I'm trying moist stratification for the first time, using the damp paper towel in Ziploc bag method. I stratified the vegetable seeds two weeks ago. Despite meticulous attention to sterilizing the materials, several of bags now have light brown spots on the paper towels, measuring about 5-7 mm (3/8") across. There doesn't appear to be any hyphae, and the seeds look OK. So now I'm wondering: 1. Is this mould? 2. If so, can I rescue the seeds, and what can I do to protect the apparently unaffected bags? THANKS!
Wondering why you need to stratify vegetable seeds. These are saved seeds that haven't gotten a treatment that purchased seed has been given? In ordinary practice purchased vegetable seed is sown right out of the packet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratification_(botany)
Thanks very much for the Wikipedia link. One never knows how much to trust Wikipedia, but since you seem like a VERY experienced contributor to this site, I'll seek out the Chinosol mentioned in the link. The seeds are perennials that I collected myself, not store-bought. Do you have any further thoughts on vermiculite vs. Perlite vs. paper towel vs peat moss, etc.?
Mold shouldn't be a problem for healthy seeds. Indeed, your seeds and plants will hopefully be growing in a wild mix of bacteria, fungi and many, many other goodies all their lives, just like all the plant life on earth. I have had seeds rot in ziplocs, but found those were seeds that had some problem, often old, otherwise non-viable...so wouldn't have germinated anyway. As for media, I often use straight peat in my seed priming bags simply because I want to observe germination as it proceeds. This can be a lot tougher with white material as the radicles blend in with perlite or vermiculite...but really show up easily in a dark material like peat. Coir or bark would work similarly if you happen to dislike peat. Just my experience here. Like Ron, I'm curious what vegetable seed needs stratifying...can't think of any that I've grown...?
