One of the most crucial times in a young plant’s life is during the germination process. If you’re trying to grow a garden and you’re starting out with a nursery pot, then you will need to create a favorable environment for them to sprout. This means enough heat and adequate moisture. Water is life and every living thing needs water to survive, including plant seeds. One of the first things you need to do is soak them up and place them in a sunny place if they are the heat-loving type. Sometimes, however, your plants need a little boost, especially if you live in a colder region that experiences low humidity. It’s for this reason that we have greenhouses that can conserve that vital heat and moisture. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to build a greenhouse in their backyard, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on its effects.
With just a shower cap, you can recreate the impact of a greenhouse for your potted babies. Sometimes, the weather can have other plans for aspiring plant parents. It’s easy for moisture to escape the plant pot if the air is dry and the temperature is typically cool. This spells doom for your seedling because water quickens the enzymes that are responsible for germination. Too little hydration and those seeds won’t stand a chance in the real world. Kickstart the germination process by snatching that shower cap off your head and using it as a seedling pot cover instead.
The shower cap will enhance germination
When you think “gardening,” you probably envision just plopping seeds into a pot, but a lot goes on down there that we don’t see. You can ensure your seeds make it to the sprouting stage and even fast-track it by creating a DIY greenhouse using a regular old shower cap.
Wrap the shower cap over your seedling pot, especially during hot days when water is most likely to escape from the soil through evaporation. By encasing the pot, the shower cap will trap the heat and retain moisture, enabling the seed to undergo the necessary chemical changes to sprout. The benefits of covering your seedlings are numerous, and it’s a simple process that can change your germination game. Keep the seedling pot covered in the shower cap for the number of days it would take your plant species to sprout from the soil before removing it.
The trick to this method is knowing when your seedling has enough moisture and when it needs its DIY greenhouse. The last thing you want is to over-saturate your budding seed to the point where it experiences seed rot. The scales can easily tip over to the dark side so keep a sharp eye out. The same thing goes for heat: Too much heat can cause the seed to dry out beyond possible growth. It can also deprive the growing seedling of the oxygen it needs to survive. The key is finding balance for your plant to bloom.
