Quote:
Originally Posted by carolyn137
Ray, I am up north way to your East in NYS, zone 5 most years, and I've never used paper towels, baggies or anything else and have been able to germinate seeds very well without any pre-sprouting at all. And grown several thousands of varieties that way.
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Carolyn, I'm not saying that I have had problems germinating seeds the conventional way. I don't have a huge garden, so I like to make best use of the space I have whether in-ground or in containers. i have mostly done pre-sprouting with direct seeded cool season crops. I have also done it with bush beans and pole beans later in the spring.
I think the main advantages of pre-sprouting certain direct seeded vegetables are:
1.) Most all seeds will germinate much faster and more reliably in warm conditions indoors than direct seeded in cold spring soil outdoors in our climate.
2.) You can avoid the inevitable blank spaces in your beds due to some seed not sprouting because they were just duds or because they succumbed to rot or critters outdoors.