Sprouting seed

[Davo2]

Just sprouted my first lot of seed using the mike fidler method with virkon. Soaked it for the 1hour 45 minutes then drained well and sat it on the bench for 30hrs until I could see the chits. No sign of mould but it does smell kind of sweet (hard to describe) is this normal???

Cheers
Ron

[iaos]

Just sprouted my first lot of seed using the mike fidler method with virkon. Soaked it for the 1hour 45 minutes then drained well and sat it on the bench for 30hrs until I could see the chits. No sign of mould but it does smell kind of sweet (hard to describe) is this normal???

Cheers
Ron

Nutty?

[Davo2]

Fruity

[Woody]

I only use 3/4 teaspoon Virkon to 2 litres water, soak seed overnight.
Made a lid with a fly-wire window for my 20 litre bucket, in the morning turn bucket upside down to drain and leave for at least an hour.
In 24-36 hrs "brewing" it's ready to freeze. In all the years I've done this never had any problems.
Think the secret is proper draining, you don't need extra external moisture, the seed has soaked up all it needs to germinate.
Hope you have more success next time.

[Davo2]

I used the half teaspoon in 1.25L of water and 1kg of seed, drilled holes in a plastic container and everything seems fine, just haven't done it before and I expected it to be odorless for some reason. I froze it in 250g satchels and it is loose in the bag so must of been drained correct. No mold or fungus so next step is to feed it out I spose.

[vettepilot_6]

[quote="Davo2"]I used the half teaspoon in 1.25L of water and 1kg of seed, drilled holes in a plastic container and everything seems fine, just haven't done it before and I expected it to be odorless for some reason. I froze it in 250g satchels and it is loose in the bag so must of been drained correct. No mold or fungus so next step is to feed it out I spose.[/quote

Birds will go nuts over it.. sounds like you have done it correctly...

[Macca04]

After a few trials I have found the best solution for myself. I have the added pressure of very high humidity. however, I found if I stir the seed up 1/2 dozen times within the 24 hr period, This allows the seed to dry out a bit more and reduced the seed going mouldy. The best outcome I got was using 1 teaspoon of virkon s and 1.25L of water and soaking it for a few hours

[Craig52]

Ooops

[Craig52]

After a few trials I have found the best solution for myself. I have the added pressure of very high humidity. however, I found if I stir the seed up 1/2 dozen times within the 24 hr period, This allows the seed to dry out a bit more and reduced the seed going mouldy. The best outcome I got was using 1 teaspoon of virkon s and 1.25L of water and soaking it for a few hours

Macca,i agree.You should always turn the seed as it dries out on top.Drag the moist seed to the top and let the dry seed go to the bottom.I use a plastic tub wheel barrow to sprout my seed in,the angle in the bottom drains any moister to the front at the bottom where i have drilled a series of 3mm holes for drainage and the large surface area allows for the seed to dry out on top and it is turned quite often during the spouting time.I do 3 ten litre buckets of finch mix at a time to soak the seed in virkon s (1 teaspoon to 2 litres of water),rinse and drain for a few minutes and place in the wheel barrow where it continues to drain and sprout.I don't like to leave my soaked seed in that dirty yellow gunky water so i rinse it as i believe the seed has soaked up enough of the vircon s to not go off during the spouting period. Cheers Craig

[matcho]

This is my method,

I have a 750 gram peanut butter jar with heaps of holes drilled in the lid. Fill it to within a poofteenth of the lid. Take half a small scoop of Virkon with the little plastic spoons you get with your sweets sometimes. Fill the jar and mix , it will have a slight pink colour. Sit outside for at least 8 hours. Drain. Place on top of the aquarium inside the cover, light and heat on for 12 to 18 hours. Can normally see it chitting. It will smell sweet, even looks mouldy at times. Rinse well three or for times through a fine sieve until the water becomes clearer. Place in container with touch of Virkon and half a cap of bleach. Let sit for 5 minutes, rinse and drain.

All good.

Sounds time consuming but in all reality 15 minutes at most over the 24 -36 hour time frame.

This method has never failed me

Ken.