Commercial Seeds & Propogation Mediums

[Toga]

Hi,

From my relatively short experience's of buying 'brand name' or 'discount shop brand' seeds from the usual retailers, ie: garden shops, bunnings, clearance style shops etc... I have found they are often very hit and miss. ie: Using the same packet of seed for 2 plantings, 2 weeks apart - 1 planting had approx 80-85% germination whilst the second planting only yielded 15-20% (including visavera). I have had to supplement my efforts thus far with purchased seedling stock.

I do acknowledge different propagation mediums can and do influence the germination percentages, even of a particular species of crop. Along with a whole other list of input variables from water saturation to seasonal conditions and even moon phase.

Personally concerned, I would love to get to the stage where I am producing &/ mixing my own high yielding compost medium in suitable quality, volume and in a self sustainable way - but I am not there yet.

I thought this topic might have been rolling around quietly in a few of our minds.
What & who do the worlds larger commercial hydro farms and producers use ?

So my question is 2 part and will vary through out the worlds regions....
So i'll use the Australia/New Zealand region as my question basis....
What about in the USA / Europe / Asia / South American Regions ?

Who would you consider the best producer/source/contact for commercial quality seeds in Australia ?
(commercial quality obviously would come in commercial qty's - group buys any one?)

What propagation medium do you consider best quality and value, offering the best performance across the varieties of crops ?
(not as regionally specific though good info for all)

Cheers
Toga

[Toga]

Hi,

Ok, perhaps I addressed that on the wrong scale.... im pretty sure I cant be the only one trying to focus on self seed germination.

Who propagates their own seeds?
What is your favorite brand or web site?
What medium do you find best?

For me so far, most of the Yates brand seeds have performed ok.
I am using a mixture of seed propagation mix, vermiculite & worm castings.

Cheers
Toga

[JohnMc]

I don't deal in commercial quantities. I get most of my seed through individuals on seed exchanges and opt for open pollinated varieties whenever possible.

[ande]

Hi,
What propagation medium do you consider best quality and value, offering the best performance across the varieties of crops ?
(not as regionally specific though good info for all)

Cheers
Toga

Rockwool

This link/vid might be interesting to you ?
http://hydroponiceconomics.com/blog/...on-and-cloning

cheers

[Toga]

Hi JohnMC,

Being a 'relative newbie' to the 'eco / self sufficient / permaculture' lifestyle ... seed exchanges are something that did grab my interest. I continue to research what is about here in Oz.

Hi Ande,

Ive seen that vid before, good info... I'll have to check out the rest of their site.

One of the things I personally wanted to focus on short / medium term, was a self renewable medium combined with reusable mediums. As such, I was prepared for lower germination & higher 'hit-n-miss' rates. Another thought in the process was to keep inputs costs to the absolute minimum.

I have long come to realize, on any larger 'commercial' scale, the use of rock wool or any of the other successful 'commercial' mediums would be almost a necessity of the production process.

Perhaps, one day, on my tiny home scale, I might realize the exception to the rule.

Cheers
Toga

[ande]

Hi T
this is ornamentals but stil good
http://floriculture.tamu.edu/greenho...tals/prop.html

cheers