They turn out just fine, specially if your roots are fairly small. When they get big, you will run into problem separating them from paper and each other. So off they go as soon as they are showing signs of life.

That should be fine. They'll figure out which way is up and which way is down and grow accordingly. Just be gentle and follow other typical seed starting recommendations ... appropriately premoistened growing mix, bottom watering, etc.

Is this the typical time of year to start seeds in your area?

Starting Seeds in Coffee Filters

Plant the
seeds as soon they have small roots – about a half an inch, or less.

Be
careful that after the seeds germinate, the roots grow VERY fast.

Removing
a long root – let’s say 1 in. long – is VERY difficult because it will penetrate the
paper. If you have a long root, I suggest you to cut the paper around the seed and plant the
seed WITH the paper. I had a few seeds who's roots penetrated the paper, and this method always worked for me.

If you’re
in a hurry, raise the temperature to 80’ F and the roots will germinate very,
VERY fast. If you want to slow down the germination, lower the temperature to 70’
F.

Of
course, the temperature has to be measured at the HEIGHT where are the bags.

Also be aware that some varieties germinate in 3-4 days, while others take a week or more. Obviously, in identical growing conditions.

And - as you can see in the picture above - not all the seeds from the same variety germinate in the same time. Also some are healthier than others. Plant the healthiest germinated seeds.

Here is a good article about Starting Seeds in Coffee Filters.

I hate helmet heads, so I let my seedlings emerge from them before I plant. The roots sometimes get stuck in the paper towel, but I cut around them and I never place the seeds where they can get crowded. It works for me.

Linda

Hi rt_pleasant, I hope you have another interesting variety to pick on this year and its good to see you posting!

I think everyone is right above in that there is little risk of the direction of the root and all the risk in manuipulation of it. I do not do mine like others here it seems. I catch the radicle the moment it emerges to about a millimeter at most (if I'm slow). I then use a skewer to move the seed root point end down after dropping it in the mix which is dibbled.

There is no reason to grow any radicle length at all in this method. I guess it could be argued to check for healthy sprouts, but the first ones for me are always the healthiest so no difference. All you want is germination to kick in. Anything beyond that including the picture posted by Daniel is too long the way I do mine. But practically speaking as long as you don't damage the tender sprout, it will do fine sideways dusted with moist mix on top. They will become much more fragile the moment the cotyledons start appearing and if for some reason that happens, damage can happen that you don't initially realize.

You can hold the baggie up to a light in the background to see when the seeds pop.

PC

PC, the roots in my picture were between 1-7 mm. I had no problem with roots even 10 mm long. Actually, a little longer roots allowed me to see the healthiest germinated seeds. A 1 mm root would not allow me that. Not always the first germinated seed was the healthiest one. Last year I was pretty happy with my seedlings.

No problem Daniel, I was just too lazy to take a picture so I used yours as my example which were pretty short only for comparison and obviously not to say one was better or worse. Actually the top center one is like the ones I sow in that photo. I am sure your method works great.

I learned that I don't like playing with radicles at all and that my first seeds to germinate are always very healthy, so I just cut to the chase. Also I recall you do more of picking and choosing from your posts last year. I transplant more than half of the seeds I germinate, so I expect overall you have the opportunity to do better than my method.

PC

This "baggie method" is talked about everywhere, but I've never heard a clear reason for why it is good to do it. Yes, one can assess germination rates, if you have a set of seeds whose viability is truly suspect. But beyond that? I've seen it said that seeds germinated in this way have a greater chance of growing into seedlings than those you sow directly. I frankly find that hard to believe, if the soil they're being sown in is decent. One would think that the risk of seedling damage is higher if one is diddling with them once sprouted. I'm also kind of skeptical that seeds actually sprout roots faster this way. And if they did, you're saving what, a few days?

I always soak my seeds before planting, and keep the planting mix properly moist and warm. Never had any trouble.

So what am I missing here? Seems more trouble than it's worth.

Dan, I don't think you are missing anything and this partly comes down to the "I wanna watch" idea. I like to see the miracle of emerging right when it happens. Also, if they don't emerge, I can probably see what's wrong and diagnose sometimes, and more quickly redo if necessary.

Then on top of that, I don't have my seed starting set up ready so this is a way to get the seeds moving and obligate me to set up within two days when they are sown in the starter mix. Throwing them all into a baggie is a lot easier to do at midnight (when I always seem to decide I'm late! I'm late!, must do tonight), than preparing the mix and trays which I'll say, "not now, tomorrow". Also, in my particular case my seeds are already in paper packs I use in the baggie so it is so much faster for me to simply drop them in a baggy in a jiffy I'm done, rather than open up each variety and sow it individually playing with media inside the house in the middle of the night.

If you have them uniformly dampened in a good starter mix there is no benefit, and like anything, if you snooze too long leaving them in the baggie, you loose. I tend to get more uniform germination this way but some varieties are still slow no matter what. I think commercial operations don't do this except for checking germination rates, which suggests it comes down to personal preference when working on a small scale.

PC

I used the baggie method last year because:

1. I can decide EXACTLY the date when I want to have available the germinated seeds.

2. I can choose the healthiest germinated seeds. SEEING what’s happening with the seeds is a big thing for me.

3. Depending of soil’ temperature the difference between the two germination periods can be a week or more.

4. Using germinated seeds to make seedlings is a safer way to protect the little plants. Mulching a 4 in. small plant obtained from direct sowing, is tricky.

With those bags, I have everything under control.

If the soil temperature is the same as the baggie temperature, I don't believe that the seeds will sprout first in a baggie. They're wet and they're warm in both places. Baggies and paper don't have any magic growing ingredient. Yes, you'll see the roots come out in the baggie before you see the stem pop up in the soil, but the germination rate must be the same. You want to choose the germination date? It's the same in either case. You want to choose the date when you see the root come out, sure, use the paper and plastic. You won't see it at all in the soil.

Mulching a 4" plant obtained by direct sowing is tricky? Um? Not for me. What does that have to do with baggies and sprouts? I direct sow in 4-inch pots. When they're 4-inches tall, I transplant and mulch my heart out.

The way I choose the healthiest germinated seeds is to plant a few seeds in each 4-inch pot, and pull the ones I like the least. I don't even need tweezers.

As to obligations of having soil ready at a certain date, well, you have that obligation in both cases. Just not quite the same date.

But yes, there is some attraction to the "I wanna watch" idea.

Thanks for the feedback, folks!

Nitsua, this is a late planting for me. I normally start tomatoes the first or second weekend of April, and put them out around Memorial Day. I had some problems with germination this year, a combination of questionable seeds, and I think I got my starter mix too wet. I may have drowned some of my seeds! For this last batch of seeds, I want to see if the seeds actually germinate, thus my interest in the baggie method.

To my experience, Baggie method is more practical with a few varieties. I have done that way many times with good results. But when I wanted to germinate 20 varieties, all at the same time, I sow directly in starting mix. I use egg cartons ( paper type). So 2 egg cartons gives me 24 compartments. Then Once I get germination, I transfer them to small pots.

In summary, there are more than one way to skin a dead cat :-)

Sey

daninthedirt wrote: > If the soil temperature is the same as the
baggie temperature, I don't believe that the seeds will sprout first in a
baggie. They're wet and they're warm in both places.

There are
very few places in the US where the soil temperature is 75’ F and humidity 99%.
NEVER in Northeast or Northwest.

> …but the
germination rate must be the same.

The germination
rate IS the same. Except that if I use bags, I can choose the healthiest germinated
seeds, while when I direct sow in garden’s soil, I CAN’T.

> I direct sow in 4-inch pots.

"Direct seeding or direct sowing just means that
you start plant seeds in the garden, rather than starting seeds indoors earlier, in pots." [ About.com ]

"With direct sowing (or direct seeding), you
plant garden seeds directly in the ground right where you want them to grow"[ Dummies ]

"Direct Sow Seeds: You plant a seed in the soil, add a little water and sunshine…" [ Burpee ]

That is the DIRECT sowing I was talking about. And mulching those
4 in. small plants.

"In summary, there's more than one way to skin a dead cat :-)"

I think we need to amend this very useful cliche^^^^:

There's more than one way to get a good tomato!

PC

I'm not sure if it was clear. I plant tomato seeds directly in planting soil in 4-inch cups. Those cups are indoors. The soil temperature in those cups is EXACTLY the same as the baggie sitting next to it. I wasn't referring to direct sowing in a garden bed. I meant sowing directly in soil instead of in a baggie. (Yes, I was perhaps misusing the phrase. My apologies.) I never direct sow tomato seeds in a garden bed. That would not make a lot of sense.

As to selecting the healthiest germinated seeds, as I said, that's easy in cups. I select on the basis of the plant that emerges, not on the basis of a tiny root that emerges. That seems to me to be a better way to select.

My question was why I should use a baggie to pre-germinate instead of planting seeds in cups as I usually do. Aside from the "I wanna watch", I still don't see it. It just strikes me as more trouble.

P.S. The OP has clarified that the seeds involved were "questionable". That strikes me as a good reason to use a baggie, though one could also just plant more seeds in each cup. In fact, when I do that, and I get five plants coming up in a 4-inch cup (oops!), it just takes a small spoon to separate the ones I want to keep. That way, I'm manipulating small plants just like I'd do with a baggie, but not for every single one.

> I select on
the basis of the plant that emerges, not on the basis of a tiny root that
emerges. That seems to me to be a better way to select.

In my
experience, the healthiest seedlings come from the healthiest germinated seeds,
which usually germinate first. I also sowed in soil, in cups, but watering
could be a problem: either too much, or too little. The bag keeps the SAME
humidity for a few days. No worries.

> In fact, when I do that, and I get five
plants coming up in a 4-inch cup (oops!), it just takes a small spoon to
separate the ones I want to keep.

I wouldn’t
put more than three seeds in a 4 in. pot. I hate bothering small seedlings’
roots.

"I select on the basis of the plant that emerges, not on the basis of a tiny root that emerges. That seems to me to be a better way to select."

I have to agree with this. The biggest drawback of the baggie method is the selections are made before the shedding of the seed coat. The baggie method does not address helmet-head or tipstick. Advantage: direct start

To be fair, the baggie offers a uniformity of seed coat hydration which most media don't due to the random particle size and need to police hydration of them near the surface. This confounding factor gives an advantage to the baggie method. Perfect hydration every time can speed things up and allow better comparison for initial selection in the helmet, allowing us to be tighter with seed use, while temperature control can be a tie between the methods.

PC