Topic: Seeds that require darkness to germinate

[Garden Manager]

Seed packets seem to have fairly standard instructions for germanation these days, usualy involving putting the seed container  in a light position, but what seed carrying these instructions have you found actualy germinate better when placed in a dark place until germination?

I am wondering if this is where many people go wrong with seed sowing (including me!).

Thanks

[OliveOil]

Dont quote me on this but i put my cucumbers in the airing cupboard - warm and dark

[tim]

As I understand it, Lettuce are the only things needing light to germinate.

And since other seeds are covered with paper & glass, there's no need to put them in cupboards etc.

[jennym]

Some flowers require light too, for example petunia, begonia, snapdragon, busy lizzy, geranium.
Evidently, lettuce needs both cool temperatures and light in order to germinate, and some tree seeds need this too like birch and scots pine.
Also I guess a lot of weeds seeds need light too, because I know that if I keep disturbing the ground during the growing season, weed seeds are brought to the surface and germinate (unfortunately!)
It seems to me though that most of the vegetable seeds germinate better when they are covered with soil, maybe because the moisture in the soil is helping them rather than the darkness as such.

[Garden Manager]

And if a seed desperately desperately needs total darkness to grow and wont otherwise? What do you do if you dont have an appropriate location free?

Would a black plastic bag be good enough?

[Svea]

my seeds have to go through a rigorous interview process - we check their parentage, behaviour and likes and dislikes. any that are too fussy will not get the job. simple as that.

in return for being a harsh boss, i provide them with the very best growing conditions i possibly can - and they thank me for it

;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm not sure how many weeds need light, beyond a quick flash to let them know the soil's been disturbed. If I dig a bed over, then go rooting about with a trowel not long after, I often find it riddled with germinating weed seeds, even several inches down.

[Mrs Ava]

I work on the philosphy that in nature, when a flower sheds its seeds, noone comes along and nicely covers the seed.  So, I don't worry to much about covering fine seed, I just kinda twidle my fingers lightly over the compost, some go in, some stay on the surface.  However, of course my darling children go from one extreme to the other and planted peas a week ago about a foot deep...well okay, maybe 2 or 3 inches deep, and today, all up!  So I guess the principle is, fine seed is okay scattered over the surface, as you water, you will inevitably wash the seed into the grains of compost, whereas big seed needs to be shoved in a bit.  See, I can be very scientific when I try!  ;)