How to Germinate a Seed With a Paper Towel and Without Soil

Most habitual gardeners have at least a small collection of seeds left over from previous planting seasons, some or all of which may still be viable. There’s no point in wasting money to buy new seeds for the upcoming season if you don’t have to. There’s no point in wasting valuable time and effort planting seeds over a year old if they aren’t likely to grow, either. Sacrifice a few of those leftovers for the sake of probable viability with common household materials. You can germinate some test subjects easily using a paper towel without any soil.

Plastic food storage bag
Marker

Instructions

- 1
  Dampen a paper towel with water and squeeze out the excess water. Spread towel out flat and fold it in half.
- 2
  Put 10 seeds from a single packet on half of the folded towel. Space them out evenly.
- 3
  Fold the other half of the towel over to cover the seeds.
- 4
  Slide the paper towel into a plastic food storage bag and seal it closed.
- 5
  Write the date and the seed variety on the bag with a marker.
- 6
  Set the package in a warm spot out of direct sun. The top of your refrigerator or above a water heater are good choices.
- 7
  Check the seeds for germination in two or three days. Depending upon variety, seeds take anywhere from several days to two weeks to sprout.
- 8
  Monitor progress daily thereafter. Spritz the top layer of paper towel with water if it feels like it has begun to dry out.
- 9
  Count the sprouted seeds. Germination of all 10 seeds gives you a100 percent success rate, indicating that the rest of the seeds in the packet are viable. Ninety percent is an excellent germination rate, while 80 percent is still good. If only 60 to 70 percent of the seeds sprout, use the packet but sow the seeds more thickly than you would otherwise. Throw the packet away if only 50 percent of the seeds or fewer germinate.

How to Make Fertilizer Out of Paper

How to Kill Aphids on Plumeria

Plant Basics