Guest post by Beate Schwirtlich What Happens When A Seed
Germinates? The whole purpose of starting seeds indoors is to
cheat winter a little. Ironically, even as we cheat nature, we
must imitate her. Light, soil, water, air, and a basic
understanding of the process of germination are all you need.
Once you know the simple things a seed requires, starting them
indoors won’t seem half as complicated. Seeds are their own
energy source, a plant in embryo form. They store energy in a
form that is released and used only when water, oxygen, soil,
and a close-to-ideal temperature are a part of their
surroundings. Until then, they remain dormant. Germination
inhibitors are part of the make-up of every seed. They actually
prevent a seed from germinating until its chances of survival
are good. Usually chemical in nature (five per cent of seeds are
simply waterproof, dormant until their seed coat cracks),
germination inhibitors put a seed into dormancy. Without these,
a tomato seed, for example, would spout right inside