It is the special attraction of the hobby gardening to experience the plant growth from the earliest stage. The personal harvest of seeds and the cultivation by sowing are part of it. You can find out how to do this with lemon balm here.

Drought is the top priority when harvesting seeds

A lemon balm forms its seeds in 2 millimeter small cloaks. This is a decay fruit, as is typical for lamiaceae. The seeds inside are only ripe when the hermit turns brown. It should not have rained in the days before the seed harvest, because wet seeds mold faster. How to do it right:

  • pick off the brown seed pods
  • open with a knife or your fingers
  • remove the seeds and dry them on paper towels for a few days

The seeds are stored in a glass jar with a screw cap until they are sown. Add a piece of paper to absorb any remaining moisture. Stored dark and cool, the seeds can be kept for over 3 years. Don't forget the caption.

Professional preparation raises the mood for germination - this is how it works

The seeds of lemon balm are tricky in terms of their germination behavior. This shortcoming is more noticeable in the context of direct sowing than in the case of cultivation behind glass. Germination rates well below 50 percent are not uncommon, even in a perfectly prepared bed. With the following pre-treatment you noticeably improve the germination mood of seeds:

  • Soak seeds for 18-24 hours on moistened filter paper
  • alternatively, soak in a water bath, aerated by an aquarium pump
  • dust the sticky seeds with talcum powder from the drugstore

At this point you can finish the pre-treatment by drying the seeds with a hair dryer until they are lukewarm. If you want to be on the safe side, put the moist seed in a plastic bag. This goes in the vegetable compartment of the fridge for a week. Although the seeds of the lemon balm are not cold germs, this stratification nevertheless contributes to hardening.

tips and tricks

The imponderables of direct sowing in the bed are not only reduced in the context of perfect pre-treatment. Experienced hobby gardeners sow lemon balm in August or September. Although there is no harvest in the same year, first-class established young plants start the next season in April.

GTH

Category:

Vegetable garden