refracts light also holds bits of moisture near the seeds. I use it on everything except seeds that like the dark in that case I use soil.

Wendey

Hi Wendey! Nice to see you! Hmm...that is interesting about how they act like tiny mirrors. You learn something new every day. I have used vermiculite on the top in past years, and I enjoy using it. It is so easy to get a very fine dusting on there. Easier than sifting my soil for that. I used to mix my own soil and used that as one of the ingredients, then someone alerted me to the fact that it can be very harmful to breathe the dust of it while you are using it. So I switched to perlite instead. So I have the perlite, but of course it doesn't work for this application. I am completely out of vermiculite and I was just dragging my feet about whether it was worth delaying doing some sowing today to get some. So I just asked DH to pick me up some at the nursery. A small bag should go a long way for that. We got a lot of container prep done today so it worked out fine.

Thanks Wendey!

pm2

I heard it can contain asbestos, I found one that says asbestos free at Mahoneys nursery before I left the Cape called Franks, its not as fine as I would like buy thats ok!

You know, I dont think those directions you read are all that important, many people here sprinkle the seeds on the soil and thats it, and if your worried about dryness spritz them well after you sprinkle the seeds.

Good Luck :-)
Wendey

I read on the website , www.wintersown.org , that you need to sow the seeds according to the package instructions (1/4 inch, etc). It said that teeny, tiny seeds can just be sprinkled and patted down.
:)
I am completely new to this, too, so check it out for yourself at that website.

PM2,

I've never cover the tiny seeds when I WS them. Just sprinkle on and take a clean flat glass and press them into the soil. Make sure that none of the soil is stuck on it.

For the ones that need light for germination, they get sprinkled on the top and get the same treatment as above.

larger seeds, like coreopsis that are flat, I sow on the top of the soil and sprinkle some MG soil on top and press it down on the seeds, same for things like marigolds, cosmos etc.

For bigger seeds, I take out my trusty wooden chopsticks. Press a hole in the soil and in they go. the depth of the hole depends on the size of the seeds. then I just push the soil back over the holes.

You've seen my germination rate at the swaps, so I wouldn't worry about covering seeds with anything special.

What seeds have you had trouble germinating?

Fran

Hi Fran...I was wondering where you were. [g] That is a nice tip about the glass. I usually water the container first, sprinkle the seeds and then mist them with a spray bottle and felt that was as good as pressing them into the soil. Anything that recommends just covering, I use sifted potting soil to put as thin a layer over them as I can.

You had to ask which seeds are giving me trouble...lol. Now I have to go back and check my list...okay, from last year's winter sown list...

Delphiniums of course, are the worst. Less than 50% the first year and last year I think I got 4 plants out of two packages of seed. I would love a nice patch of them. I did notice that I didn't get to collecting seed from them in time last year and I am pretty sure I saw some reseeding around the base of one of the plants. Then later in the fall, we spread compost and I forgot and I am pretty sure someone covered those little seedlings up with compost. So I am doubting they are going to show up next year. I do realize that the seed has to be really fresh and I have only used fresh seed, so I wondered if I was doing something wrong.

Seeds that I had no germination with last year....

Aconitum, two containers. Traded seeds from two seperate people.
Astilbe,
Corydalis sempervirens
Filipendula
Stylophorum diphyllum
Veronicastrum
Shortia
Daylily
Phlox paniculata
Helianthus maximillian
Thalictrum

Seeds that I had low germination with....
Nasturtiums which I spring sowed
Hosta
California Poppy
Hibiscus
Echinacea
Penstemon
Primula

That's about it. Everything else had pretty good germination rates. This year, I managed to hit the T&M 50% off sale and I am trying to follow their directions on the packets. Seeds that I anticipate having difficulty are either new to me or repeats of seeds I have tried before...

Ammi
Brachycome
Daylily
Delphiniums
California Poppies
Hosta
Lobelia
Monkshood
Nemesia
Penstemon
Primula
Salvia coccinea
Venidum

Thanks Fran, It was a good exercise to go through the list and see what was giving me trouble. Have you had any experience with any of these seed?

pm2

pm2: Maybe you just need to pick easier seeds!

FYI, I had very low germination too on primula and echinacea. I don't give them a long chance though, I get tired of falling over jugs and dump them into beds when I finish planting out seedlings. Last year after dumping the echinacea I found 4 babies coming up in my beds. (At least I hope they're echinacea).

Echinacea germ in flower bed
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On some, like emilia and nasties, where I thought I had good germination, I dumped a little soil from the jug that was leftover after plantout, and sure enough a bunch more emilia came up there in a week or two. I had this happen with a lot of things.

Maybe this is because I pretty much ignore planting instructions and sprinkle seeds on top of the soil and that's it. Large seeds like nasties I push into the soil individually. But I do try to dump any leftover soil, or whole jugs, into beds and sometimes get nice surprises. My success rate is greatly improved by doing this. Some things just come up better in the flower beds.

Karen

When I sowed my seeds, I put them on top of the wet soil and then sprinkled a little soil over them and then spritzed that soil with water, is this wrong? Will they not germinate if I put small amount of soil over them? Now I'm concerned.

There were a couple with very fine seeds and with them I just sprinkled them on top and that was it but for the most part, I sprinkled some soil to lightly cover my seeds.