Seeding beets in wet paper towels

[BINGO]

About 4 days ago I put some beet seeds in paper towels which were wet, placed in zip lock bag and in dark space. I now have tons of little sprouts, does it matter how I plant the sprouts or do I have to be real careful and plant them pointing up? I read they didn't do well being transplanted as a small plant, do you think the sprouts will do good?

 

[alp]

Yes, don't worry too much. You can plant the seedlings with the paper towels. If you can tease the roots, do so. If not, not to worry. A lot of people sow a lot of seeds and then thin the seedlings out.

 

[BINGO]

I was told that you can plant them 3 to 4 inches apart and the depth was most important. Ive got a container which will hold 25 to 30 seedlings to harvest.

 

[BINGO]

Here's what the seedling sprouts look like.

 

[alp]

Yes, I remember how messy that was. I had to tease the roots apart and some of the roots traversed from one end to another and some got tangled up. You could try using loo roll and compost and cover the whole thing with a clear bag next time. The result is just as good and you won't end up with a fiddly job! LOl! Is the serviette too dry? Some seeds are still shy! But well done! You could use a pair of scissors to cut the seeds off. The cluster may have to be planted as is. They will be al; right. Survival of the fittest will sort out the problem for you.

 

[Jean3]

Here's what the seedling sprouts look like.View attachment 40788

They look great. Job well done.

 

[Marck]

For a plant such as Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum ssp. sativus) its easiest to just plant the seeds in soil and let them germinate in situ.

 

[plot22]

We call this chitting. I have for many years chitted beetroot in plastic containers in a cupboard in my home office before taking them in situ down to the allotment. I use a pair of long tweezers to gently lift them from the damp paper towel and plant them in a row. Beetroot does not transplant well in plant form but like this you will have great success When chitting seeds you have to watch them like a hawk as soon as the seeds crack they need to go in. These have grown a bit too much but they should be ok. I also chit parsnips, tomatoes, peppers, chillies and peas. With peas I let them grow longer roots before setting them. Doing peas this way the mice don't touch them. If you set peas straight out of the packet the mice will have a feast. I soak the peas for half an hour in tepid water before chitting them. Never chit pelleted seeds I learnt this the hard way with some pelleted parsnips. All the pellet came off onto the damp towel and I was left with ordinary flat parsnip seeds. They did actually grow well once set.

 

[harrylee]

I heard that coffee filters work better than paper towels. They don't grow into them I guess. I saw a couple of YouTubes on the subject.

 

[Meadowlark]

Really good videos. I haven't used this technique often but as I grow older, I have found it difficult to get the spacing I want on some o the smaller seeds. This method eliminates the need for thinning and enables precise placement.

I put my containers on top of my water heater and get rapid germination.