flats???

just sprinkled on top ... imo.. who cares.. and what difference would it make ...

do you plan on potting rather quickly as the seedlings grow ... or leaving them in the flat until summer ... if just short term ... i dont see how it could make much difference ...

if you run into some issue .... just move them into a new tray at the second true leaf stage ...

now you will tell me you sowed a couple million and have no plans on culling and potting .. whatever.. more fact.. better answers .. lol ...

and correct me if i am wrong.. but this is upstate NY ... right???... wont the flats be frozen solid for another month or two???

bottom line.. dont lose your seed .. and you can work around any other brain freezes along the way ... weve all been there.. lol .. this is how new ideas are born ... lol .. i predict this will be the newest best idea in rubeckia germination.. in a decade ... lol

ken

I'm in the lower Hudson River Valley, outside of New York City, which is zone 6b. My fear is that perlite will absorb moisture and form a sludge on top. Maybe that will be fine. I later realized that I could have used chicken grit in place of vermiculite. But you are right. Experiments are good, and the seed is not irreplaceable - unlike the packets from Select Seed I used to buy and sneeze all 10 seeds into the ether.

Perlite does not form a sludge. Unless it is manually crushed, it retains its structural integrity. OTOH, vermiculite absorbs far more water than does perlite - 3-4 times its weight - and once fully saturated, it will lose porosity and collapse. It can and will form a sludgey mush, which is why better potting soils will omit including it. Other than for cutting propagation, there is really not much use to it. I don't even recommend it for seed starting!

Perlite or grit is a perfectly fine topping for seed flats should they require it. IME, few seeds do.

And this is why I keep confusing them. Thank you!