Warm & Cold Germination

Let’s talk about germination. As a farmer or gardening hobbyist, there’s something very satisfying about seeing your seedling trays starting to sprout. If you are an aquaponics farmer who has decided to germinate their own seeds then this blog post is to help walk you through the process.

Firstly, germination is the process whereby a seed goes through the sprouting process and starts forming its roots and plant-like qualities. Moreover, along with other requirements like moisture and humidity, each seed type has a certain temperature range that would encourage the germination process. This temperature range consists of a minimum temperature and a maximum temperature with an optimal temperature in between. In other words, if a seed is too cold, it may not sprout and if a seed is too hot, the seed might sprout and then die due to overheating. Therefore, we must germinate within the ‘sweet spot’ of the temperature range of that specific seed type.

Seeds require a certain set of specific conditions to start the germination process. When you receive your seeds, they are dormant and require that dormancy to be broken in order to promote or kickstart the germination process. This is called seed stratification or germination.

Different seeds require different types of seed stratification to break their dormancy. In other words, some seeds require warm germination and others require cold germination. Some seeds even require a combination of both! So, make sure you fully understand the seed requirements before germinating. In addition to temperature requirements, it’s important to keep in mind that seeds also require moisture and humidity to germinate.

1. We start by filling our seedling trays with a half mixture of peat and vermiculite. Peat is essentially an organic matter that is great for drainage and aeration, making it ideal for the germination process. We mix the peat with vermiculite as it allows for the plants to grow their roots before their stem. This is helpful as it will provide additional support for future growth. And we love to give our plants as much support as possible.

2. We compact the medium using our custom made planting roller. This is done to ensure that all seeds are level and will have similar germination and sprouting times. With a little bit of luck and precision, they should sprout at the exact same time.

3. The seeds are then added and an additional layer of the peat/vermiculite mixture is sprinkled on top, burying the seeds.

4. Then we stack the seedling trays and cover them with a plastic film which is held down by a brick or two. This is to create the optimal environment for germination to take place. The plastic sheet creates humidity and warmth while also blocking out unwanted elements like wind and too much light.

5. For our seeds that require warm germination, we would place the stack of seedling trays in a tunnel that maintains a higher temperature, creating a miniature greenhouse of sorts.

6. For our seeds that require cold germination, we place the seedling stack indoors in a cool area to allow for a lower temperature.

7. We then monitor our seeding trays and watch for any signs of germination.

8. As soon as one seed on our seedling tray shows any sign of germination or surfaces as a growing plant, we place the seedling trays in one of our Deep Water Cultures. The small holes in the board are great for water absorption and provide the baby plants with enough water to continue their growth.

Friendly tip: Plant germination varies depending on the type of seed. For example, lettuce germination could occur as soon as 12 hours after planting! Therefore, it’s important to check all of the seedling trays in the seedling stack and check them often.

So that’s our step-by-step process to warm and cold germination! Much like any newborn baby, our main tip is to just observe and pay close attention to your seedling trays. If you have any questions regarding the germination process, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would be happy to help.

Good luck and happy germinating!