Even though we’ve had a bit more rain in SoCal than normal this winter, I’ve been experimenting with options to effectuate a running water cleanse without actually having to run water from the tap for hours on end.
Using a magnetic stirrer, I’ve been placing the seeds in mesh bags, and then suspending them in a bowl or jar of water that has a magnet at the bottom to create a constant swirl of water created by the magnetic force. My thought is that the constant movement of the water is creating conditions similar to the running water.
Here, you can see the motion in the water before any bags are placed in the sieve.
- Bowl with sieve on top of the magnetic stirrer
- IMG_7843.jpeg (274.73 KiB) Viewed 2551 times
Recently, I’ve abandoned the sieve, and use a chopstick to suspend the bags over a small bowl. You can’t see the swirling of the water in the photo, but it’s perceptible in person. I also will lift the bags up every few hours to make sure the magnetic stirrer is still doing it’s job.
- Mesh bags with seeds suspended over a bowl of swirling water
- IMG_2024-04-05-122513.jpeg (130.92 KiB) Viewed 2551 times
I’ve now used this approach on three batches of seeds, and while the jury is still out on the effectiveness (I don’t think I’ve gotten the formula right as far as soil mix and using a top dressing), I have had zero issues with mold or damping off since I started using this method.
The one potential problem I have is that when I go over 48 hours (I usually change out the water every 12-24 hours, and use only rain water in the final 24 hour soak), some of the seeds start to germinate early. However, those seeds seem to get stunted once sowed in soil, and don’t fully germinate. I’ve also been using the C&D method of sowing, spraying the seeds with Physan 20 -> Full Strength Chinosol -> Germination Water, so I’m not sure if the early germinated seeds are absorbing too many chemicals during the sowing process, thus stunting their growth? No idea, but I’m going to limit the Swirl Rinse to 48 hours and see if this keeps happening. I had also been using Chinosol at 10% strength (similar to germination water) for the first 12-24 hour swirl, but I checked the PH last time and it was ~4-4.5, so I’m also going to stop doing that and see if I have any different results. Will update if these tweaks to this method are effective.
