How do you usually start your seeds?
 

Is it only soaking during several hours/days or just put dry tomato/pepper seeds into the can/box with soil?

Usually we soak them in the melted water (out of snow) with the extra addition of manganese (always) + some special bio-regulators (stimulators) made of peat, wooden ashes or Siberian needles and several microbiogical regulators (stimulators) which help to prevent many deseases and stimulate quick germination and growth. Time of soaking could be from half an hour to half a day or even a day. Then
put the seeds into running water and dry a little bit.

The simpliest recipe is of course soaking seeds in wooden ashes.
Take 1 l of warm water and 2 big spoons of wooden ashes, leave it for 24h (mixing several times). Bring this liquid to another can and put gauze bag with your seeds for 3-4 hours.

Then put your wet seeds into small fabric bag and temper with different temperatures during 3-10 days (the whole night in the fridge (0 +5 C) and the whole day at any warm place at home). If you don't have enough time or patience you can do termering during one
day (24h) in fridge.

After that just plant your seeds into soil and we highly suggest you add some snow to cover this soil (if you have snow in February or March ;-). This melted snow will stimulate seeds to germinate faster and all together. Usually this water out of snow is much milder than
normal.

After all of these prepairations you will certainly have healthy, desease and cold tolerant plants of tomatoes and peppers!

Here is how I start my seeds -

[url]http://nctomatoman.topcities.com/SeedlingsMethod.htm[/url]

Impressive Craig, do you have any photos of that process? It is kind of hard for me to visualize.

Yes, over the years I've photodocumented it. Just need to get organized and get them into my web server and create links, etc - my next mini project!

Andrey,
Very impressive technique!
I'm sure the snow water is much better than most tap water. Here in south Florida, we don't have that option. But I do use rainwater or aged tap water for my plants.

I so far have not needed biostimulators to germinate tomato seeds, except for some really old seeds. (then I use a pinch of soluble fertilizer and kelp).
But I can understand the use of manganese, magnesium, potassium from wood ash, and organic stimulants as the seedlings grow.

Usually I just start seeds in flats of fine soiless mix with vermiculite added. Then pot them up into a more coarse mix with some compost and perlite added.
I fertilize lightly at first with fish and kelp.
Then it's off to the garden with them!

In my experience over the years I've found that fresh seeds don't need to be soaked.

If my saved seeds are over about 5 yo I double sow instead of soaking, if I have enough seeds, and sometimes I do soak if the seeds are over 10 yo.

When I do soak old seeds I just soak over night with a pinch of something that has a high nitrate conecntration, like a few drops of fish or seaweed prep or a pinch of Miracle Grow or Peters, although I have no more of that, b'c nitrate ion is known to be involved in seed germination.

Craig and I have tried several ways of waking up old seeds such as using potassium nitrate at different concentrations, giberellic acid, microwave, and seen no real effective differences.

Others have tried cold green tea, high oxygen, various temps, and other methods.

I'm comfortable using the soaking method I just mentioned, b'c it works.

Carolyn

I updated the link I posted above with some pictures (click the bold blue text). Will add more when I get a chance.

Andrey-Great to see you posting here. Michael

Carolyn, because of high humidity we have a lot of deseases like late blight and many others. So we soak with adding of special prepairations not to stimulate better germination, but mainly to prevent seedlings from deseases and to encrease cold tolerance in our short growing season conditions.

Hi Michael! Nice to hear from you too :wink:

Hi Andrey - good to see you around!

Re starting seeds - most of the time I put the seeds into the soiless mix and water well, and wait for the seedlings to come up. If I am dealing with really old seeds, I'd soak them overnight in a water (which comes from artesian well, and I know the water has plenty of sulphur - hopefully this does not negatively affect the germination :?: )

Andrey, my friend, great to see you again!!! You have sent me some great types. I thank you very much!

My seed starting method is about as simple as it gets. Put dry starting mix in cells in flat, put seeds on top, use pencil end to push seeds into mix, spray with water until germination.

Earl [from Franklin, OH, USA]

Nice to read you (and to see your photo :) , Earl!
Hope more Americans will be crazy about Russian tomatoes very soon :wink: :arrow:

I've just started my sweet peppers and late tomatoes. Main crop tomatoes will follow in March.

When did you taste you last Giraffe tomato? :lol:

I've never soaked seeds - never had old seed I guess ~

In regards to Earls post I do the same - except I add saran wrap over the "cells" and remove as they pop up.. ~ I'm pretty excited these days as I got my "starter table" is set up yesterday and I will start sowing everything on this up coming Sat. morning ~ Tom

Well, I'm not much of an expert, lol. I either plant them in six packs with whatever potting soil I can find or I use those peat pellets and plant the seeds in that. Put the seeds in a sunny window or out in the greenhouse and that's it. No soaking, no bottom heat etc. New seed always do great and old seed I plant more of because I know I will not get as many to germinate. May try the soaking on my old seed from now on, hadn't thought of that before.

I start with three inch plastic pots with dry mix. Then the seeds and a pinch more mix. I put a small amount of water in the bottom of the tray, mist the tops after I put the seeds in to get good contact, and use a dome. I continue to mist until the seeds germinate and them take them out from under the dome and move them to an open tray. Last year I used a heat mat under my peppers and eggplant and I think it did speed things along, but I don't see a need to use it on the tomatoes.