And maybe these are oversoaked? Does anyone know? Can you over-soak a seed? I did go longer than the two to four hours on the instructions but I thought that would rather kickstart them.
QUESTION: should I use or toss this seed? Anyone ever use the Triscuit card seeds on the back of the box? Anyone know whether they are trustworthy? Where are these seeds from? What about the glue that keeps the two sides of the card together – harmless or heinous? Do seeds grow mold? Does it matter? Should I use these seeds anyway? Anyone see anything other than basil or dill on the Triscuit’s box? Triscuit’s seed cards: marketing gimmick, good samaritanism, or terrorist plot? Go ahead … gimme the dirt.
I’ve never heard or seen these before so I did a quick Google search to see what they were. My gut feeling is to avoid them. Seeds are cheap enough and for me at least, even a sample size pack of seeds is far more than I can use. I keep my unused seeds for the next year. If kept cool, dry, and out of light seeds can be kept for quite a while. I tend not to believe companies, especially large ones, when they say something is natural and/ or good for you. The get back to nature movement now days is growing, and many companies will do anything to tap into the money that it is generating. If anything, stick with local producers if possible. That way more money actually goes to the farmer and they are encouraged to produce fresh healthy food.
If the reason for seed cards is an easy way to start seeds before putting them into the ground or a container I may have a few alternatives. Empty margarine or yogurt containers (they are food grade) are large enough to grow something to a pretty good size. If you buy eggs in styrofoam cartons, they make for small seed starters. I’ve used small Dixie cups, and I heard that those empty coffee cups with the clear plastic covers make for a mini green house. I wouldn’t buy a product just for it’s empty container, but if you buy any of these normally why not put that wasteful packaging to good use.
I’ve heard of people making the equivalent of a peat pot by molding wet newspaper around a form, and I bought a soil blocker a year or so ago. The soil blocker is basically a mold which you fill with soil. It gets compressed and a cube of soil comes out with an indentation on top for your seed. When your plant gets large enough you just put the newspaper pot or soil cube directly into the ground or container. The roots do not get disturbed like the normal transplant method. The one thing you have to be a bit careful of is not to overwater or the newspaper will ‘mush’ or the soil block will ‘melt’. I never tried the newspaper pots. Do some searching on the net, there are a few types and sizes of soil blockers if you want to use that method and I am sure you can find out how to make newspaper pots too.