Experiment on Neps seed germination

[alpiner]

This is to share my notes and learning from germinating seeds. Form of contributing back to this community. It may already be a known knowledge to most of you, so do chip in if you’ve additional info.

First experiment on media
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Environment: Non direct morning sun + 2hrs of 2xT5 FL (2x14W)
Species: N. Mirabilis var Globosa (30 seeds)
Sowed: Jan 31 2011
Watering method: Water tray, covered with air holes.
Comparing: Coco peat vs Sphagnum moss

Feb 13 (Day13): First checked, alerted by Harris
4 of 15 in coco peat germinated. 2 of them has >2mm sprout.
1 of 15 in sphagnum moss just started to germinate.

Day 15:
6 of 15 in coco peat germinated.
1 of 15 in sphagnum moss

Day 17:
6 of 15 in coco peat germinated.
2 of 15 in sphagnum moss germinated.

Day 19:
6 of 15 in coco peat germinated.
5 of 15 in sphagnum moss germinated.

Day 21:
6 of 15 in coco peat germinated.
7 of 15 in sphagnum moss germinated.

Day 23:
6 of 15 in coco peat germinated.
7 of 15 in sphagnum moss germinated.
Stopped recording as I think no further germination will happen.

Conclusion:-
- I won’t make correlation btw no of germinated seed to media used. Sample size is small, and I think it relates more to the potency of seed itself + other factors. I’m happy that both give ~40-50% germination rate.
- One interesting observation: Coco peat seems to germinate seeds faster. In addition, coco peat seems to be lazyman's choice, i.e. no chopping of sm, which sometimes takes hours to do without proper tools.
- Somewhat confirm the theory of freshness of seed to speed of germination, comparing with N.Mirabilis seeds that I sow 2 days apart.
- In future I won’t make such disclaimer and presumed it’s understandable: The conclusion is drawn based on Vikings only, and to the environment I setup, weather of Penang, chi at my place etc.
Next steps:
- Watering method (Water tray, spray) vs media (SM, coco peat) vs covered. (Already on the way, inspired by the poll setup by bactrus)
- Increase sample size on successful methods. Different species. Hugely dependant on seeds that I can get my hand on, time and space.

[alpiner]

Second experiment on Watering method vs media vs cover.
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Objective: Find a relatively simple and straightforward way of germinating seeds, with high/acceptable success rate of germination
Environment: Non direct morning sun + 2hrs of 2xT5 FL (2x14W)
Species: N. Mirabilis (50 seeds)
Sowed: Feb 2 2011
Comparing: Watering method (Water tray, spray) vs media (SM, coco peat) vs covered.

Feb 20 (Day 18) First germination
0 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered coco peat(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(spray)
1 of 10 in covered coco peat(spray)
0 of 10 in not-covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in not-covered coco peat(water tray)

[Harris Azariel]

a good experiment indeed!
others can have a guide on germinating this guys with various of methods which confirmed working :D

mine around 15-20seeds germinated outta 30seeds

[alpiner]

Good job in getting ~60%. Care to share your germinating method?
Watering method:
Media:
Cover/Uncovered:
Lighting:

Thx.

[alpiner]

24/2 Update: Second experiment on Watering method vs media vs cover.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Objective: Find a relatively simple and straightforward way of germinating seeds, with high/acceptable success rate of germination
Environment: Non direct morning sun + 2hrs of 2xT5 FL (2x14W)
Species: N. Mirabilis (50 seeds)
Sowed: Feb 2 2011
Comparing: Watering method (Water tray, spray) vs media (SM, coco peat) vs covered.

Feb 20 (Day 18) First germination
0 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered coco peat(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(spray)
1 of 10 in covered coco peat(spray)
0 of 10 in not-covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in not-covered coco peat(water tray)

Feb 22 (Day 20)
1 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered coco peat(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(spray)
1 of 10 in covered coco peat(spray)
0 of 10 in not-covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in not-covered coco peat(water tray)

Feb 24 (Day 22)
1 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered coco peat(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(spray)
1 of 10 in covered coco peat(spray)
0 of 10 in not-covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
2 of 10 in not-covered coco peat(water tray)

[alpiner]

My DIY rig with 2 14W 2' T5 FL, using packaging foam for my computer. Able to put 6 seedboxes inside, each box can be segmented into 2, so 12 compartments. Original concept using D.Adalae to capture any insects that lurks around the lights. Until I kill most of the D.Adalae... That's another story for another day.


Setup for second experiment: 3x2 variants

[cbkhoon]

my seed tray setup use 10,000k T5 bulb 39W, about 1 feet away, 45degree, on top of the seed tray, they are cover and with some holes at upper part, light runs 9 hours/ day. i replenish water everyday morning before i go to work, some time i left open the cover for a day and wil cover it back the next day. I noticed that having the cover too long with cause fungus faster. The fastest seed germination i have seen so far is 8 days, slowest is 2-3 months... even some none at all. Freshness of seeds play most important factor!

Sorry for bad english that i have.

[alpiner]

Thx for sharing Khoon. Looks like you prefer covered water tray too. I noticed sphagnum moss causes moss and bad smell, much more than peat moss, esp under direct/indirect sun. I'm leading more to peat moss with water tray now.
I don't hv T5HO tubes, can't find anywhere nearby that sells them. Just using high efficient T5 6400k at ~4-6" from seed trays. Using timer to mimic additional 2hrs of noon sun that the seedbox didn't get. At least it works right now. Anyway, don't dare to compare to your work. We're in diff league, I'm still amateur.
3rd experiment using ampullaria seeds, I'm comparing germination rate under FL and balcony outside. If results are similar, then I can simplify germination method further. Just too lazy to type right now.

[alpiner]

Second experiment on Watering method vs media vs cover.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objective: Find a relatively simple and straightforward way of germinating seeds, with high/acceptable success rate of germination
Environment: Non direct morning sun + 2hrs of 2xT5 FL (2x14W)
Species: N. Mirabilis (50 seeds)
Sowed: Feb 2 2011
Comparing: Watering method (Water tray, spray) vs media (SM, coco peat) vs covered.

Feb 20 (Day 18) First germination
0 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered coco peat(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(spray)
1 of 10 in covered coco peat(spray)
0 of 10 in not-covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in not-covered coco peat(water tray)

Feb 22 (Day 20)
1 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered coco peat(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(spray)
1 of 10 in covered coco peat(spray)
0 of 10 in not-covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in not-covered coco peat(water tray)

Feb 24 (Day 22)
1 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered coco peat(water tray)
0 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(spray)
1 of 10 in covered coco peat(spray)
0 of 10 in not-covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
2 of 10 in not-covered coco peat(water tray)

Feb 26 (Day 24)
1 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
1 of 10 in covered coco peat(water tray)
1 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(spray)
2 of 10 in covered coco peat(spray)
1 of 10 in not-covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
3 of 10 in not-covered coco peat(water tray)

Feb 28 (Day 26)
1 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
2 of 10 in covered coco peat(water tray)
1 of 10 in covered sphagnum moss(spray)
2 of 10 in covered coco peat(spray)
2 of 10 in not-covered sphagnum moss(water tray)
3 of 10 in not-covered coco peat(water tray)

Conclusion:-
- I think the seeds will continue to germinate, another 1 or 2, but rate is slower than Vikings.
- Learning from exp1 and 2 indicate that all methods will works. So use any method above, decision largely depends on your preference and material accessible/available to you. From observation, coco peat germinate faster, and very easy to move the seedlings as compared to sphagnum moss that tangles up.
- I’m down-selecting germination method: water tray, coco peat, open/covered seed box. I would like to further test whether germination rate, and the degree of algae/moss formation if I put the seedboxes at balcony. That will eliminate the dependency of FL tubes.

[alpiner]

Third experiment on further simplification of germination method
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Objective: Assess germination without FL. Increase sample size with coco peat, further comparing effect of using cover for this method.
Environment: Direct morning sun vs Non direct morning sun + 2hrs of 2xT5 FL (2x14W)
Species: N.ampullaria Dark Red x ? (2 pods)
Water method: Water tray
Sowed: 20 Feb 2011
Comparing:
1. Coco peat under FL (cover vs uncovered) 50 seeds each
2. Media (SM, coco peat) vs covered/uncovered, under morning sun.

Content:
~ 50 seeds in covered coco peat (FL)
~ 50 seeds in uncovered coco peat (FL)
~ 25 seeds in covered coco peat (Direct morning sun)
~ 25 seeds in covered sphagnum moss (Direct morning sun)
~ 25 seeds in uncovered coco peat (Direct morning sun)
~ 25 seeds in uncovered sphagnum moss (Direct morning sun)