sunflower seeds help

[helly]

Hello all, I've saved some sunflower seeds from last year and have had them in the fridge over winter. I'm hoping to get some of them planted soon so my question is whats the best method to start them off ?
cheers Helen

[tamsin]

I had some old seed I wasn't sure would germinated so did the damp kitchen roll/plastic bag thing. Stuck them in pots when the root showed.

They're usually very easy though, put them in a pot about 1/2" inch deep and they'll be up quickly.

[greendean]

tamsin can you tell me a bit more about old seed germinating

i picked up some old packs of seed from recycle and not sure whether they will grow

ta

[tamsin]

I put a piece of damp kitchen roll in a saucer and put the seeds on it. Then seal it in a sandwich bag - that keeps it damp, I find just kitchen roll on a saucer is always drying out then you end up flooding them when you try to water.

If it's big seeds like nasturtium/sunflower/peas etc. I put them all on and if/when the root appears just pot them up as they are big enough to handle easily.

With tiny seeds you might just want to put a pinch on to test germination then sow as normal in soil if germination is okay.

If they are seeds which your meant to sow deep I also cover them to keep the light out. Just a bit of card or a second saucer upside down (put it outside the bag so it's easy to lift n peek

[greendean]

thanks for that will give it a try

nothing ventured eh?

[Alice]

Greendean, incase it's not clear, you don't have to germinate all the seeds on kitchen paper. It's just a test to let you know if the seeds are viable. If you put a few from a packet on the damp paper and they germinate then the others in the packet will too when you plant them in the normal way. If they don't then you know the packet's a dud.

[greendean]

thanks alice

stopped me in my tracks. would have looked like a cress farm on the windowsill

[tamsin]

Sorry, I could have explained that a bit clearer! Yep, just a pinch to test and throw away for seeds that are too fiddly to move after they germinated.