for a while now, i have been putting all of my seeds into a two and a half or five gallon tank to germinate them. i started doing this because i keep fish and like to collect from the wild(i like native fish) and from time to time, i get seeds that contaminate my tanks. what i noticed is that they do really well. they germinate and grow quite a bit before the water finally drowns them.
so one day i decided to empty a packet of marigolds into a small tank, fill it with water, and see what happens. well, they rotted. i think three of them germinated and then died. after a lot of experimentation, i figured out what the problem was. i just tossed them in a brand new tank, with no light and no circulation. the water got stagnant and they all rotted. what i found out is that the light i had on my fish tanks, and the airstones i had circulating water, were necessary to keep the seeds from rotting. seems like common sense, but i had to figure it out by trial and error.
what i do now is set up a small tank with a small sponge filter and a light. i never turn either off. the constant light causes a HUGE amount of nasty green slimy algae to grow, and the sponge filter keeps the water clear. eventually the water will clear and the algae will start to fade away. when that happens, i pour my seeds in. i get incredible germination rates. much higher than what i get from putting them in soil. after the seeds produce two fully formed seed leaves, i transfer them to one of those convenient planters with the little peat pellets. since they are already growing and need to have their roots in something, i dunk the peat pellets into water so they break up. that way i can put half a pellet into the tray, lay the seedling on it, and cover the root with the rest, leaving just the seed leaves exposed.
i have gotten a lot of good results from this method. the key is to make sure that the tank is "cycled" first, before you put the seeds in. the water should be clear and the algae should be starting to recede. it also helps to have small snails, as they eat anything that starts to rot. and then, be gentle with the seedlings when they are ready to be transferred.
just figured i would share this in case anyone wanted to try it.
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