Question: Seed Soaking - Bleach vs Hydrogen Peroxide

General Discussions
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1

Gearing up to put some True Garlic Seeds in soil and wanted to hear from others who have grown it successfully. The guide on Garlicana’s website and/or the article written by Ted Meredith indicates that I should soak the garlic in a 1% bleach solution before cold stratification.

  • In lieu of bleach (since we don’t have it on hand), would a hydrogen peroxide solution work?
  • If so, still 1% solution or…?

I haven’t been able to find any other recommendations/trials elsewhere that have given different/any growing instructions.

Thanks!

2

I believe that the “winter sowing” method, without sterilizing seed, provides the best garlic seed germination strategy.

Please view the course “How Microbes Help Local Adaptation”.

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3

By “winter sowing” do you mean the milk carton method?

I’ve been working on finding wild alliums around these parts to use their soil with my garlic seed. I’m a huge fan of Dr. White’s work with endophytes. :slight_smile:

4

Any sort of cloche or cold-frame over fall planted seeds works great.

I prefer to plant them into weed-free soil that’s laying directly on the ground, then covered with some type of transparent covering like a milk-jug with the bottom cut off.

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5

Gotcha! I’ll try that out this fall and see how it goes next spring.

It seems like winter isn’t done with us yet where we are, so I might try planting them out like that now as well to see if anyone will sprout.

Thank you!

6

Garlic seeds lose viability quickly. I’d rather plant them now, and try for some germination with sub-optimal conditions, than try for perfect conditions with less viable seed.