Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have an Indoors Sump ( in the Garage ) thats heated so I was thinking I could use the water from this to begin the seeds sprouting before moving the seedling outside when larger. Has anyone got suggestions on what to begin them on? Any Pictures? I thought that putting them on a Small Mesh sheet and spraying a fine mist over them? I've heard darkness is also a better method?

It depends what you're planting. Lettuce needs light to germinate, most others it doesn't matter.

Almost all of my seeds I start indoors. Put the seeds between 2 paper towels and dampen it. (For lettuce, just put the seeds on top of the paper towel.) Seal them in a plastic bag and wait for them to sprout. As long as the bag is sealed, you won't have to water them again.

I usually let the lettuce develop leaves before transplanting them....if they get too big, the roots dig into the towel. The last time I planted, I put the seeds on top of a piece of plastic to prevent the roots from taking hold. It worked pretty well. I kept the moist paper towel in there to maintain the moisture.

Some seeds, such as cantaloupe, are sensitive to transplant, so as soon as I see them sprout, I transplant them.

i start my seeds in a small grow box i got from Bunnings... I use my fish water and vemiculite, outdoors. I use V because it is easy to separate from the root system when planting into the GB. OR i know some people just throw a handful of seeds directly onto the bed and .... surprise.... when they grow.

A tip on the paper towel method, if the root starts growing into the paper towel, just cut the paper towel around the root and plant the bit of paper with the seedling, that way you don't damage it trying to pull it out of the paper.

Keeping a seed in a warm moist place just until it starts to sprout (seed starts to open and tiny sprout starts to stick out) is called chitting I think (like ya can do with seed potatoes before planting them.) Getting them planted before the root is far enough out to be damaged lets you know that the seed was at least viable before planting but will save the recovery time on normal seedling transplant shock. Some plants don't do well with transplanting. Peas, beans and most single root crops like carrots are included in the don't transplant well list.

Actually, most plants are set back quite a bit by transplanting so direct seeding can help you get ahead if your weather is good for it and there is a space ready to seed at the right time.

Large seeds start just fine set in the gravel where the moisture will touch them during flood cycles. Smaller seeds tend to need shallower planting and therefor direct seeding is a little trickier there, either the flood level needs to be adjusted or you need some way to keep the seeds moist and in place till they germinate. I have done this using a bit of paper towel or cotton ball as a wick, stretch it out to where the moisture will touch it and then up to where the seed should be planted. place seed and wait. This also helps hold small seeds that otherwise might be washed away through the media during flood cycle or when top watering the bed to make sure the seeds germinate.

I have often started seeds in compost and just placed them out near a micro sprinkler in my yard to germinate and then I decide if they will go in the dirt garden or in the AP system, if in the AP system, I usually dunk the roots in a bucket of water to rinse off most of the compost before planting. I have also placed pots down into my gravel beds to let them get bottom watered during the flood cycles but the rodents have discovered that dirt/compost filled containers in the grow beds are often an easy place for them to find worms so now any pots I want to start that way have to be protected from digging.

Most hydroponic seed starting methods will work but usually require buying extra material so I don't feel the need to promote them.

I just start in the gravel. I just throw small seeds directly on top of the gravel and raise the flood level. Some how they get worked into the gravel.

Same here Dandy
Just chuckem in!

Better be some of that going on soon hey..
Full moon and all (soon) tomorrow (I think)

I posted the same, but it was deleted - whats up mods?

Sure you hit the submit button OBO?? ...

I've done that before... previewed the post... then forgotten to submit... and just clicked back to "new posts"...

On my latest system I'm using 2 - 3 cm scoria, so I was concerned about direct seeding, and having all the seeds fall to the bottom. What I ended up doing was removing the top layer down to the fill line. Then I placed a paper towel right at the fill line so that it would get wet on each fill cycle, and threw my seeds on top of the paper towel. I covered back up with some more media (top-dressed with hydroton), and it seems to have worked really well.

I'm going to have to thin out a lot

Thanks Everyone, I've seen a few examples of sowing the seeds directly into the grow beds and wondered how everyone manages when 20 seeds all sprout in the one area? I guess you would re-plant them spaced apart? I'm thinking I might try tamo42's concept and using the small 50mm pots, fill 90% with clay and then some paper towel, then a single seed in the centre. Then any that sprout can be dropped outside in the system without re-planting. All sounds good and adding to my limited experience. Thanks again!!!!!

At school our program includes a dirt garden, in the past raising seedlings has been a nightmare due to them being washed out by the kids over watering or drying out when they get no attention over the weekends or holidays. Found a new successful method last week. Put a piece of bell end over a grow bed stand pipe (grow bed not planted out) to raise the water level about 10mm over the grow media and placed the seedling trays onto the media. They stay moist and within the week we have had better results than any of our previous attempts. You could do this using vermiculite instead of seed raising mix (probably less risky) and use the seedlings for dirt gardens and AP.

I am now thinking that I may fabricate a dedicated seed raising tray at the end of our decking or between two of our GB's with a perspex lid over it that can be plumbed into the system for just this.

Another vote for just stick them in and listen to C1 about his moon magic. Don't understand it a bit, but when I planted against the moon, it took a few weeks. When I planted with the moon, I had sprouts in 5 days.