Changing Baggie Method

I'm not having terrific success with the coffee filter baggie method, so I'm switching to the soil baggie method. I split my seeds out into two sealed plastic bags with a few tablespoons of seed starting soil (peat moss mixture) in each. I moistened the soil by spraying spring water on it, and put the baggies on a shelf. With any luck, the seeds will start germinating in the bags. When they do, I'll wait until they're showing off their cotyledons, then move them into their own cel-packs.

At first, I thought that my low germination rate was due to my seeds needing help breaking out of dormancy, but then I read that dawn redwoods don't need to be cold stratified. So, I'm hoping for better success with the soil baggies.

Starting Out...

These are the smallest, most fragile seeds I've worked with so far. Next to this one is a toothpick for size comparison. I'm not expecting stellar germination rate from these little guys, but who knows.

To start them off, I soaked them overnight in aerated spring water. The next morning, I placed all one hundred of my seeds in damp, unbleached coffee filters in airtight baggies with just a little bit of air inside. This is known as the 'baggie method', and has worked well for me with my giant sequoias and coast redwoods so far.

I will keep them in the dark, checking them once a week for germination. Once they sprout their embryonic root, or radicle, I'll plant them in moist seed-starting soil in covered cel-packs. When they sprout, I'll remove them from the mini-greenhouse, giving them only indirect sunlight.