Fluid sowing report
May. 14th, 2020 12:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greenstormSo awhile ago (?) I put some carrot and parsnip (and root parsley actually) seeds to soak as per a fluid sowing video and some follow-up research. Basically 2L of water plus 6tbsp corn starch, boiled and cooled, makes a gel. Put seeds into that gel - soaked or not - and mix evenly. Then put the gel in a bag, cut a hole in the corner of the bag, and squirt out an even stream of it onto your bed instead of sowing dry seeds either 1 by 1 or in carefully spaced pinches.
Today I actually sowed the seed. I may have let it soak a little long, but there were no root tips coming out so it seems ok. The sowing itself was incredibly easy: I don't really have patience to place seeds individually, and sprinkling them never does end up even, but this got the seeds in place in just a couple minutes. I have no idea how even it will actually be but it looked like an ok distribution.
Germination will be the telling point. I put some marker seeds, primarily arugula and radish, in with the carrots and parsnips. Surely something will come up out of all that.
Although there's no real way to tell how it went until everything is sprouted I did like the feel of this method and I'll probably play with it some more. I can't imagine it working well for beets, but for anything tiny and difficult I suspect it will do nicely. Even if the pre-soaking wasn't great, it's a good method of distribution.
I need to remember to water and put some floating row cover over it after work.
Today I actually sowed the seed. I may have let it soak a little long, but there were no root tips coming out so it seems ok. The sowing itself was incredibly easy: I don't really have patience to place seeds individually, and sprinkling them never does end up even, but this got the seeds in place in just a couple minutes. I have no idea how even it will actually be but it looked like an ok distribution.
Germination will be the telling point. I put some marker seeds, primarily arugula and radish, in with the carrots and parsnips. Surely something will come up out of all that.
Although there's no real way to tell how it went until everything is sprouted I did like the feel of this method and I'll probably play with it some more. I can't imagine it working well for beets, but for anything tiny and difficult I suspect it will do nicely. Even if the pre-soaking wasn't great, it's a good method of distribution.
I need to remember to water and put some floating row cover over it after work.
