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Seed Germination Fundamentals

Germination in a botanical context classifies the “process of germinating a seed.” But! That’s not saying much so let’s phrase this in a different way. Germination is the start of vegetation or fresh growth in a seed or plant. Another common term used instead of germination is “sprout.”

To sprout a seed is to germinate a seed. Germination is not just limited to plants’ seeds. Growth of a hypha from a fungal spore is also considered germination. Once the seed cracks open and that little white tip emerges, the germination process is considered completed.

Understanding Seed Germination

Plant’s produce seeds to reproduce and continue their species. Under ideal conditions, the seeds will “germinate” to start their life outside the shell. Like new born babies with soft skull and a delicate skeleton, fresh sprouts will be very delicate and can be easily damaged.

The shape, size and thickness of a seed depends on its species. However, all seeds have an embryo inside that wait for the right time to begin germinating. When the stem of the embryo or the radicle appears, that usually signal the end of the germination phase. The radicle is the white tip that is the first sign of successful germination. The sprout will then enter the “establishment period,” a phase that ends once the seedling has used up the stored nutrients in its reserves. Because seeds germinate with a food reserve, they generally do not need any supplemental nutrients for approximately the first week or two.

Seed Mortality

In nature, a lot of plants will produce huge amounts of seeds to ensure success in the survival of their species. A great number of seeds will not make it through the two critical phases of their life — the Germination and Establishment phase.

Seed mortality may occur for various reasons. The temperature can affect seed germination rates and success. Some seeds may require heat while others may benefit more from being soaked in water for a period of time. Please research your plant type to learn more about it’s specific germination requirements.

source : hydroponicsearch

Planting Seeds Can Be One Of The Most Enjoyable Parts Of Gardening part 2

Start your seeds by soaking your growing medium first then adding the seeds. Keep the medium almost soaked for the first 2 days of planting to help soften the seeds hard shell then remove the medium from any standing water so that it can start to dry out. Letting the medium start to dry up some what will allow for air circulation and also cause the seedling to spread their roots in search of moisture. Don’t let the medium totally dry out. Once that you notice that it is getting dry just add more water to it.

You will need a propagation tray and humidity dome. Use these to keep your medium and seeds in the perfect environment. You should use a spray bottle to mist water on the inside of the tray at least once per day to keep high humidity around your seeds. (Plants that are kept under a humidity dome will sometimes require having the lid removed for small amounts of time to allow for it to adapt to the future drop in humidity. If this is not watched carefully your seedling may wilt very quickly when transplanting to a much more intense light).

Seedlings don’t require as an intense amount of light as does a more mature plant. You will want to use a fluorescent grow light about 2″ above the top of your seedlings. Too much intense light and heat will burn them up and kill them.

After your seedlings have grown enough that you see that the root system has fully taken hold of its growing medium, its time to transplant them. Do this by simply placing the rooted seedling in or onto a larger amount of medium. They are at this time ready to go under more intense light. (It is recommended to keep a close eye on your newly introduced transplants into a more intense light than what it’s used to. If you notice shortly after introducing into more intense light that the transplants are wilting, take them back to there original area and slowly introduce them into there new home).

source : hydroponicsearch

Planting Seeds Can Be One Of The Most Enjoyable Parts Of Gardening

Seeds require warm, moist growing mediums. Most seeds tell you the required germination temperatures on the package. By following the temperature requirements you will get the fastest starts. You will be able to maintain these temperatures with a propagation heating mat. (It is not recommended to use one of those heating pads that help your aching muscles, because they can become too hot and can also be a fire hazard if they become wet).

Starting your garden out by planting seeds can be one of the most enjoyable parts of gardening. Find a seed supply company that sells high quality seeds with good genetics.

Seeds require warm, moist growing mediums. Most seeds tell you the required germination temperatures on the package. By following the temperature requirements you will get the fastest starts. You will be able to maintain these temperatures with a propagation heating mat. (It is not recommended to use one of those heating pads that help your aching muscles, because they can become too hot and can also be a fire hazard if they become wet).

Start your seeds by soaking your growing medium first then adding the seeds. Keep the medium almost soaked for the first 2 days of planting to help soften the seeds hard shell then remove the medium from any standing water so that it can start to dry out. Letting the medium start to dry up some what will allow for air circulation and also cause the seedling to spread their roots in search of moisture. Don’t let the medium totally dry out. Once that you notice that it is getting dry just add more water to it.

source : hydroponicsearch

Hydroponic Seed Starting PART 2

The Rapid Rooters, says Worm’s Way Store Manager Ryan Tenuta, are their favorite seed-starting medium because they’re alive, with large populations of the beneficial microbes called Mycorrhizal fungi that colonize the roots, helping plants maximize nutrient uptake and resist disease. And they’re very simple to use – the plugs come in trays so gardeners just add seeds and water.

For gardeners who expect to transplant their seedlings to a traditional garden, hydroponic seed starting offers a series of benefits, including ease of use, a minimum of mess and a sterile medium that helps protect vulnerable seedlings from soil-borne diseases like damping off. “They’re idiot-proof,” quips Doug Millar, sales and marketing manager for General Hydroponics which manufactures the Rapid Rooter.

Other Options

Along with the new Rapid Rooters, other hydroponic options include rockwool, coir or coconut fiber, rockwool, peat and Oasis cubes – the same material used to arrange flowers. Peat, Oasis and coir hold the least amount of water, while Rapid Rooters hold the most, notes Evan Townsley, President of International Growers Supply in Los Angeles. “You can’t water them all the same amount or some will be too wet and others will be too dry,” he said.

Rockwool, a natural substance created using a process similar to the one that turns sugar into cotton candy, is more challenging for newbie hydroponic growers because it has a high pH that must be treated, Millar adds. “If you put seedlings or cuttings in untreated rockwool, they’ll struggle.” Once treated, however, rockwool is a mainstay of hydroponic gardening because it holds large quantities of both water and air.

source : hydroponicsearch

Hydroponic Seed Starting

Easier than it Sounds

By Vicki Parsons

You may not know it, but thousands of gardeners across the country will start their seeds hydroponically this spring – and they may not know it either! Peat pots and soilless potting mixtures clearly meet the definition of textbook definition of hydroponics – grown without soil — even though they don’t necessarily meet the high-tech criteria that typically come to mind.

Starting seeds is a great place to try hydroponics. Some mediums, such as peat pots, plugs made with composted bark and coconut fiber, include enough nutrients to give seedlings a kick-start. But even with other mediums like rockwool or Oasis, the seeds themselves generally have enough nutrients to support plants in their early stages until they’re transplanted into larger pots or a complete hydroponic system.

Most seed-starting systems need a minimum of equipment – grow lights are recommended in most instances – but simply bottom watering the medium with or without nutrients is a perfectly acceptable alternative to sophisticated systems that automatically supply water and nutrients. At Worm’s Way in Tampa, where hydroponic systems are tested and sold, seedlings are started in Rapid Rooters in a simple setup under a high-output florescent light that would easily fit in any kitchen counter or basement.

The Rapid Rooters, says Worm’s Way Store Manager Ryan Tenuta, are their favorite seed-starting medium because they’re alive, with large populations of the beneficial microbes called Mycorrhizal fungi that colonize the roots, helping plants maximize nutrient uptake and resist disease. And they’re very simple to use – the plugs come in trays so gardeners just add seeds and water.

source : hydroponicsearch

How to Sprout

Author: Grata Young

As a first step, a good variety of seeds should be used for sprouting. It should be ensured that the seeds, legumes or grains are of the sproutable type. Soyabeans do not sprout well as they often become sour. Wheat has to be grown in soil. It is advisable to use seeds which are not chemically treated as this slows down the germination rate. The seeds should be washed thoroughly and then soaked overnight in a jar of pure water. The jar should be covered with cheesecloth or wire screening. The duration of soaking will depend upon the size of the seed.

Small seeds are soaked for five hours, medium size for eight hours and beans and grains for 10 to 12 hours.

On the following morning, the seeds should be rinsed and the water drained off. Not more than one-fourth of the jar should be filled with the seeds for sprouting. Soaking makes the seeds, grains or legumes fatty, pulpy and full of water. It should, therefore, be ensured that the jar has enough room for the seeds to expand during sprouting. They will expand about eight times their original size. The jar should be kept at a place which is exposed neither to chill nor hot winds. It should also be ensured that the mouth of the jar is not completely covered so as to allow air in. The seeds should be rinsed and water drained off three times every day till they are ready to eat.

The seeds will germinate and become sprouts in two or three days from commencement of soaking, depending on temperature and humidity. Care should always be taken to ensure that sprouts do not lie in water. They should be kept well drained to prevent souring. Sprouts are at their optimum level of flavour and tenderness when tiny green leaves appear at the tips. Their nutritional value is also optimum. To retain their freshness and nutritional value, they should be placed in a refrigerator, if they cannot be consumed immediately after reaching suitable maturity.

Sprouts can be kept for several days in this way.

Some caution is necessary in sprouting. Soaking for a longer period than required makes the seeds rot or ferment. The main factors for germination are water, air, heat and darkness. There may be poor germination or no germination at all if any of these factors are not present such as insufficient water, or too much water, lack of sufficient heat, lack of fresh air, either too cold or too hot surroundings and too much light.

source : hydroponicsearch

Zantedeschia (Calla Lily) – Introduction

Zantedeschia is a genus of twenty-eight species of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa from South Africa north to Malawi. Common names include arum lily and calla lily, the latter confusing as it is also the scientific name of the related genus Calla.

Zantedeschia aethiopica (Calla Lily)They are rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plants growing to 1-2.5 m tall with leaves 15-45 cm long. The flowers are prodiced in a spadix, with a large, brightly coloured bract surrounding the inflorescence.

Species

* Zantedeschia aethiopica – giant white arum lily or common arum lily
* Zantedeschia odorata
* Zantedeschia albomaculata – spotted arum lily
* Zantedeschia elliottiana – yellow or golden arum lily
* Zantedeschia jucunda
* Zantedeschia pentlandii
* Zantedeschia rehmannii – pink arum lily

Zantedeschia elliottiana (Calla Lily)

All species are endemic to Southern Africa. Z. aethiopica grows naturally in marshy areas and only deciduous when water becomes scarce. It grows continuously when watered and fed continuously and can survive periods of minor frosts. Z. aethiopica is a very strong and sturdy plant, being able to grow in many soils and habitats, multiplying by rhizome-offsets; it is naturalised and regarded as a weed throughout the world. Z. odorata is a rare species, resembling Z. aethiopica, but deciduous and smelling like freesia, endemic to a few localities in South Africa. Z. albomaculata is a widespread and variable species, growing from South Africa up to Kenia, varying in shades of white to cream and pink to orange-shades. Z. elliotiana is known from horticultural sources only and is probably of hybrid origin. Z. jucunda and Z. pentlandii are rare species with beautiful large yellow showy flowers. Z. rehmannii is a pink-flowered species with sword shaped leaves.

All zantedeschias produce large, showy flowers spathes and are often grown both as ornamental plants and for cut flowers. They are hardy only to USDA plant hardiness zone 8-10; in colder zones, they are grown as tender bulbs or houseplants.

The so-called white calla is derived from Z. aethiopica. All varieties with flowers with shades of yellow, orange, red, purple are mainly derived from Z. albomaculata, Z. pentlandii and Z. rehmanni.

source : hydroponicsearch

Vegetables – Watercress : Introduction

Watercress (Nasturtium nasturtium-aquaticum, N. microphyllum) are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennials native from Europe to central Asia and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings. These plants are members of the Family Brassicaceae or cabbage family, botanically related to garden cress and mustard — all noteworthy for a peppery, tangy flavor.

The stems of watercress are floating and the leaves are pinnately compound. Watercresses produce small, white and green flowers in clusters.

Nasturtium officinale Ait. f. and Sisymbrium nasturtium-aquaticum L. are synonyms of N. nasturtium-aquaticum. Nasturtium officinale var microphyllum (Boenn. ex Reich.) Thellung is a synonym of N. microphyllum (ITIS, 2004). These species are also listed in some sources as belonging to the genus, Rorippa, although molecular evidence shows that the aquatic species with hollow stems are more closely related to Cardamine than Rorippa (Al-Shehbaz & Price, 1998). Watercresses are not related to the flowers in the genus, Tropaeolum (Family Tropaeolaceae), popularly known as “nasturtiums”.

Watercress cultivation

Cultivation of watercress is practical on both a large scale and a garden scale. Being semi-aquatic, watercress is well-suited to hydroponic cultivation, thriving best in water that is slightly alkaline. It is frequently produced around the headwaters of chalk streams. In many local markets the demand for hydroponically-grown watercress exceed supplies. This is due in part to the fact that cress leaves are unsuitable for distribution in dried form and can only be stored for a short period. If unharvested, watercress can grow to a height of 50-120 cm. Also sold as sprouts, the edible shoots are harvested days after germination.

Food value

Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium and folic acid, in addition to vitamins A and C. In some regions watercress is regarded as a weed, in other regions as an aquatic vegetable or herb. Where watercress is grown in the presence of animal waste, it can be a haven for parasites such as the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica.

Many benefits from eating watercress are claimed, such as that it acts as a mild stimulant, a source of phytochemicals and antioxidants, a diuretic, an expectorant, and a digestive aid.

Cite: Wikipedia

source : hydroponicsearch