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Tiny Miracles Part I

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.” – Cynthia Occelli

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time with seeds and thinking: “What a marvelous miracle a seed is!” This tiny package has everything it needs to launch into life. The “seed coat” protects it during its dormant period; the “embryo,” held within, is ready to come to life when conditions are right; and the “endosperm” can provide enough energy to keep things going until a seedling starts to produce its own food through photosynthesis.

To come out of dormancy a seed needs: moisture to soften the seed coat and trigger the seed to wake up; oxygen for cellular activity; an appropriate soil temperature; and, in a few cases–such as lettuce—light, to germinate.

Parts of a Seed [Source: Clipground.com]
The length of time that a seed can remain dormant and then germinate varies by the type of seed and its storage conditions. This is called a seed’s “viability.” Some seeds, such as onions and parsnip, remain viable for only a year or two; others, like cabbage and cucumbers, can remain viable for 5 years or more. There are many viability charts online1 that can help us estimate whether or not some of our older seeds will still germinate. One of the best ways to test the viability of your seeds is to do a “germination test.” I remember my father testing the germination rate of various grain seeds he planned to grow on his farm. He’d count out 100 seeds and sow them into containers with soil, and set them on the window sills of our house. After a while, it looked like he was trying to grow a lawn indoors! For gardeners, it’s sufficient to test 10 seeds and calculate the percentage germination from the number that sprout. To perform a germination test:
    • Moisten a paper towel and put 10 seeds on it, roll it up loosely, place in a plastic bag and keep in a warm place.
    • Check for sprouting after 3 days, and daily for 10 days or so.2 Ensure that the paper towel is kept moist.
    • After this time, count how many seeds sprout: if 7 of 10 sprout, it’s a 70% germination rate.
Knowing the germination rate can be very helpful. If you know that you have a germination rate of 50%, and you want to grow 10 plants, you would sow 20 seeds to ensure that at least 10 will germinate. If very few or no seeds germinate, it’s time to obtain some new seeds. At this time of year, I’m looking for excuses to visit my local garden centre!


1 A viability chart can be found at: https://www.thespruce.com/how-long-do-vegetable-seeds-last-1403089

2 Some seeds can take longer to germinate. In this case, you would have to lengthen the period of the germination test.

Wendy MacLean

Wendy spent a good part of her adult life moving with her husband, never staying long enough to see an apple tree mature and bear fruit. When they retired, developing a food garden and planting hardy ornamentals became a passion. Weaving her previous studies in nutrition with her current interest in gardening has become a stimulating and life-giving activity.

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Sandra Stewart
1 year ago

Wow, Wendy, I love this article. It is a real “resurrection” story! The quote by Cynthia Occelli is amazing: like a seed, if I want to achieve the greatest expression of myself, I must come completely undone! A Good Friday reality wrapped in Easter blessing. And I love knowing how to test the viability of seeds; many thanks.

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