no more sowing seeds only for what to happen? buggar all thats what! never mind forgetting where you put them or even what they are but they don't grow anyway.

these seeds grow in the packet on the window ledge where you usually put (and forget) your expensive flower seeds every damn year. as the first layer of the packet biodegrades (probably some tissue or other)
{ *DC this takes a few weeks btw* } you are left with a see-thru packet, in order for the seeds to get a feel for the sun and the light and little perforations for a quick intake of oxygen and carbon dioxide for the seeds growth.

as the year marches on and the wee plants get bigger, they burst out of the top of the packet in all their glory.

NOW! you know what they are and where they are and you can pot them on wherever in your summer retreat that you fancy.
-- po, May 06 2004

Seed starting packs http://www.burpee.c...D=810&iSubSubCat=11
Something like this, except labeled and with seeds included? [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Flower Roll http://www.yankeeha...Category_Code=YGIFG
Referred to by [FF] [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Seed Starting Greenhouse http://www.parkseed...working&ItemId=6529
Similar to my first link, but more descriptive. [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Don't they do these already? I'll take a look in a minute.

(Btw, seeds don't need light to start germinate - or you wouldn't plant them - they need moisture and the right temperature. And that sixth sense is gravity.)
-- DrCurry, May 06 2004


If it works and isn't baked you get my vote.
Croissant pending...
-- MikeOliver, May 06 2004


DC, I think you are right about the light - they have a 6th sense as to which way is up. hence the packet is dark at first which they quite like (like babes in the womb)
-- po, May 06 2004


something like that, world but for seeds not ready grown seedlings. smaller and cheaper too.
-- po, May 06 2004


Those packs _are_ for seeds. You plant your seeds in them, water them a bit, and you end up with plantable seedlings. I tried such a system a few years ago (and I do agree they are way overpriced for a couple of pieces of plastic). Many of my seedlings dried up, but most made it to a plantable stage.
-- Worldgineer, May 06 2004


I don't know how baked this is now, but I used to be able to get packets like this. You'd open the packet, soak it in water overnight, then lay it on the soil. Within a few days, the seeds would germinate and you'd have flowers growing out of the packet. It was also available in foot-wide rolled-up mats that you'd lay down in your flowerbeds.
-- Freefall, May 06 2004


[world] are you sure? they look quite big plants in the drawing!

you can buy little seedlings here too in their own little plastic pots but its not quite what I envisaged on my kitchen window ledge.

my idea such as it is, is for a typical packet of seeds with a few extras.

awfuk kind of you to go to so much trouble for me though :)
-- po, May 06 2004


I enjoy it, [po].

The big plants in the picture are an "after" view. The "before" picture would look quite boring, consisting of only seeds and dirt.

I'm getting a more clear idea of what you mean now. I like that you end up without plastic waste.
-- Worldgineer, May 06 2004


it?
-- po, May 06 2004


it = searching the internet to help reduce your gardening frustrations.
-- Worldgineer, May 06 2004


gardening is the least of my frustrations :)
-- po, May 06 2004


I'll buy a packet as soon as I raise some seed money.
-- FarmerJohn, May 06 2004


Stick to Mustard and Cress, po. It's the only way, trust me.
-- DrBob, May 07 2004


How about packets that explode after sitting still for several weeks, thus dispersing them into the environment and giving them a chance to grow in the sofa or whatever?
-- k_sra, May 07 2004


I'd engineer an Oak tree by dropping a single acorn into a fertilizer bag,then wait a couple hundred years.
-- skinflaps, May 07 2004


When I was very young (so young I can't even remember what age I was - maybe 5 or so) I had the neatest science kit. The kit consisted of a clear plastic container (like a cubic fish bowl), a seed or seeds and a clear syrup or gel. My best recollection is that the seed looked like a lima bean.

One would pour the syrup in the bowl and put a seed in the center and...wait. In time the seed would begin to root and sprout and the cool part was you could see every part of it. Very cool to my young mind which is probably why I remember it after all these years.

Anyway, I remember getting the plant started, but at some point it must have died or I (or my mom) stopped taking care of it and it went away. When I first recollected it, I tried to find something similar but haven't been able to. My guess is that the syrup was toxic and the manufacturer simply stopped making the kit.

Anyway, this idea reminded me of that kit. I suppose it's doable now, if it was doable then.
-- phoenix, May 07 2004


sounds cool to me even now, phoe. when I was at school (I did go, honestly) we all had to grow, I think it was castor oil seeds. you line a jamjar with blotting paper and set the seed half way down between paper and glass. keep the blotting paper moist and the same thing happens, the plant grows perfectly visible from root to tip. my friend Lil's, I remember, went a little wild and grew to about 6 feet. ok I might exaggerate a little.
-- po, May 07 2004



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