Is it better to store seeds in plastic bags or paper envelopes?
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
6 years ago
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Pre Sprouting Seeds in plastic bags
Comments (25)While sprouting daylily seeds recently, I came upon a method that works really well. I mix my hydrogen peroxide/distilled water in a container, then after the seeds have germinated, I soak a round cotton pad [not the balls, the flat cotton pads] in the solution, squeeze most of the water out, then put the seeds in half of it, fold the other half over and put back in the plastic baggie. This works just great! Also, for storing seeds in the fridge, a friend told me about this idea. Cut the bottom out of a cereal box, about 3-4" high, and you have a nice storage container to line the seed baggies up instead of jumbling them up in a bigger plastic bag. They take up hardly any space in the fridge. Got lots of these seedlings to plant this afternoon! Judith...See MoreWhat do you use to isolate blossoms? paper bags or plastic bags?
Comments (2)Mike, One of my hobbies is breeding zinnias, and I use "hairnets" that I make from mesh fabric that I bought in the fabric department of Wal-Mart. The material is inexpensive and has an open mesh that allows easy air circulation and sun exposure, while keeping bees from getting at the flower. The nets don't harm the flowers or plants at all. Interestingly, I have seen butterflies sipping nectar from the zinnias through the mesh, but they don't go after the zinnia pollen, so I am glad that the butterflies can feed through the mesh. The nets are basically approximately square "sacks". I fold over a rectangular piece of the mesh and secure the top seam and side seem by weaving a piece of black yarn through the mesh. I alternate sides with the yarn about every ½" to ¾". The seam doesn't need to be really closely stitched. Obviously I leave the bottom open to allow the "hairnet" to fit down over the flower. I use black mesh and yarn because the black nets are less conspicuous in the garden. I just started using these nets last year and they have revolutionized my zinnia breeding. I used to have to race the bees to get at the pollen on my selected breeder zinnias, but now I can relax and get the pollen over a period of half a day, and have an abundant supply of good pollen. The bees are amazingly aggressive at grabbing any available zinnia pollen. The nets also keep the bees from randomly pollinating my selected breeder flowers. Here is a picture of one of the nets on a zinnia. This zinnia was in rather poor shape because it is one that I grew from a cutting this fall and I just used it as a "model" to wear a net for this picture which I just now made. My breeder zinnias typically look much better than this one, as you can see for yourself by looking at their pictures in the It can be fun to breed your own zinnias message thread in the Annuals forum. I make the nets in several sizes to accommodate different sized flowers. You shouldn't have any trouble making these nets to your own specifications from needles, yarn, and mesh fabric from a local fabric store. MM...See MoreAnyone know of good boxes (plastic?) for storing papers?
Comments (19)Thanks for the feedback :) Sheesh, so you saw this coming huh, Talley-sue. Why didn't you tell me? lol. Transitioning into school was very tough for my very quiet, shy DD, so I think we made a big deal out of all her work the first year or two. It's funny how time will change your view of them. It's not like she colored the pictures with much intent, honestly a lot of them look like she just picked a random crayon and scribbled all across it. They also did a lot of cut and paste with glue sticks- which apparently don't hold up well after even a few short years, so now there are little scraps of paper everywhere that were once glued to... who knows what? Your experience with not remember the work you did, or even caring-- that is how I feel too. Same thing with clothes--- who wants old, dusty, discolored stuff from way back then? Hopefully that is how DD will feel when she grows up. When she was younger, she still wanted to sort through it from time to time, which is one of the reasons it hasn't gone sooner. It's easy to grab out the report cards, awards, tests that were exceptional and the teacher wrote something nice, and put those aside. This might turn into a little bit of a vent, but a few years ago, MIL came up with a box of DH's old school papers. DH struggled through school with an undiagnosed learning disability (which he found out about in his 20s). So this box was full of reports, tests, and general school work that he had failed--- why would anyone keep that? It made him feel miserable, and was sad to watch him go through it and relive it. Maybe that's a good starting point for a baseline of what to keep- it needs to be special- on the high side of positive remembering. Ah well, thanks again for all your ideas and support....See Morewanted: paper seed storage envelopes
Comments (21)I much prefer paper to plastic. Bank envelopes are great for bigger seeds or amounts of seed and can easily be cut for smaller ones. For most things I use cut/folded paper. Got a trade packed that way and have been making them ever since. As long as you start with a square, can be any size, any paper. Like to have the outside blank so it's easy to label. Great way to recycle paper that's been used on only one side....See Moretete_a_tete
6 years agozeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
6 years agozeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
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