Born worrier?

[Brian]

I planted various seeds -baggie method - yesterday. I have been successful before, so I am following the usual pattern - 2 inch pots, microwaved compost while my wife was out, one or two pots per sealed bag, the works. The pots are sat in saucers & I put water in the saucers for the soil to draw up. This is because in previous years I think the soil has been too dry. One day later .... the saucers still have a small lake of water in them and the bags seems nice and humid ready for germination.

Being a born worrier, I am wondering if I have overdone it and there should not be water in the saucers, or should it not matter? If necessary I could open the bags and soak up the water.

[Agavegeoff]

allow the water to soak the pots first then put them in the bags and microwave so as to steam cook them, peel the bag back or if a cellophane type remove to sow the seed when the soil has cooled a bit.

[MikeT]

Brian

Usual system would be to water (before or after sowing), then once the water has been taken up, put in the bags. I've used a slightly different system often as I prefer using a multi-celled tray for sowing; this sits in a tray without drainage holes and I keep standing water in the base of this tray. It means the soil doesn't dry out. Like the baggie method, doesn't suit mesembs and some other succulents, but cacti don't mind at all. Most cactus seedlings are best treated as marsh/bog/semi-aquatic plants rather than being allowed to dry out, at least for the first few months.

the saucers still have a small lake of water in them

I'd leave the water where it is.

[IanW]

I literally put about 1cm deep of water in the bottom of the sealed bags the pots are in. It's fine to do this, if the seedlings germinate in that humidity they'll be fine with that humidity. I keep them in bags like this for sometimes over a year depending on how slow growing they are (some grow way too quick to fit in the bag in that time) and the water does slowly escape meaning they almost automatically get acclimatised to less and less humidity ready for bag opening.

I've been doing it this way years, and have just done it again. Bit different this time getting used to a different house to where I've sown before and no quite so sunny window sills as I had at the old house, but sticking the tray containing the pots on the radiator has done the job just fine in getting them all to germinate again this year.