I had great success with this last year but I did transplant into soil then later out into the garden. I did do a short time in the fridge first though just to give them a bit of a cold period. I don't know if that's necessary or not, I just did it.

How long did you put keep it in the fridge? And did you just put the seeds in there or did you put the entire ziploc bag w/ paper towel? I was thinking of doing that with the black eyed susans, but I wasn't too sure.

I can't remember but it wasn't a long time. Likely not more than a week. This year my son did a science experiment with aquaponics and he sprouted them without putting them in the fridge and they germinated well (lettuce and cucumber).

Sorry didn't answer your whole question - it was the whole thing, bag, damp paper towel and seeds.

Okay thanks! I've done it growing up with beans, peppers, etc. but just wasn't sure about it since I would be doing it with dill, garlic chives, black eyed susans, and a wildflower mix.

I'd just direct see the chives and All the flowers, probably the dill too. They all direct seed really well and have quick germination time. I must have misread that part of your post before.

The thing is I'm still deweeding the garden, and I don't want to mistake the seedling for a weed since they might pop-up in the same place, so I wanted to start it this way so i can mark which seedling is which.

I know dill doesn't transplant well. Chives do though so that one for sure you could sprout and pot. The black eyed susans I would wait until they are sturdy and I'd check on what is in the wildflower mix. Normally those don't transplant well.

Gotcha, thanks! I'll still try dill, maybe one of of the large number I baggied will work. Otherwise, I'll just wait until my garden is more 'clear' and plant the rest of the seeds. Do you know if dill, chives and lavender will come back nest season? Or should I plant them every season or just let the seeds fall off and plant themselves? I'm going to go the route I just mentioned with the black eyed susans and wildflower mix so hopefully I'll be able to transplant a few.

chives should come back and spread especially if you let them go to seed. To keep them under control make sure you snip the flowers (also prolongs growing season). They are very hearty.

I've never had dill come back, I'm in zone 5A. It is an annual but I believe it is a biennial in warmer areas. It doesn't do well with frost. It has to drop it's seed to come back.

Lavender does depend on the variety. If you have a heartier type for your zone it will come back. I'm fairly sure it doesn't need to self seed. It's just a perennial herb.

I think the black eyed susan will transplant well as long as it's hearty. And those will seed and spread and come back as well.

When you get your wildflower mix growing, If you save the seed this year you should be able to sow more of what you want.

Good luck.

Thanks!

And do you know if this method will work with the really tiny flower seeds? Maybe wait until they sprout leaves to make it easier to handle then move to a small pot?

One thing about sprouting in paper towel is that you are going to have to worry about mold growing, which can happen. Also the plants aren't getting the nutrients like they would from soil. If I were to attempt sprouting flowers in that way, I'd just germinate them then pot them. You could always try an experiment and do one after it's germinated and one pot after it's a little longer. I don't think I've ever done flowers in that manner though so I'm not a whole lot of help.

Okay thanks! What kind of medium to you move it into after it germinates? I'm thinking of Miracle Gro seed starting mix, would this be okay?

Thanks for the reply! Did you use Miracle Gro potting soil or the seed starting mix? And I'm planning to use this on really small seeds, such as Cardinal flower, think this will work?

Just like j t, I like the method too. You don't waste space on seeds that don't germinate and you can plant seeds in individual pots and not have to pull the weaker plants like you often do with planting several per pot. Mine was the seed starter one because I was doing loads of seeds. I had over 80 tomato plants. Too bad I lost them all to late blight! I also used an organic mix that was very good. I can't remember the name and pretty sure it was just labeled "veggie" soil.

Thanks!

And I apologize if this sounds repetitive, I just wan tot make sure as I'm getting the medium tomorrow, but you didn't transplant the seeds that already germinated to a seed starting mix, you just used an organic mix? I'm debating if I should use a seed starting mix or not since I'll be putting the germinated seeds into a newspaper pot and then transfer the entire pot into my garden to hopefully ward off transplant shock (since it will biodegrade naturally).

I sprouted seeds in the paper towel. Once they had germinated I filled small pots with potting soil (seed starting mix - 1st year I've used that type, always used regular potting soil/peat mix in past). After filling pots with soil placed germinated seed on top. I added soil to the top to recommended depth on the package. After the seedlings were in there for some time and were getting too big I transplanted them to bigger pots. This was in late winter of last year so I couldn't do small transplants. The larger transplants then went in the garden when it warmed up. I've never had a problem with shock. The "shock" is lightly do to not being hardened off which means get sunlight exposure. I'd recommend using an OTT light to minimize this. When you grow indoors the windows filters certain spectrums of light so when it's time to put them in the garden they can "burn". You can't just take them from inside and put them right out into the ground, they have to get used to it. Kind of like us building up a tan.

Did the seed starting mix work just as fine for you? And if I do go this route, would it be bad to put it with the newspaper pot into the garden (when it's still filled with seed starting mix)?

I can't get the light, due to my parents not wanting to 'waste' money, but I can open the window and let the light come in unfiltered and then put it out onto my patio for a few days before transplanting it into the garden if that would work?

And I apologize for asking so many questions and thanks for putting up with this!

Don't apologize that's what forums are for, asking questions.

Yes seed mixture was great. I have done seeds in peat pots before (they're about 11 cents each) and that works really well too if you are going to transplant into other potting mix.

With the newpaper, I'm sure it's ok. I do think they use vegetable dye now in the paper.

I have used egg cartons to do transplants (paper kind). They work well. Ask around from friends and relatives see if they can give you ones they would recycle. It saves you from taking the time to make paper ones as well.

I'm sure opening the glass will help somewhat, I would be on the cautious side though and set them outside for increasing hours over the course of the week. You probably need to get started soon though. It's pretty late for seed starting since our growing season is so short.

Okay I'll get some of the seed starting mix then (possibly Miracle Gro, or would you recommend another brand?)! The only reason why i was cautious is that some people had said that it's not good to keep them in the mix when they got older and since I would be transplanting the entire pot (filled w/ starting mix) into the garden I wanted to make sure it would be okay.

I've seen some videos that say only to use black and white ink, so just to be safe, I'll only use B&W.

Sadly my family is completely vegetarian, so paper will have to do since my mom doesn't like it when I bring eggs in the house haha.

Okay will do! I might just grow them indoors year round if they're a bit late and then plant them into the ground when they're much larger, but that's only a few since I don't have that many large pots.

OK I used just regular Miracle Gro potting mix. I haven't done this for years and years, but I think this will work. Surely there are worse mixes, perhaps there are a few better, mine is in the middle and that is just fine. Ultimately, they are going to grow :)

I have switched to using plain peatmoss or vermiculite ( sawdust also works) to start my seeds in baggies, I moisten it throw in the seeds give it a gentle shake and then put it in a warm area. I find that this way is easier to keep them moist and gives me more time to let them sprout longer, otherwise if you don't watch closely the roots can embed in the towel and be a pain to extract. Also you can wait for some to get leaves and it doesn't bother them a bit. When I want to plant I just pour the whole bag out onto the table and sift through picking out the ones that have germinated.

Thanks for the recommendation, I might get the MG Seed Starting Mix and Potting Soil to do a side by side comparison to see which is better. And that's true, as long as they grow, then it's fine! Haha

@ubro I was a bit worried about the roots sticking to the paper towel, but I might just cut that small section out if it's stuck and just put it in with the seed starting mix as I'm hoping it will just degrade over time. I also have one (out of the 8 batches lol) started on paper coffee filters so I'm hoping it won't stick to that.

Ubro has a point about tangling roots. I've had that happen with tomato seeds and it is a PITA to get them untangled without damaging.

If the roots stick to the paper towel it's usually from dryness. Just wet the paper towel before you remove the seeds and it should be ok. I've had that happen too. LOL What can I say, sometimes you planned timeline doesn't always happen how you want it to.

Is it okay to just cut out the small section of paper towel around the root and then transplant since it will break down? Or would that affect the seed?

I'm not sure what you mean about cutting around the root. I wouldn't transplant the paper towel with it.

Oh okay gotcha, I'll make sure to try to spray down the seed with enough water to hopefully become loose then, if it is stuck (which I hope it isn't lol).

The thing with paper towel is 1. prep your receiving pots, and 2. simply keep an eye on the seeds - before work, after work, and before bed worked for me. As soon as they sprout (1-2mm), you're then ready to transfer them to the receiving pots.

I did this for the first time this week, and don't claim to be an expert on it. But it worked, and wasn't complicated or stressful, and I see no reason to try a different method next time. Of 20 seeds, 2 seeds got moldy, and only one of the seed sprouts was a bit stuck to the paper towel - I dropped a small drop of water on it and it came off like a charm. The rest came off easily. I'd say that is a good return/start :)

Paper towel does work well , but I do hundreds of seedlings a year and keeping and eye on them all three times a day with each variety having a different germination time, is a daunting task. I missed a batch once and dealing with the tangled mess was enough for me.That is why I switched to the peat in the baggie, timing is not so critical, and they can be well adavanced before I have to attend to them. I do my direct seeded flowers this way as well ( sunflowers etc) and then seed them in rows in the garden.

Do what is easiest for you. Gardening is about reducing stress not increasing it.

Thought of another thing you can make seed pots out of, paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls, free and you just have to bend in the bottoms. It wouldn't be a long-term thing but if you are short on cash it's a good method. tape the bottom close and when you go to plant just remove the tape and open the bottom.

You should see condensation on the inside of your bag. It shouldn't be excessive but you should notice it. If the paper towel looks dry spritz it with water very lightly. Don't over-do it or your will get mold.

When I had the tangled tomato mess one thing that I know contributed to it other than timing was putting too many in there. Make sure the seeds are spread out a little on your paper towel so they can grow a little.

yup the paper towel rolls work great, especially for long rooted seedlings like sweet peas and corn.