Getting started again

[Shiveringtropicals]

It's finally getting spring again and i have gotten around to sowing my seeds.

its been Sunny which means that i don't need that much supplemental heat which i don't really have a good way of giving anyway cause i only have 1 25Watt heating mat.

Getting the humidity down has been a little tricky so i keep the top open for ventilation so i don't get fungus.

This year i have (among others) a bunch of palms like Trithrinax campestris, Livistona australis, Arenga engleri and Jubaea chilensis and also a large assortment of Macrozamia species.

Macrozamia elegans, moorei, diplomera ,fraseri, riedlei and johnsonii. I went a little over budget this year lol

the heating mat is under the aluminium plate which in hindsight was maybe not smart cause now i need the temperature to be set a lot higher.

the idea was that the plate could evenly conduct heat to the bottom cause the mat is to small to fill the box.

the sides are made of plexiglas and i have made the sides of aluminium too it looks really cool but i have to remember to close the blinds if it gets to hot in there.

and i also have a temperature sensor build into the body of the box.

The Jubaea seeds seem to be mostly floating not sure how much germination i will get out of them and some of the Macrozamia moorei seeds were slowly bubbling all night not sure if it mean that some of them have gone bad.

i also have some more cycas petraea seeds (the big ones bottom left) i bought them again this year cause they didn't do anything for me last year.

and some ginkgo trees which i think are Interesting trees but i have never succesfully germinated.

 

wish me luck for this year

 

 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Shiveringtropicals

[Shiveringtropicals]

I'd like to get some feedback on how i'm doing this, i have Macrozamia moorei in a large tray with the openings pointing towards one side in rows so i can see if the root will emerge.

The back sides i have covered in soil so the seeds don't dry out. the humidity inside is pretty much 100 the whole day.

The temperature is 19c 66f at night and in the morning when the sun hits it about 27c 81f although it stays around 21c 70f most of the day, it that enough or do i need more heat?

bottom picture on the right is the Jubaea seeds which are mostly sinking now

 

 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

I'm thinking you need more heat for sure. Some seeds like the cooling off versus heat 24hrs. I have to figure which ones those are haha. I set my heat pad at 85F myself. At 70F I think you will lose alot to rot possibly. Your set up sure is neat and tidy tho =) 

[Shiveringtropicals]

On 3/25/2020 at 3:43 AM, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

I'm thinking you need more heat for sure. Some seeds like the cooling off versus heat 24hrs. I have to figure which ones those are haha. I set my heat pad at 85F myself. At 70F I think you will lose alot to rot possibly. Your set up sure is neat and tidy tho =) 

Thanks for the advice, I have now moved the heat mat from under the plate to on top of it just below the seed trays and it seems to make it slightly warmer by about 1 degree C

still to cold so i have ordered a larger mat with more power and it should arrive somewhere next week.

it will be 100W instead of the 25W i have now so it should do the trick. 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Shiveringtropicals

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

25 minutes ago, Shiveringtropicals said:

Thanks for the advice, I have now moved the heat mat from under the plate to on top of it just below the seed trays and it seems to make it slightly warmer by about 1 degree C

still to cold so i have ordered a larger mat with more power and it should arrive somewhere next week.

it will be 100W instead of the 25W i have now so it should do the trick. 

 Does your set up have a cover over it ? If not closing it would drastically bring up the heat in your container may end up not needing a bigger mat. 

[Shiveringtropicals]

1 hour ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Does your set up have a cover over it ? If not closing it would drastically bring up the heat in your container may end up not needing a bigger mat. 

I do have a plexiglas cover for it however i found that it also encourages fungus to grow if it covers it too much.

I am now using a cover which has a mesh screen in it, both for ventilation and for keeping fungus gnat from getting into it.

(although currently i have power cords for the heat mat running out the top of the box so the mesh screen doesn't close properly i'll fix that later running them through the bottom)

Rotating the plexiglass cover at an angle could still ventilate it maybe i'm gonna see if thats better.

i'm still experimenting with the setup to see what works best.

the plexiglas still has its protective film on it.

I originally was going to hinge it on top but i never got around to doing that.

Edited March 26, 2020 by Shiveringtropicals

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

5 hours ago, Shiveringtropicals said:

I am now using a cover which has a mesh screen in it, both for ventilation and for keeping fungus gnat from getting into it.

Try not to water often or much during germination. Once you get your moisture levels correct , having it covered will keep your set up better. Also you can try daconil to combat fungus. 

[Shiveringtropicals]

I was just wondering how long it usualy takes for these types of seeds to germinate it has been 3 weeks and i still only have one moorei.

I have heard of cycad seeds needing some time of embryo development after they fall from the motherplant could this be going on or is it a bad sign that these seeds could have low viability.

2 years ago i had the first M. elegans germinate at 5 weeks so should i just be more patient? i do have way more seeds this year so i should get more earlier right statisticly?

I also have the new heat mat installed and it is doing great i have it set for 70f by night and 85f during the day.

Ginkgo biloba's are doing great so atleast i have that.

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by Shiveringtropicals