I have been experimenting with seeds since December (for a variety of groups\/reasons). I’m calling one particular experiment “done” and thought I’d share.<\/p>\n
Background: I’ve had random luck with nasturtium seeds in the past. I planted them in the ground and they grew (following package instructions) or not; we’d eat some of the flowers and leaves; the ants and other bugs would attack the plant (vs. attacking other plants) and the plant would die; and so the cycle went. (Great “trap” plant for insect control. Bonus = yummy flowers & leaves and unique looking!) Different packages have had different instructions for seed prep, so I decided to test three ways with a single packet of trailing nasturtium seeds: 1) Do nothing and plant seeds; 2) Soak seeds for 24 hours and plant; and 3) Rub seeds with nail file before planting.<\/p>\n
~ On 12\/15\/13, I planted some nasturtium seeds with no seed prep (#1 above).
\n~ On 12\/30\/13, I started soaking some nasturtium seeds in water.
\n~ On 12\/31\/13, I planted some soaked nasturtium seeds (#2 above) and some rubbed seeds (#3 above). I labeled popsicle sticks and used them as markers.<\/p>\n
It is now 1\/29\/14 and here are the results:
\n* In the front yard (faces South with no sunlight-blocking interferences), I planted a soaked seed (#2 above) at one end of a planting area and a rubbed seed (#3 above) at the other end for rabbit-deterrent and insect-trapping purposes. The area is small enough that the sunlight is virtually the same for both seeds. The soil is equally standard (not great) in both spots. We’ve only worked with this soil minimally to enhance it. Watering may be different, though. (I don’t have 100% control of watering due to many factors.) Both seeds germinated! \ud83d\ude42 The soaked seedling emerged a day before the rubbed seedling. The soaked seedling looks healthier and is bigger.<\/p>\n
* In the back yard (faces West with a variety of sunlight-blocking interferences), I filled a metal bucket with holes in the bottom with fresh potting soil and planted a soaked seed (#2 above) and a rubbed seed (#3 above) on either side of a marked popsicle stick (in the middle) indicating which is which. Watering was identical. To account for possible sunlight differences, I rotated the hanging bucket 180 degrees every day (only choice for rotating in this situation). I hung the bucket high enough for it to get as much sunlight as possible in this location. Both seeds germinated! \ud83d\ude42 The seedlings emerged after the ones in the front yard (less light at this time of year, due to angle of sun and buildings, is my guess on why) and they emerged on the same day as each other. The rubbed seedling is a tad smaller than the soaked seedling, but both look healthy here (probably due to good soil and appropriate watering).<\/p>\n
* By our front door (faces South, but has deep eaves overhead and several sunlight-blocking interferences), I planted a single soaked seed (#2 above) in the ground. The soil is slightly amended here. Due to the angle of the winter sun (low & gets under the eaves most of the day this time of year & the bushes lightly filter it & the west wall blocks the harsher late afternoon sun) and complete control over watering, this seedling emerged the soonest of all of them. It is the biggest of them all and is very healthy looking.<\/p>\n
* In the ground in our backyard (faces West, but gets zero actual sunlight on the ground at this time of year due to the angle of the sun – too low in sky to overcome wood fence and too far South in sky to get around walls), I planted three unprepared seeds (#1 above). This soil is healthy after a lot of time and effort by us and our worms. \ud83d\ude09 Watering has been identical. Although there is a lot of bright light at this time of year, there is no actual sunlight on the ground. Only one of the three seeds germinated and it emerged just a few days ago (after 5+ weeks in the ground). It does not look healthy.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, soaked nasturtium seeds may germinate slightly faster than rubbed \/ filed nasturtium seeds. The test for unprepared nasturtium seeds is inconclusive due to inadequate sunlight once the seedling emerged. And, nasturtiums are considered a warm season annual in some references. Our weather has been quite warm during this period (12\/15\/13 – 1\/29\/14) for San Diego — 63 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit highs, but the nights have also been cool — 39 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit lows. Sunlight, soil, temperature, and water all play a part in how healthy a nasturtium seedling grows into a plant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have been experimenting with seeds since December (for a variety of groups\/reasons). I’m calling one particular experiment “done” and thought I’d share. Background: I’ve had random luck with nasturtium seeds in the past. I planted them in the ground and they grew (following package instructions) or not; we’d eat some of the flowers and … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-karin","4":"post-109","6":"format-standard","7":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karinrose.sdroses.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karinrose.sdroses.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karinrose.sdroses.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karinrose.sdroses.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karinrose.sdroses.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/karinrose.sdroses.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110,"href":"https:\/\/karinrose.sdroses.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109\/revisions\/110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karinrose.sdroses.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karinrose.sdroses.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karinrose.sdroses.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}