The Science and Practice of Seed Starting: Secrets to success when growing from seed

Ready to improve your seed-starting savvy? Let’s start with a quick review of seed anatomy, physiology, and genetics, before examining how seeds’ physical and chemical characteristics control dormancy and germination. We'll then look at how environmental factors affect seed storage, seed saving, and germination and conclude with cost-effective systems that home gardeners can use for sowing seeds and growing seedlings.

Presenter: Dennis Brown has been a Master Gardener since 2010. He has degrees in Horticulture from Iowa State University (BS) and the University of Maryland (MS) and in Plant Biology from the University of California Santa Cruz (PhD). As a graduate student and postgraduate research associate, he studied seed germination in grain crops and taught laboratory classes in plant physiology and systematics. Dennis was an environmental permitting and compliance specialist for 25 years and also helped design, construct, and maintain phytoremediation systems. He regularly speaks to community groups about gardening and produces videos on timely gardening topics for the OSU Extension Master Gardeners.