Turttle, thanks for the tip. I'm definately going to start my seeds differently next time, but I haven't totally given up on the STG yet. On this round, I didn't soak the seeds in water at all or wait for a developed taproot before placing in the STG cubes. I just put them in a well-saturated STG cube, then put it in a humidity dome on a head mat for 36 hours. After 36 hours, I put the cubes into some STG inserts that hold the cubes and fit into netpots in my cloner. I put the water level about an inch or so above the bottom of the netpots figuring it would keep the bottom moist and help drive the roots down. I've also been supplementing with light surface misting when I no longer see condensation on the humidity dome.
From my "minor surgery" last night, it appeared that both seeds were taking, but they were having problems poking though the small center hole in the STG cube. They looked to be surfacing just off-center and were having trouble making it though the "skin" that covers the cube around the center hole.
Last night, shortly after my last post, I got a closer look at what was going on and then took some small (sterilized) scissors and cut back the skin of the STG cube making an area where the seeds could more easily emerge. I made sure the fibers weren't too "tight" and gently recovered the seeds by pulling some surrounding fibers back over. I also raised the light about to about 12" to try to encourage some stretching.
When I checked them this morning, they looked good and like they're just poking through now. I'll take some pics later and post them tonight.
I saw this really great method of germination I'm going to try next time...
I wish I could find the link so I could post it, but essentially, the guy makes a small tube out of a 4x4 piece of sandpaper that he rolls up & tapes. He puts the seeds in the tube and shakes the tube lightly for about two minutes to scuff the outside of the seeds. This supposedly thins the shell and helps them absorb water and break out easier. He then soaks the scuffed seeds for about 8 hours, then takes the seeds and puts them in a kitchen strainer (mesh screen bottom). He then wraps a wet towel completely around the strainer and puts it in a sink with the faucet set to just a drip (literally one drop every few seconds or so, just to keep the towel moist). That way, the seeds don't drown, either. He used older seeds that were stored in a freezer to show the effectiveness of the technique and in 36 hours had something like a 94% germination rate, even with the old seeds.
In any event, I think it might be better to get the taproot going before putting in the starter cubes. I always thought people did this because they didn't want to waste a cube if the seed didn't germinate, but I can see the advantages of getting to line up the seedling a more optimal way in the cube once it has a taproot.
