Viewing post #2438263 by anoukaimee

ZenMan said:Hello Jessica,

I "sort of" responded to your post over at Houzz GardenWeb. I will try to do a better job here. It should say on the seed packet whether its seeds need light to germinate or not.

Hey Zenman, Great to see you here, too!

" obularia/alyssum, cleome, i. balsamina, lobelia, nemesia, torenia " ...I seem to recall there is something tricky about cleome germination

I'm all set on the cleome. Basically, it requires (or at least does better with) two weeks of cold stratification. I'm going to put the soil blocks directly in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. The other alternative is oscillating temperatures, but I think it's easier just to stick it in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Apparently when he was alive Deno was seeking to expose some "old wive's tales" about specific seed germination. He also had done a lot of experiments using Gibberellic Acid to stimulate germination of various species. But that was all decades ago, and the Internet is now a better source of germination information.

That's true, and that was my concern. Deno was not a horticulturalist or a botanist, he was a chemist. That said, much of his research is still well regarded by people knowledgeable about seed starting, such as JL Hudson (nb: he sells GA3, but I also can say, even as a skeptic, that he seems to be an honest broker and extremely knowledgeable... Unfortunately he doesn't entertain individual inquiries).

this book as a good source of information on growing under lights. My lettuce information came from it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1604697954/

I'm fairly sure that I have a copy of that book actually, I will take another look at it.