Soaking Seeds, Priming Seeds ...

[Bootstrap]

Do you soak seeds or prime them before planting?

If so, how do you do it? Do you think spinach and kale would benefit from this or only larger seeds like beans? My germination rates for spinach and kale have been miserable lately, I'm looking for ways to get better germination. The hot weather down here may be a factor...

[RZehr]

Yes it is beneficial. Even smaller seeds would benefit, although it isn’t as popular as say sweet corn. And you need to keep them from drying out after they are planted.

I plant a super sweet corn named Super Sweet Golden Jubilee. This one is real finicky to get to grow, so I will always put the seeds in a bowl of water for 12-24 hours prior to planting. If I don’t, they don’t seem to germinate at a high percentage. These also need to be planted with care not to be too deep, or they won’t grow.

The hot weather wouldn’t hinder germination. It may hinder development after germination. Drying is a problem, so if the heat causes drying out, that’s an issue.
But kale and spinach are cool season plants, so they don’t love heat. They may bolt, and make seed instead of behaving.

[QuietlyListening]

When I plant lettuce, spinach, kale and carrots- all small seeds- I don't cover too much and I keep moist. I've found that if I water the area (if no recent rains) so that the soil is wet under that helps but mostly I water by can- since we use raised beds- 2x/day - just planted fall carrots will wait on lettuce and spinach for fall for a few weeks as they don't like the heat. If it's 90 and over you might even water 3x/day- not heavy watering just keeping the seeds moist and even after they germinate their roots are fragile so don't forget to keep them moist till roots can grow down.

Like said- if the seed dries out will affect germination.

[Bootstrap]

Yes it is beneficial. Even smaller seeds would benefit, although it isn’t as popular as say sweet corn. And you need to keep them from drying out after they are planted.

Thanks - I soaked my latest batch of seeds, here's hoping ...

When I plant lettuce, spinach, kale and carrots- all small seeds- I don't cover too much and I keep moist. I've found that if I water the area (if no recent rains) so that the soil is wet under that helps but mostly I water by can- since we use raised beds- 2x/day - just planted fall carrots will wait on lettuce and spinach for fall for a few weeks as they don't like the heat. If it's 90 and over you might even water 3x/day- not heavy watering just keeping the seeds moist and even after they germinate their roots are fragile so don't forget to keep them moist till roots can grow down.

Like said- if the seed dries out will affect germination.

I use raised beds too. Since there are only two of us, I have 3 8x4' raised beds plus an herb garden, doing lasagna gardening and a square-foot-gardening layout.

Fortunately, I have a hydrant with a hose in my garden, so it's really easy to just take a hose and a soaker nozzle. I may have planted lettuce and spinach too early ... but I can plant more later.

[RZehr]

It could be that you have bad seed. With all the gardening this spring, it wouldn’t surprise me if some seed companies used this opportunity to stretch their supply by mixing new seed with old seed.

To test the germination, wet a flat paper towel. Then place 10 rows of 10 seeds in a grid on it. To get a more accurate test, do 400 seeds instead of 100.
Place another wet paper towel over the top. Then, holding the seeds in place, roll the whole thing up. Place it in a bowl or something catch the water from the paper towel. Place it in a dark, warm place, and most of all keep it moist. Never let it completely dry out. After 7 days, unroll it and remove all the seeds that germinated. After another 7 days, repeat, and count the seeds that have not germinated. This will give you your germination rate. Good seed should be at least 85%, many seeds will be higher.

Pro tip: Tilt the rolled up paper towels vertical, or at a 45 degree angle. This will cause all the seed sprouts to point the same direction (which makes it much, much easier to count and see whats going on),instead of getting all tangled up with each other.

Again,the paper towels must be kept moistened.

[RZehr]

Boot, did you see any difference after soaking the kale and spinach?

[Bootstrap]

Boot, did you see any difference after soaking the kale and spinach?

Sadly, no. I wound up buying kale seedlings. I have no idea what I am doing wrong.

[Bootstrap]

Boot, did you see any difference after soaking the kale and spinach?

Sadly, no. I wound up buying kale seedlings. I have no idea what I am doing wrong.

I really am tempted to test germination for these seeds. I didn't do that. For kale, it's too late, I already sowed what I had. I have some other seeds that I should test before I try to sow them again.

And I should pay attention to the thread on seed catalogs. I'm guessing people have had good success with those seeds.