How to properly soak seeds before planting

Many beginning gardeners often ask a question - and for what it is necessary to soak seeds before planting? This is necessary in order that the shoots are more stable.</ p>

And the sooner they appear, the less likely the death of seeds in the soil - because they can eat various pests, which in any land is more than enough.

Soaking the seeds before planting

Soak the seeds after disinfection. When soaking seeds (peppers, tomatoes) before planting, the volume of water should exceed the volume of seeds 50-100 times. Seeds with swelling do not need oxygen, so the risk that they will suffocate under a large layer of water is negligible. During the soaking you need to mix the seeds several times.

If the seeds in the water will go browncoloring material, it follows during the soaking several times to change the water. Soaking time directly depends on the swelling rate of seeds, different in each species. Powdery large seeds (peas) are saturated with water after 5-7 hours, their size increases, they become soft.

The bulk of the seed for swelling is requiredabout 18 hours (tomato, cucumber, cabbage). Seeds of onions and celery for swelling need 36 hours. You can not leave the swollen seeds in the water for a longer time, because after swelling in the seeds there is a need for oxygen, and underwater they may suffocate.

Do not need to soak the seeds before plantingin saline solutions, extracts from ashes or fertilizers, since the presence of salts will inhibit germination. For this, solutions of biologically active substances are used. Seeds after soaking are slightly dried, and then either laid on germination, or sown in boxes for seedlings.

Preparations for soaking seeds

What is the best way to soak seeds (for example,tomato) before planting and should it be done? You can soak seeds in clean water, but it is much more preferable to do this in solutions containing biologically active substances, for example, in solutions of epine, humate or zircon. Epin - the brand name of a substance of plant origin, which is a universal adaptogen and growth stimulant.

It helps the seedlings adjust to fluctuationstemperature, illumination, humidity, increases resistance to negative effects - to hypothermia and overheating, lack of light, waterlogging and drought. Humate is a potassium or sodium salt of humic acid, which is produced by alkaline hydrolysis of brown coal or peat.

Like epin, he has a stimulating andanti-stress action. Since humates, which are obtained from some types of coal, are not very active, it is better to use those that are made from peat. If the seeds are soaked in epine or humate solution, this will in most cases accelerate their germination and will have a beneficial effect on sprouting growth.

But even in cases where the seedling rate is notincreases, such treatment significantly reduces their sensitivity to negative conditions and increases resistance to various diseases. Zircon is the proprietary name of the drug, which is released from the Echinacea plant, and its active ingredient is chicory acid.

This drug is a powerful stimulant possessingpronounced increase in germination and high root-forming activity. To date, there are more than five dozen growth stimulants. It is possible to soak seeds in energy and even in aloe juice, but we have chosen the listed above not by chance.

Preparations epine, zircon and humate not onlyare environmentally safe, they are curative and useful for plants and humans. Seed treatment with biologically active substances should be carried out at t 20 ° and above. A lower temperature (below 15 °) reduces the efficiency of the treatment.