After germination, issues last year

[Weekender]

I am looking for your recommendations and thoughts on what the heck I did wrong on a fairly large scale last season and I would not like to repeat.
I have been private gardening for a decade or so, no expert but I thought I had figured out a program and last season I had major issues. I purchase my seeds and they are from reputable breeders.
During my germination I have about a 90% germination rate with a nice white tail, then I fail. Last year around 50% of the seeds with nice white plants never emerged from my growing medium, it was frog ( something like that) dirt with extra perlite added to the mix. it seemed a little loose. I have been using Miracle grow soil last few years. I have used rockwool cubes for a few years with a much better success rate and may go back to them. Thinking straight top soil and perlite mix for my best success.
How do you move from the germination to the next stage ?
I grow in soil and place the plants outdoors once the spring comes around.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Need more info

What nutes
Water pH
Lights inside
Watering Technique

Etc etc etc

 

[Weekender]

This is the first few days of life for the plant. Lights nutes not even needed yet. PH is around 6, water ah damp. What kind of questions is that, you do not understand the issue.

 

[Jackalope]

I use those same soils all the time. I have run into what you are talking about before. It happened with FF soil. I ended up saving a couple plants after I figured it out.

What I found was that the coco fibers in the soil would bind together forming into a solid net holding the seeds back from pushing through the soil. I had lost a few seeds before I started looking for what happened. I found a couple seeds stopped just below the surface of the soil. I left one uncovered and it came around before long. Since that time I always scuff up the top of the soil above the seed after watering it in.

If it happened to lots of seeds at once that may be the problem. I have also seen seeds with a nice white tap root and nothing else. The round leaves that are supposed to be with it were dried to the outer shell. This would only effect one strain not multiple ones.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

How do you move from the germination to the next stage ?

That was yer questions, was addressing that

Good luck

 

[Weekender]

With Germination and a nice white tail . about 1/2 inch long I transfer to medium with tweezers holding shell not tail, you would have asked . my growing medium was ocean something from fox farms mixed with extra perlite. moist with spring water, PH around 6.5.

 

[Jackalope]

Sounds like you did everything right. Like I mentioned watch that the soil does not mat up after you water the seed in. If it dry's just a little it can make a strong barrier. That is the trouble I had with Ocean Forest soil.

 

[Frigault's Genetics]

I just popped 144 bean and yeah it would suck not having them to pop. But what i always do after a few days is check de seedling to see if the growth and the push outward has been altered. Like mention above i have experience that dry barrier... Not great at all.. I've iven experience gnat larvea once that was in the soil i used big wake up call on certain product... But good luck.. If i were you i would water soak or use paper towel till the tail is fairly long and would make a whole in soil just about the size of the seed not more and would sprinkle dirt that has been screen fir fine particle just enoug to cover it.. This way you are sure there us no barriere from coars grains

 

[Weekender]

That will be my plan, I did not think of screening my soil to cover the seedling but makes sense and I can not be too rough handed with them this year. I have some fine beans just waiting for a bit of water.
Thank you and all for your advise it is valuable to me.

 

[Frigault's Genetics]

That will be my plan, I did not think of screening my soil to cover the seedling but makes sense and I can not be too rough handed with them this year. I have some fine beans just waiting for a bit of water.
Thank you and all for your advise it is valuable to me.

97% germination rates after 72h i've check the area that the seed didn't break surface only 3 add not cracked open they didn't seemed dead either. So'll give them another 3 days just to see. But i'm already transplanting to these trays (more stablle then solo cup.)

 

[bobrown14]

For seedlings I put the tails after soaking in water 100ml total with 10ml of H2o2 added.

Tails show in 24-36 hrs.

Tweezer the tailed seeds (by the seed not the tail as mentioned) out and into peat pellets that have been re-hydrated with boiling water (let cool).

add the peat pellets to a dont tray and cover and keep moist until plants emerge.

Once seedlings emerge they get planted into soil.

I loose very very few seed this way.

Reason for adding H2o2 to water is to kill off any pathogens from hoo-man handling (bacterial) and also H2o2 is part of the germination process in seeds. So it will help germination. I've found it speeds up the process.

Also if the seeds are old, you can use thiamine (vitamin B1) very very lose amount to help germinate old seed.