My initial 3 seeds I had lined up didn’t want to germinate it seems.
Therefore, I resorted to using backup seeds I had.
Harris 1740.5
Harris 561
I started a couple of seeds from Tim’s Tims’s son Alex’s pumpkin, 254.5kg 789.5kg (1740.5lb) current NZ record holding pumpkin, the seeds look nice and after about 30hrs they had already popped and were well on their way.
So, what was the difference between starting them compared to the other ones?
- The other seeds were older
- The Harris seeds weren’t soaked in any product
That leaves me with the question of what happened to the other seeds?
- They just didn’t want to germinate and were dud seeds
- Something in the soaking solution “killed” them
Make sure you have backups
Not all seeds grow, seedlings can be destroyed easily by a variety of means, so it pays to have backups.
So just remember for all those people out there that pay top dollar for great genetics in seeds, there is no guarantee it will grow, and if it does it might not even be a good plant, so don’t be disheartened just make sure you have some backups waiting, just in case.
Time to get them into some pots
For some reason, I don’t have any pots on hand, lots and lots of saucers for pots, but no pots. I did however have some planter bags, which I have used in the past and they are a great cost effective solution and don’t take up any space.
I added some Mycormax to the seed raising mix. You can read more about it and purchase it from Roots Shoot and Fruits but in a nutshell, this is what it does:
Mycorrhizae are symbiotic associations that form between the roots of most plant species and fungi.,
Mycormax contains both endo and ecto mycorrhizae, meaning the fungi can enter the root system (endo) to help increase the flow of nutrients from the soil as well as cover the root system (ecto) protecting it from the harshness of soil micro fauna and flora.
Mycormax is able to absorb and transfer 15 major, macro and micro nutrients enhancing plant establishment and growth. Mycormax will also improve soil structure, improve soil porosity, enhance nutrient uptake and assist with water stress issues. Mycorhizzae are known to suppress various pathogens and are the only organism to produce ‘Glomalin’ the soils carbon store house.
These sachets I had from last year and had been keeping them in the fridge, the cold helps keep the Myco dormant and there was a small hole in the bag that was holding these sachets this seems to have allowed them to absorb smells from the fridge as when they were opened there was a very intense smell. I’m going to assume they are all ok, we will see.RD2 Website
Once in their planter bags, I put them back into my grow box with the light above them, next step will be transplanting them outside once they are big enough and I see that first true leaf.
Has your season started off ok so far? Let me know in the comments below.
UPDATE NOTE: I was super tired when I was doing all of this yesterday, so tired in fact I didn’t realise I had started a Harris seed, just not the seed from Tim’s pumpkin. So I’ve fixed up the post, and I will start some of Tim’s seeds today to see how they go as well.
