In the garden- To soak or not to soak...

     As I prepare my seeds to be started this year I began to ponder the idea of pre-soaking the seeds. There is some controversy over whether this process is necessary. However, the more research I did the more the process of soaking seeds made sense. I started to wonder if my 20% failure rate for seeds sprouting could have been solved with a simple 24 hour soak.

     To test the results I decided to try with my indoor herbs for the season. It's a little early in the year to be starting seeds but the herbs get a good amount of natural light and the house temperature stays warm enough that I'm hoping I can go ahead. I'm starting with Cilantro. The seeds had been stored (in a cool dry place) for almost two years. These seeds would be the perfect experiment. I soaked them in tepid water overnight.

     I can report that this first test went well. The seeds which usually take a week to ten days to sprout sprouted in just a few days. The sprouts seems strong and all seeds appear to have sprouted. Maybe a good soak is all those seeds need to get a jump start on spring. I'll be trying this again with Basil this week!