[JohnandMichael]

We want to trial pre germination & fluid sowing, as there appears to be several advantages in speed, germination rates & seed spacing. However we're having trouble finding a suitable gel medium as modern wallpaper pastes contain a fungicide, any advice for alternatves would be welcome!
If anyone has  tried this method how did it go? 

[mumofstig]

This was discussed a little while ago....here is the link to the previous posts 

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=70333.msg803192#msg803192

[JohnandMichael]

Many thanks for the link. None of the respondants stated whether they had pre geminated the seeds before adding to the gel, which is the basic requirement for sucess (lettuce should germinate in 12 hours @ 70F with a rate of 80% and sown when 2mm long).Guess we'll have to search online for a suitable gel medium! 

[Aunt Sally]

The seeds do need to be pregerminated and you gently wash them into the gel.  The best thing for this is a wall paper paste without fungicide.  If you can't find this you can make your own.

http://familycrafts.about.com/od/papermache/a/cookpmpaste.htm

[fredhogg]

i have been making seed tapes for carrot sowing with a gel made from pur'eed cooked rice.Japanese kids use this as a paper glue.

[NaomiNome]

Try art and craft stores - I used to do a lot of papier mache and I used a brand of paste from our local art shop (gone now) which was fungicide-free specifically for the purpose.

[PETERM12]

I have been using Agar Agar jelly for fluid sowing and have found it to be fantastic. Use it in a much more diluted condition than that stated on the packet so the seeds are only just suspended. You can reboil and add more water as you go when getting this viscosity correct. The result is a glass clear gel in which the seeds are highly visible. Agar gel is derived from seaweed and so is free of addetives and also has a small fertiliser effect. I use about three times as much water as it states on the packet. This product is not cheap but it works very well and lasts a long time. Add some radish seed to the mix to show the row up much quicker when sowing parsnips etc.  Good luck.javascript:replaceText(' ', document.forms.postmodify.message);

[arugula]

Thanks for the useful information, but you've posted on a very old thread. Would you like to tell us more about yourself?