How to Start Cucumber Seeds Indoors
You can start cucumber seeds indoors for planting outdoors once the threat of frost passes. Starting the seeds indoors ensures that you only plant seeds that have germinated and will result in plant. Cucumbers grow well in the warm season and they grow quickly without a lot of care and maintenance. Starting your own seeds will allow you to grow many plants without spending money on nursery-grown seedlings. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Paper towel
- Cucumber seeds
- Spray bottle
- Warm water
- Plastic sealed bag or plastic wrap
Instructions
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Fold the length of a paper towel in half. Fold the paper towel again in half width-wise to fold it into fourths.
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2
Open the last fold of the paper towel so that it looks like a book laying in front of you. Add cucumber seeds to the paper towel on the right-hand side. Place them so that they do not touch each other.
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Fill a spray bottle with warm water. Spray the paper towel to moisten it. Do not make the paper towel soggy.
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Fold the top of the paper towel over the seeds. Spray the top of the paper towel to moisten any dry areas.
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Place the moist paper towel and cucumber seeds in a plastic zipper-seal bag. You can also wrap the paper towel in plastic wrap.
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Place the paper towel in a warm location. Choose a location that will give the seeds a constant heat source, such as on top of a water heater or television. Cucumber seeds need a temperature of approximately 86 degrees F in order to germinate, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Materials Program.
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Inspect the cucumber seeds daily. Spray the paper towel as it becomes dry.
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Remove the seeds once a small white root emerges. Plant the seeds in the soil. Use caution so that you do not break the small roots that have developed.
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References
- Photo Credit cucumbers image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
