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Written by MS Smith!
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Friday, 21 December 2001 |
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Page 2 of 6
An easier way to sterilize the soil is possible and quite handy if you are just sowing a small number of species. Simply put the soil in the pots as described below (but without the seeds) and microwave for an appropriate amount of time. Of course be sure that you do not cook them to long, leading the plastic to melt. I generally will put the pots in a large ziplock baggy that is partially closed, thereby lessening the dissipation of the soils moisture content. Then you can just let the soil cool a bit in this large bag, remove and sow, and then place into smaller bags for the germination.
Sowing the Seed
Once the fine topsoil is ready, being slightly warm (80 to 85 degrees), start by filling each pot full with regular soil and then with a very thin layer of sifted soil on top of that. I personally use square 2.5” (6 cm) plastic pots. Gently press the soil down with your spoon, but not too much, it needs to stay rather loose. Give a spraying from a misting bottle to settle and even out the top layer of soil. Make sure the soil is relatively wet but in no way sopping wet. Now just take your tweezers and place the seeds on the soil and press them halfway into the soil. Give about an inch between seedlings as you should probably keep them in these containers for at least a year.
Now you are ready to bag them up. Two 2.5” pots fit perfectly into a small ziplock. The trick in bagging them is to make the bag like a tent. This will cause the condensation buildup within the bag to run down the sides and collect at the base of the pots, possibly to be sucked back into the pots through the bottom holes. If a horizontal ceiling is above the pots droplets of condensation may fall directly on top of the newborn seedlings, often displacing the seedlings or causing them to rot easier. The easiest way to make such a tent is to place the pots directly on the crease that is at the bottom of the bags. This would mean the ziplock is directly above the pots.
Creating the Right Environment - Heat and Light
Now that the seeds are bagged up it's important to create the right growing environment of heating and lighting. This is possibly the most critical aspect of growing your own cacti from seed. My own method is to place the baggies onto a reptile heating pad that can be purchased from a pet store. I have forgotten the brand I use, but it is very thin with a clear lamination on it. There are a couple different sizes available, but they are rather expensive, approximately $40 for the larger one. You may want to place a small thermometer (sterilized) within one of the bags to make sure the internal temperature does not get excessive. Best germination is at about 80 to 85 degrees, but a night temperature around 65 to 70 degrees is also necessary. I simply have my heating pads and lights on a timer. A 14 to 16 hour cycle of light and heat is good. Dependent upon what type of lighting you use, its heat levels, and the environment in which the baggies will be placed, you may not need heating pads. I start my own seeds in the unheated basement of my house which usually will run about 65 degrees for the duration of the winter, having sown my seeds in the Fall so that they will be ready to acclimatize to natural conditions in the Spring.
For lighting I use two 40 watt 4' long shop lights with two florescent tubes. These are elevated about 1/2' to 1' above the seed containers. This is usually fine for the germination phase but may turn out to be too much light for best growth. Many people believe in putting the lights upwards of a couple inches from the soil level, but I have found this is not always necessary. It must be kept in mind that though cacti are typically desert plants they germinate and have much of their initial growth in cracks and crevices in the soil or under the shade of other plants. A clear sign that there is too much light is that the seedlings will stop growing and get a reddish/brown color. If this occurs you can use cheesecloth to lay over the bags as needed. Germination should take anywhere from a week to nearly a month, so be patient and avoid opening the baggies and letting in contaminates.
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