How to germinate seeds in a paper towel?

germinate seeds in a paper towel

Today we’re going to go over how to germinate seeds in a paper towel. If you want your seedlings to be strong and healthy, it is vital that they grow with quick and consistent root development. You can achieve this using paper towels as a germination aid. The best part is that this method has a 98% germination rate!

How to germinate seeds in a paper towel?

To do this you will need:

– Paper towels (the cheapest brand is the best)

– Seeds, obviously. For our purposes, we’re going to use marigold seeds since they are easy to find and grow quickly.

– A bowl

– Water

Soak the paper towel in water, making sure it is thoroughly wet. Ring out any excess water so you don’t drip on your seeds when you place them down. Take your seeds and lay them at the top of the paper towel, near where the fold would be if it were a book page.

Fold the paper towel in half and place it flat inside of your bowl. Place the bowl where light is penetrating so the seeds can germinate without too much stress.

Keep out of direct sunlight (this helps prevent algae growth) but under a light such as fluorescent, halogen or incandescent bulbs is perfect.

After three days, the seeds should have a root around half an inch long. At this point, it’s time to transplant them into the soil. This works for anything from tomatoes to watermelon, but remember that transplants need a gentle introduction to new soils just like they did with paper towels!

When you’re done growing your seedlings, compost the paper towel! You can add it to your garden since the nutrients in the paper towel have been broken down by the bacteria and everything will go back into your soil.

Benefits of germinating seeds in paper towel

Germination in paper towels is faster than in soil. The roots grow faster and they are stronger because they need to access the nutrients in the paper towel, which pushes them to grow harder and reach out for food!

Young seedlings also require gentle handling when transplanting into pots, since their root systems are still fragile. Transplanting into paper towels before moving to soil makes the transition easier for them.

Paper towels are so cheap you can replace them every time your plants grow too big for their current tray. This means you don’t have to spend money on something as frivolous as seedling dirt!

Many people use a paper towel because it also prevents algae growth, giving your seedlings a healthy environment to grow in. This is important because algae create excess nutrients, which burns your seedlings with too much fertilizer!

Algae also make the water dirty so you have to change it more often, wasting precious resources! Paper towel solves these problems for you so you can spend less time worrying about maintenance and more time on actually growing your plants.

Another benefit is that because your seedlings are grown in the same container as their nutrients, they learn to compete for it! This gives them an advantage when you transplant them into the soil because they already have the skills needed to access food sources!

Finally, germinating seeds in a paper towel allows you to test out different combinations of growing mediums and fertilizer sources. If you think you might be using the wrong soil mixture but aren’t sure if the problem is in your soil or your seeds, this is a great way to test it without wasting lots of money!

Hope this was helpful, happy gardening! You may also like to read this article germinating seeds in paper towel in House I love.

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