For some reason, I have 250 grams each of Ramrod and Summer Isle bunching onion seed from two years ago. Onion seed is supposed to be good for only a year or two, I’m too anti-waste (and curious) to just toss it, and I don’t want to find out if it’s viable when it’s in the field and I’m counting on the crop… So, my first ever germination tests! Pretty simple: count out a good sample (I went for 100), roll ’em up in a damp paper towel, stick in a plastic bag, wait, then count and figure the percentage. Both varieties were marked 88% germination in 2005 when they were fresh. Anything close to that and I’ll use it, around 50% and maybe I’ll double seed, lower and I’ll give it away… How scientific!
experiments
Grow racks at night
Plant racks, light stands…I usually call ’em grow racks. They’re filling up now.
Pushed to capacity, the three racks can hold a total of 36 trays, 12 each, or four trays per shelf. So, depending on the size of the plug sheet—I use 38s, 72s, 128s, 200s—I can start between 1,368 and 7,200 seedlings.
Sounds super-efficient. HOWEVER, it comes down to the light. With four trays per double fluorescent fixture, the light is pretty stretched, and a lot of rotating is in order.
Also, most of the fixtures are the old standard T-12 type, where the light is stronger towards the middle of the tube. You can clearly see the difference in growth if you leave trays in the same position for a few days. The newer T-8 type lights more evenly from end to end and uses less power, but I don’t feel like replacing all the fixtures (a couple in there are already T-8).
It’s an ongoing experiment to see which size plug sheet to best start in for each crop, given the light situation. That in turn determines if or how often I need to pot up to larger quarters before it’s time to transplant into the field.
All in all, I’ll get around 2,500 seedlings off the racks this year.
Rosemary revival
A little experiment in vegetative propagation—replicating rosemary from tiny, stressed cuttings. Most of the potted rosemary taken up from the herb garden last season got toasted after too many -20°C nights in the unheated greenhouse (a bit of a random how-cold-can-they-go experiment). These tiny cuttings came from one that was taken indoors earlier. They’re kinda frail and stretched from relatively low light (etiolated is the typically uncommon technical term). They’ve already been three days in the tray, let’s see how they do. (Fast forward to…results!)