Getting Through the Dark Days of Winter

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The Persephone Period is about to end. The madman and his plants will get a daily dose of 10 hours of sunlight (I wonder what kind of a celebration we’ll have this year). For the past month, he’s been looking at seed catalogs and his garden journal. We are getting through the dark days of winter.

Hades abducting Persephone to start the dark days of winter — Hades abducting Persephone, fresco in the small royal tomb at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece. Thus starts the dark days of winter.

If you are planning to garden this year, you should be doing the same. What a great way to get through the dark days of winter, especially once the decorations are packed away. If you were diligent about keeping a garden journal, you know what went wrong and what went right.

Getting a Head Start

This gives you a head start as you plan this year’s garden. Interestingly, I definitely remember the madman noting that he would not rush the season – in fact, that was a resolution we made a mere four weeks ago. So, I was rather surprised to see he had started some pepper seeds.

madman's seed experiment get him through dark days of winter — I did not expect to find this going on in his seed starting area. I thought he was jumping the gun, something he vowed not to do this year.

Honestly, I hadn’t been checking up on him. I was just putting away some Mason jars when I glanced over at his seed starting area in the basement. Much to my surprise, I found a collection of seeds soaking in what I thought was water. I felt the need for a little chat.

Needs of the Hot Pepper King

His sheepish grin always gives him away, but he said he was just conducting an experiment or two. “Remember, I’m known as the Hot Pepper King of Farmington,” he said – his Row of Death contains some of the hottest and most exotic peppers he can get his hands on. Someone once asked if he grew habaneros and jalapenos. The madman is well beyond that and scours the seed world for the hottest, newest varieties. Thanks to COVID, his scouring for the past year was limited to seed catalogs and online searches. Adding to these limitations, he is noticing that seed packs are more expensive and often contain fewer seeds. “Remember” he says. “I NEED at least 30 varieties for the Row of Death alone.” It is amazing what that man “needs”.

the Row of Death — In order to have his Row of Death, the madman has to start his seeds early, and he needs a lot of varieties.

Anyway, the madman has determined that he needs to get the best germination rate possible and he has been asking around for suggestions. Hence the experiments. To understand his experimentation let’s look at seed germination.

How a Seed Works

We all know that you put a seed in the ground, water it and in a short time you have a green shoot. A miracle, right? Not exactly. So here’s what happens. As we used to tell fifth graders in our gardening program, a seed contains an embryo and all the food needed to start a new plant. All you need to add is water. The water helps break down the protective seed coat allowing the embryo to begin growth.

pepper seeds germinating — Two of this year’s crop of hot peppers have germinated; these were soaked in plain water.

First, the radicle, or root, pops out and heads down. This root begins to absorb water on its own. The root is followed by the shoot. Not all types of seeds are created equal. Some seeds are ready to go. But, others have to be subjected to periods of cold, or periods of heat or periods of time inside a bird’s stomach.

Sprout Some Kidney Beans

Here is an interesting experiment to try at home with your kids. Put a moist paper towel on the bottom of a flat baking dish. Put down some dried bean seeds – kidney beans work best because they are big. Cover with another paper towel and keep the whole dish moist. Check it frequently, adding water as needed. Don’t let it dry out or you’ll have to start over.

Beans placed on a moistened paper towel.

The beans will absorb water. Eventually the hard coating will crack, and a root will appear. Over the next few days, your kids will get to watch the roots develop. Then a leaf shoot will appear. This is a nice way to show your kids how a plant develops.

Peppers Aren’t So Easy

But, the madman’s peppers don’t germinate as well as the kidney beans do. In fact, some of his exotic ones may take over 6 weeks to germinate. As you can tell, this takes a lot of patience, something the madman is rather short on. Also, a lot of things can happen is 6 weeks, including forgetting what is planted where when the labeling system fails. Besides that, some of these peppers require a 120-150 day growing season, hard to come by in Connecticut. Hence the need to speed up germination.

flat planted with pepper seeds, covered with a plastic bag. — The madman covers his planted flats with a clear plastic bag before putting them on the heat mat.

Germinating Ornery Seeds

The madman has figured out that the key to getting these ornery seeds to germinate is to break down the seed coat without damaging the embryo. At one time, he planted the seeds in potting soil in a flat enclosed in a plastic bag. He put these flats on our old oil burner and checked them at least once a day. He moved the sprouted seeds over to the grow light shelf. When we got a new furnace, his seed warming area disappeared. No problem, by then seed starting heat mats had been perfected for home use.

New Idea

Then, at a Master Gardener meeting, he learned of fellow Master Gardener John Carlson’s method. John sprouted his tomato seeds in a container of water on a heat mat. The madman loved this idea – he could watch his seeds actually sprout. This method works great with tomatoes and lots of other seeds.

seeds germinating in liquid — Madman is soaking his hot pepper seeds in various solutions to see if he can improve on fellow Advanced Master Gardener John Carlson’s water method.

Hot pepper seeds, however, are a totally different story. The seed coat is much harder and it seems the hotter the variety, the harder it is to break this coat. So, this winter he has been looking for better ways to break the seed coat. Hence, the experiments. After all, he needs to know which method works the best before he starts the bulk of his seeds in February.

The Madman’s Science

Method #1 is the madman’s old standby – soak in water. The seeds are soaking in a container on the heat mat. Best temperature for germinating these seeds is 80˚-90˚. The idea of water is to soften the seed coat, but too much time in water will rot the seeds.

Cups of chamomile tea — Fresh brewed Chamomile Tea: I get the cup on the right, the seeds get the cup on the left. This is one way I get through the dark days of winter.

Method #2 is a very pleasant method. I get to have a soothing cup of chamomile tea while he takes the used teabag to brew another cup. The second cup becomes his seed soaking liquid. The chamomile contains tannin, a chemical that will soften the seed coat. He heard that this can also help prevent damping off. Again, it’s on the heat mat.

Method #3 involves using a common household medicine cabinet staple, hydrogen peroxide. The madman dissolves 1 oz. into a pint of water. Seeds in this solution also go on the heat mat. Interestingly, the peroxide will kill any bacteria on the seeds, again fighting damping off.

Potassium Nitrate Powder — After receiving a small quantity of Potassium Nitrate with a pepper seed order, the madman just had to go get his own supply.

Method #4 came as a surprise. Tucked into a shipment of seeds the madman found a small packet of potassium nitrate with a notation “dissolve in 1 quart of water, soak seeds overnight.” Although this chemical is typically used in fertilizers, it can be used to soften the seed coat and break seed dormancy. And, it is an organic compound formed naturally in warm climates.

Get Ready to Grow

Interesting experiment. Obviously, you’re not crazy like the madman and won’t need to start a bunch of hot pepper seeds, so you won’t be ordering lots of chamomile tea, hydrogen peroxide or potassium nitrate. Do not plant anything now – it is still too early. But it is time to be thinking about your seeds and what supplies you’ll need if you plan to start your own vegetable and flower transplants.

Basic seed starting supplies are:

Sterile seed starting medium. You can get this at garden centers or online if you are still quarantined like the madman. Don’t use regular garden soil; it is too heavy.
Flats or pots to germinate the seeds. Anything will do, but remember to thoroughly wash anything you use.
Heating mat. Although this is optional, remember that seeds germinate best at temperatures between 80 ˚and 90 ˚.
Lights to keep your seedlings happy. The madman doesn’t rely on a windowsill where his plants will generally become leggy from reaching for the sunlight. Instead, he uses florescent tubes, but is starting to switch over to LED grow lights which have dropped in price.
A liquid fish emulsion fertilizer. Your seeds have enough energy for the first set of leaves, but after that they will benefit from a dilute solution of liquid fertilizer.

Once you have your supplies in place, you can relax until it is seed starting time. The madman refuses to drink chamomile tea, so I guess it’s time for hot cocoa.