Germination!

I, don't know how many sites I've been on over the years where people tell you to wrap seeds in a wet paper towel, or put them in a container, then put it in a dark place.

Putting seeds in a dark place is completely wrong!

I'm a 40-year grower, and I've tried that. I'm also a 16, year 1st class chemical operator who made everything from the radar reflecting coating for the Stealth Fighter, to fertilizers, and the company I worked for had their own greenhouse plant testing facility!

I spent a lot of break, and lunch time in that greenhouse asking questions. And if there was one thing I learned about making chemicals, or growing plants, is there are no absolutes in science, or nature. Everything in this world is an experiment; what works, nature passes on; what doesn't; goes extinct!

And this is what nature does! Plants drop seeds on the ground at the end of summer; they don't stick them in a dark place. Over the winter, some seeds will get covered by leafs, some will get stepped on by animals and pushed into the ground; but come spring the seeds that have the best chance of sprouting are those that are still exposed to the sun. Nature has been doing it this way for millions of years; so, why change it?

This is the best method for germinating seeds I've found in 40 years of growing.

1: Take a shallow bowel, and put a couple of inches of vermiculate in it.
2: Slowly pore enough water in the bowel until you can see water on the surface.
3: Take your seeds, put them on a paper towel, and spray them with some Lysol spray disinfectant. Let them sit for a couple of minutes to kill any fungus, or mold spores on them, then wash them off in cold water!
4: Sprinkle the seeds on the vermiculate, and stick the bowel in a plastic bag, and prop the end of the bag open with a toothpick or something else.
5: Put the seeds in the light; not in some dark place! Sunlight is best; but any light will do!

Mold, and fungus are like Vampires; they don't like the light. They will grow in the light, but slowly! This gives your seed a better chance of sprouting.

But don't believe me; you need to try this yourself. Put some seed in a wet paper towel, and put them in a dark place, and use my method. In fact; just put some seeds on a saturated wet paper towel in a plastic bag, and see which method wins.

I have my own greenhouse. My work bench is right in the middle of it; and in the beginning of August when the temperature is well above 100 degrees, I've sprouted seeds in sunlight in as little as 4-hours. Putting seeds in the dark has taken me as long as 4-days, and 90% of them would be covered with some kind of fungus, or mold by then.

Just like sunlight gives you vitamins, and makes you feel good; it does the same for seeds.

You need to come out of the darkness people, and see the light!