Gardening Australia – May 2019

76 MAY 2019 GARDENING AUSTRALIA

WHYDIDN’TMY

SEEDSSPROUT?

Youputinsomeseeds,youwatered,

youwaited...butnothingcameup.

Poorseedgerminationcanbemystifying

andfrustratingforthehomegardener,

butthere’snormallyanexplanation,and

thereareanumberofcommoncauses.

Oneistemperature.Mostseeds

haveanoptimumrangeinwhich

theysprout.Ifit’stoohotorcoldfortheir

liking,theyprobablywon’tcooperate.

Beforeyousow,alwayschecktheback

of yourseedpacketforrecommended

plantingtimesinyourclimate.Keepin

mindthatyoucanpushtheboundaries:

useaheatmatorsunnywindowsillfor

startingsummercropsearly,orfind

a coolspottokickstartwintercrops.

Thepackshouldalsoadvise

plantingdepth.It’simportantto

getthisright.Ifyousowtoodeeply,

sproutsmaylacktheenergytopush

theirwaytothetopandenduprotting.

Tooshallow,anditbecomesdifficult

tomaintainthemoisturerequiredfor

germinationtotakeplace.Somefine

seedneedsexposuretolightinorderto

germinateandshouldbejustpushed

intothesurfaceofthemix.

Didyoucheckthe‘sowby’date?

Oldseednevergerminatesas

readilyasfresh.Evenseedthatisjust

insidethesow-byperiodcanbehitand

missbecausetheirviabilityratedipsfrom

dayone.Butbeforeyoubuyafreshpack,

trythis.Tipalltheseedintoabowlof

waterandsoakovernight,thenlayseed

betweentwosheetsofmoistenedpaper

towel.Putthisinaplasticbagtoretain

moisture,placeinawarmshadedspot

andcheckdaily.Ifanyseedssprout,

theycanbepottedupandgrownon.

The final thing to think about

is the moisture level. Most seed

requires constant moist conditions to

germinate, so check the seed-raising mix

regularly to see if they need watering

or misting. If they dry out too often,

they may lose interest. A good way to

stop the mix drying out is to cover the

container with clear plastic and place it

in bright shade. Note that most large

seeds, such as pumpkin, pea, bean and

corn, detest being constantly moist, so let

soil or mix just dry out before re-wetting

to avoid them rotting and failing.

HAND

Tips for tackling this month’s problems

helping

PHOTOS

ISTOCK