Accelerate germination with plastic-sealed bags, Wet the kitchen towel and spread it on the counter.
First, wet the paper towel with water, and then squeeze out the excess water. Lay the paper towel flat without any wrinkles. The paper towel should be able to be put into the sealed bag. If the paper towel is too big, fold it in half; if it is still large, it will be doubled again.
Choose 5 to 10 plump organic lemon seeds. The seed germination rate of common lemons is generally low. Select large and plump seeds. Some seeds look shriveled or white. The possibility of such seeds germinating is very low. Even if they sprout, they will only grow into diseased seedlings, so they cannot be selected.
Even if you only plan to cultivate a lemon tree, you’d better plant more seeds. Not all seeds can germinate, and not all seedlings can survive. Consider using Chinese lemon seeds. Because the tree shape of Chinese lemon is beautiful and decorative, and the fruit is small in shape and tastes good, this kind of lemon tree is suitable for indoor planting.
If the airtight bag is only as big as toast, choose 5 to 7 seeds. If there are too many seeds, there will not be enough space for them to grow. If you use a large, refrigerated belt, you can select up to 10 seeds. Consider soaking the seeds in a water cup overnight. This is done to prevent dehydration of the seeds. It is important to keep the environment moist. The dried seeds will not germinate.
Peel off the remaining white skin to reveal brown seeds. When peeling, start from the sharp end. You can use fingernails or an art knife to cut the skin at the tip, and then tear off the entire skin. Seeds with their skins removed germinate more easily. Remove the brown film. The seed surface is also covered with a thin brown film. Scrape the film off with your nails.
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Put the seeds on a damp paper towel. The distance between each seed should be the same as far as possible so that the roots grown after the seeds germinate will not be entangled. After removing the seed coat and film of all seeds, place the seeds one by one on the paper towel. Keep the seeds moist at all times. If you find the seeds dry, cover the original paper towel with a layer of wet paper towel. But don’t forget to take this tissue away before you go on to the next step.
Put the paper towel in a plastic sealed bag and seal it. Don’t use plastic bags from supermarkets. You need bags that can be sealed and reused; The sealed bag can maintain the temperature and humidity. Proper temperature and humidity are the keys to seed germination.
Place the seeds in seed trays beginning to germinate. Keep the temperature between 68 ℃ and 71 ℃. Usually, the seeds will germinate after one to two weeks, but there are also cases where the seeds germinate after more than three weeks.
When the root is about 3 inches long, the bud can be moved to the grow bag. If you don’t want to wait that long, make the root at least 0.4 inches long. Poke a shallow hole in the well-drained basin soil, and then put the germinated seed root down into the hole. Gently tap the soil around the bud to fill the hole. Place the flowerpot in a warm, sunny place. Water properly to keep the soil moist, too much water will lead to waterlogging and too little water will lead to drought, both of which must be avoided.
Water the seedlings 2-3 times a week. After the seedlings grow 4 leaves, wait until the topsoil is dry before watering. But do not let the soil dry thoroughly; When you put your finger into the soil, the soil should be wet.
Ensure adequate lighting. The lemon tree needs at least eight hours of light every day. The seedlings need 10 to 14 hours of light. If you can’t guarantee enough lighting time, you can also put a plant growth lamp beside the grow bag. This kind of lamp can be bought in garden supply stores or online.
Know when to change the seedlings. As the seedlings grow, the original grow bag is no longer suitable. One year after sprouting, you need to transplant the plant into a pot with a diameter of 6 inches.
Finally, you need to prepare 5 gallons to grow bags or 7-gallon grow bags whose diameters are between 12 to 14 inches and heights 10-12 inches. One of the best ways to determine whether a pot needs to be changed is to check the bottom of the pot. If the root has come out of the drain hole, it is time to change to a newer and larger grow bag.
Maintain the PH value of the soil. Lemons like to grow in slightly acidic soil. Therefore, you’d better keep the pH of the soil between 5.7 and 6.5. PH value testing tools can be used to measure the pH value of soil, which can be bought in gardening stores and online. A good way to reduce the acidity of the soil is to pour some cool black coffee or tea into the soil every month and remember not to mix milk and sugar. In order to make the soil reach the ideal pH, you need to monitor the change in pH value at any time during the adjustment process.
Remember to add proper nutrition to the tree to make it grow stronger and healthier. You can dig a ditch around the tree and fill the ditch with dry fertilizer, or you can add water-soluble fertilizer to the tree. The following methods will teach you how to add proper fertilizer to the tree:
Apply organic fertilizer to the trees once a year, including earthworm dung, organic soil, or humus. Apply water-soluble fertilizer to plants every 2 to 4 weeks. Fertilizers should be rich in magnesium and potassium. If you plan to plant lemons indoors, buy a fertilizer that is suitable for all indoor plants.
Fertilizers should contain micronutrients. Mix 14 ml of magnesium sulfate and 2 liters of water to make a solution, and water the lemon tree with this solution once a month. If your tree is still small, don’t water it so much. If the tree is big, water it more. Keep the rest of the solution until next month.
