DIY Seed Gel-I Am Not a Fan :(

I tried the cornstarch-based, DIY seed gel idea that I've seen widely posted, lately, and it just didn't work. Curious if anybody else had better results, or if this one is just a fad (and a dud).

[@theobserver9131]

I love your real, unvarnished, candid attitude. Thank you!!! In my experience, nature is pretty good at most of this. The biggest deal for me with sprouting is using sterile potting soil to give seedlings a head start before they have to battle nematodes and stuff... Tomatoes and beans seem to be tough enough and don't need any help from me, but squash and peppers and some other plants need some protection to start with.

[@theobserver9131]

I've been helping other people with their gardens for 50+ years. I have zero expertise, I've just been a helping hand, and I did what they asked me to do. This is my second year of having my own garden, and oh my gosh! There is so much to learn! It's also way more fun than just grunting in other people's gardens. My main goal is to set up ideal conditions for plants to be amazingly productive, with the least amount of work. I have a lot to learn, but I am reaping satisfying rewards so far. I notice some gardeners like complicated rituals that are time consuming and labor intensive. If I had nothing else to do, I might be into that, but I have one daughter and three grand-daughters, and their home to take care of.... I try to dance with nature more than fighting it. Who got da time?

[@theobserver9131]

So far, I have tomatoes and potatoes growing as virtual weeds. They are securely established and all I have to do is choose where to allow them to grow. Pretty soon we won't "have a garden", but the whole two acres will be a self perpetuating oasis of food.

[@theobserver9131]

sorry about my rambling. I hope you don't mind. Sometimes I get chatty and there's no-one around. Best wishes!

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Love it! In which growing zone is your garden? I’m 6A and can only dream of tomatoes growing like weeds (mine limp along with significant help)

[@theobserver9131]

@@WellGroundedGardens I haven't figured out my zone yet... I'm in Floyd Virginia. Pretty moderate here.

[@misterdubity3073]

Different temperatures in ground vs in small containers. I wonder if the cornstarch gel hardens and becomes a barrier; maybe if it ever gets dry it sets a bit like a polymer and then takes a while to break down even with later wetting. I had heard of mixing tiny seeds with "play sand" before planting as a way to thin out the seeds; though I have never done it. Cheers.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Good call on the play sand…I may do that for carrots. The starch hardening is definitely possible; we’ve had steady drizzle the days I planted and immediately after but maybe it needed more to “wash off” before we had a couple of dry days. I’m also wondering if it changed the bacterial balance of the soil, somehow. 🤷‍♀️

[@urantiawisdom]

I have used this method successfully with carrot and parsnip seeds several times. i covered the gel with soil, which I didn't see you do but perhaps you did. My theory is that the gel keeps the seeds from drying out that normally have a long germination time. (They still had a long germination time!) Also, the starch feeds the seeds as they sprout. I still had to thin, though, perhaps because I had too many seeds per unity of gel. I've done it with beet seeds too, to give them food to start, however I don't think it's necessary because those seeds are so much bigger. Thank you for your excellent videos, and I hope this helps.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

I did cover it with soil…no idea why it didn’t work in my case. 🤷‍♀️