Smithyveg!: Vento tip

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Vento tip

I was talking to Gareth Cameron about the problems i've been having getting this particular variety of onion to germinate. The seeds are supplied in a green casing resembling a ball bearing. It's some form of fungicidal coating but it sure seems to hinder germination as far as I can tell. Gareth had got onto Medwyn about this and the advice that came back was to crush the coating so that water can get to the seed easier. I guess you'd have to be very careful how you do this and I think you would only need to crack the casing slightly and I'm thinking this may be best achieved by putting them into a container and pressing a brick down on them.

Too late for me as I've already sown all my seed and still nowt has come up!!!

5 comments:

paul said...: Morning Simon, i have been told that you really have to make sure that the top of the compost never looks dry as it being wet softens the coating and makes the germination better, i have followed this instruction and never had any bother germinating. Paul; February 12, 2011
Ian Stocks said...: Simon - Paul is right - I have had really good germination with Vento this year - yes they did take a lot longer to come through than "normal " seed but like Paul I kept them a lot wetter than I would normally do for onions; February 12, 2011
Richard W. said...: That all makes sense. My first batch, sown on 28/12, are at last growing properly, although they're not as advanced as other normal onion seeds sown the same day.

I've given up with my second lot and chucked them out. 2 weeks and 40% germination is a joke.; February 12, 2011
Richard W. said...: Typo! Should read 3 weeks since sowing the Vento second batch, not 2.; February 13, 2011
JBA seed potatoes said...: The reason the seed is coated now is that all the big seed companies were losing money replacing seed grown on a commercial scale when the seed that was not coated failed to grow. We sell alot of seed every year and this new coating is to help commercial growers get the best return from the seed they plant. Commercial crops that are maybe planted at a time where there is changeable weather patterns ended up losing the lot if there was a week of warmth followed by a nip of frost.

Now it is easier for all seed to be treated as it takes a longer period of the correct weather before the seed will germinate in a field.

This saves the producer and the grower money but makes it harder for seed to germinate for the job that you boys are doing.; February 13, 2011