Weedwhacker said:Vera, doing the multiple layers of different seeds like that would certainly be space saving - is there some way that you mark the seeds/layers if you have more than one variety of a type (say 2 or 3 different varieties of cucumbers)? And I'm wondering how you happened to choose flannelette for this purpose - was it something you just happened to have on hand, or is there a specific reason? (I actually had to look up "flannelette" - for anyone else who is wondering, it's just a lightweight type of flannel...) It's never occurred to me to use actual cloth for this purpose, but I have to admit that paper towels are less than ideal because the roots so easily penetrate them - and I totally agree about how easily those roots can break off!
I started with coffee filters - the big round ones, which work very well. (that's also how I saved the harvested seeds: folded like an envelope, labeled with a masking tape.) You can write the variety on it with pencil before you wet it.
Switching to cloth was sort of accidental: I ran out of those coffee filters. I never buy paper towel; prefer to use washable rags. I have actually bought a big sack of 'rags' at the thrift store for $5 - most of which turned out to be perfectly serviceable teeshirts, (The amount of stuff North Americans waste is staggering!) plus a flannelette bedsheet with holes. Anyway, it worked out: holds moisture evenly and long.
This year, I have few squashes, so it wasn't hard to keep track, and all the cucurbits, except zucchini, are going into indoor bins, so it doesn't much matter if they're mixed. At least, that's the theory.
PS If you leave them too long those tiny rootlets will burrow into fabric, too.
I suppose you can just cut around them and plant the bit of paper towel with the seed; it's just compost. I daren't do that with cloth, in case of mould.
