Basically it consists of using a ziplock bag with paper towels and then hang the bag to let gravity pull the roots down, the little tail that first comes out of the seed.
Let me look for the thread. It was @Uncle_Al and someone else that do it. Hang on.
Gravity is not the factor here, light is. Root tips avoid light. More specifically, they produce auxins that trigger light avoidance/growth inhibition reactions. Thatās why you have curly tips with the PTM. One of several reasons why I havenāt used PTM in 20 years.
Put them in some soil. Plant point up, and the root tip will break out, grow up, U-turn and head down, lifting the seedhead up through the soil point up.
Plant point down, and root tip will break out, make small up and U-turn down, creating the elbow that will grow up through the soil, lifting the seedhead up through, point up again.
Plant tip sideways, root tip breaks, makes horizontal then bends down, creating elbow to lift the seedhead up through the soil, point up once again.
See the pattern? Seeds donāt grow straight root tips no matter how they are planted - but letting them sit around in paper towels when they are in their crucial seed-break orientation stage does waste vital energy and induce unnecessary stress.
The seed knows how to grow. Give it what it needs and let it. -b420
I just had today a seed sprout, Dutch Passion Think Different Auto, and it had a straight pointy tip, kinda like a zig zag blade but it was pointing down all the way.
I canāt wait to try this! I hate when you donāt check the bag fast enough and the white tip is curled around the seed. It makes sense, itās trying to go straight down and it canāt. A couple times Iāve planted them and had the root grow up out of the soil as a result, thatās why I direct-seed into soil, but with seeds that donāt germinate well direct-seeding wastes time & space.
Ok so the dutch passion didnāt make it and i had to cull it. Now, i got a bluetooth auto replacing it, and in honor of you @lotus710 i planted it directly to the soil, without soaking or nothingā¦