Effective germination of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant - critical parameters

**nctomatoman** · March 21, 2008

I may have posted something like this in the past, but I hope people find it helpful. Everyone does this slightly or drastically differently, but my method seems to work reproducibly well for me each year, and it is just something I wanted to share so people can compare against it. If you find it helpful, great.

Once again this year I am getting great germination, healthy seedlings and no damping off at all - and probably have 6000 or so babies growing. I am going to try to point out what I think are the specific success factors.

1. The germination mix - I use fresh soilless mix - my brand of choice is Sungrow's MetroMix 360.

2. Fill the pots with dry mix (must have holes in the bottom!), then water with warm water until water starts coming through the bottom holes just a bit.

3. Sprinkle on the seeds - I plant densely, but you can read about that in the dense planting thread.

4. Sprinkle dry soilless mix over the seeds only until the seeds are no longer visible - very, very thin covering!

5. Mist lightly with a spray bottle to moisten the surface - if a few seeds show, add another pinch of mix.

6. Cover the flat with Saran wrap - doesn't have to be tightly sealed all around.

7. Place in front of a south facing window on a heat mat.

After 3-4 days, the seeds should be popping up. I don't remove the saran wrap until most of the seeds are up - just drape it loosely over the tray, the seedlings easily push it up.

As the seeds germinate, I spray with water to push off the clinging mix - this also moistens any stuck seed coats.

Once most of the seedlings are up, the flats go into my cool garage under fluorescent lights - the top of the seedlings about 1-2 inches from the bulbs.

At this point, I water from the top to ensure that the fluffy mix does not dry out.

Once we get a few mild sunny days, I ease the flats into the sun - 1 hour the first day, 2 the second - within a week they spend as much time as possible outside.

Doing this, I get great germination and no loss to damping off at all.

To me the most critical factors are the medium (light, fluffy), the very shallow planting, the south exposure and bottom heat, and the loose covering to keep the seeds and seedlings hydrated.

Use this in good seedling health and success!!!

robin303 · March 21, 2008

Thanks Craig, Very nice tutorial indeed. 6000 plants. That would take a few minutes per day.

Moonglow · November 23, 2008

Thanks, Craig! I cannot wait to start my seeds. I think mine will be under 100 though

.

tomtomato · January 22, 2016

Craig I noticed you wrote you put your plants in your cool garage once they are up....the cold weather doesnt hurt them? Ive always kept mine in the spare bedroom about 70 degrees most days.....but I sure would like to move them to the garage....(and my wifey as well)...
thanks
chuck

Worth1 · January 22, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomtomato

Craig I noticed you wrote you put your plants in your cool garage once they are up....the cold weather doesnt hurt them? Ive always kept mine in the spare bedroom about 70 degrees most days.....but I sure would like to move them to the garage....(and my wifey as well)...
thanks
chuck

Im glad I read this it will make them stronger as long as it doesn't get too cold.

Worth

UFXEFU · January 22, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomtomato

Craig I noticed you wrote you put your plants in your cool garage once they are up....the cold weather doesnt hurt them? Ive always kept mine in the spare bedroom about 70 degrees most days.....but I sure would like to move them to the garage....(and my wifey as well)...
thanks
chuck

Chuck, keep is posted on how your plants and wife adapt to the garage.

Okami0731 · July 1, 2016

This is going the be my first experience, being that it's July in Florida cold is not going to be an issue, but what about the heat? I don't plan to start until about mid August or Sept 1, but what should my biggest concerns be?

burk4 · December 2, 2008

Thanks for your starting instructions - always like to hear different methods and compare.

karpes · December 16, 2008

Craig How thick is the layer of germination mix or is that not a factor? karpes

Gerald51 · January 13, 2009

How cool is your garage? Does the cool temperature help keep the seedlings from becoming leggy?

Gerald

JohnMich · January 18, 2009

Very useful post but for the benefit of us who can't buy US products could you give us some idea of the composition of MetroMix360, please

dice · January 21, 2009

[MetroMix 360]

I might be able to answer that. I have a bag of
Sun Gro LG-3 here, and on the back it lists the
composition of a bunch of their seed-starting
and container mixes. It does not mention "MetroMix",
but there is a "360":

35-45% composted pine bark, composted peanut hulls,
Canadian sphagnum peat moss, perlite, vermiculite,
dolomite lime (for pH adjustment), gypsum, wetting agent.

If the mix is labelled "Organic", the wetting agent would be
yucca extract.

(For reference, the LG-3 is: 70-80% Canadian sphagnum
peat moss, vermiculite, dolomite lime, gypsum, wetting
agent. I did not actually select it from among the several
Sun Gro mix formulations, I traded a landscaper/nurseryman
something for it, and that is what he had on hand for seed
starting.)

Polar_Lace · March 7, 2009

Metro-Mix 360

~* Robin

stormymater · March 14, 2009

Kay - had to share before going off to snooze - I planted according to aforementioned directions using Metromix 300 - maters & peppers on 3/10. Am using an electric blanket on GFI outlet & have 3 trays in 1 gi-normous very thin plastic bag & a fourth covered by a thin plastic vegie bag the same thickness as the biggie but it is only across the top of that tray.
On 3/12 I had 1 Beefsteak seedling (!) & some fuzz looking stuff in the fish pepper section. Today 2/3 of the tomato cells have seedlings! And the Fish peppers have sprouted! That's just barely 72 hrs!
Woo Wooo! Am gonna setup lights in some primitive fashion tomorrow (probably using bricks I have a small pile of outside) & arrange my bales of straw to support my freecycled piece of old storm door glass (my primitive cold frame)! Thank you all for your wonderful advice! I so appreciate getting good advice & following it rather than having to learn everything through the school of hard knocks!

huntsman · August 7, 2009

Thanks, nctomatoman -

I followed your post to the letter and in 3 - 4 days had my sprouts as you said I would!

Cheers!

March 21, 2008	#1
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Effective germination of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant - critical parameters I may have posted something like this in the past, but I hope people find it helpful. Everyone does this slightly or drastically differently, but my method seems to work reproducibly well for me each year, and it is just something I wanted to share so people can compare against it. If you find it helpful, great. Once again this year I am getting great germination, healthy seedlings and no damping off at all - and probably have 6000 or so babies growing. I am going to try to point out what I think are the specific success factors. 1. The germination mix - I use fresh soilless mix - my brand of choice is Sungrow's MetroMix 360. 2. Fill the pots with dry mix (must have holes in the bottom!), then water with warm water until water starts coming through the bottom holes just a bit. 3. Sprinkle on the seeds - I plant densely, but you can read about that in the dense planting thread. 4. Sprinkle dry soilless mix over the seeds only until the seeds are no longer visible - very, very thin covering! 5. Mist lightly with a spray bottle to moisten the surface - if a few seeds show, add another pinch of mix. 6. Cover the flat with Saran wrap - doesn't have to be tightly sealed all around. 7. Place in front of a south facing window on a heat mat. After 3-4 days, the seeds should be popping up. I don't remove the saran wrap until most of the seeds are up - just drape it loosely over the tray, the seedlings easily push it up. As the seeds germinate, I spray with water to push off the clinging mix - this also moistens any stuck seed coats. Once most of the seedlings are up, the flats go into my cool garage under fluorescent lights - the top of the seedlings about 1-2 inches from the bulbs. At this point, I water from the top to ensure that the fluffy mix does not dry out. Once we get a few mild sunny days, I ease the flats into the sun - 1 hour the first day, 2 the second - within a week they spend as much time as possible outside. Doing this, I get great germination and no loss to damping off at all. To me the most critical factors are the medium (light, fluffy), the very shallow planting, the south exposure and bottom heat, and the loose covering to keep the seeds and seedlings hydrated. Use this in good seedling health and success!!! __________________ Craig

November 23, 2008	#3
Moonglow Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Corte Madera, CA - Sunset Zone 16 Posts: 356	Thanks, Craig! I cannot wait to start my seeds. I think mine will be under 100 though . __________________ Moonglow Gardens Sustainable Gardening One Planter at a Time Sunset Zone 17 Apparently - - - Without the fog!

July 1, 2016	#7
Okami0731 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Parrish, FL Zone 9a Posts: 16	First time from seed This is going the be my first experience, being that it's July in Florida cold is not going to be an issue, but what about the heat? I don't plan to start until about mid August or Sept 1, but what should my biggest concerns be?

January 21, 2009	#12
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	[MetroMix 360] I might be able to answer that. I have a bag of Sun Gro LG-3 here, and on the back it lists the composition of a bunch of their seed-starting and container mixes. It does not mention "MetroMix", but there is a "360": 35-45% composted pine bark, composted peanut hulls, Canadian sphagnum peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, dolomite lime (for pH adjustment), gypsum, wetting agent. If the mix is labelled "Organic", the wetting agent would be yucca extract. (For reference, the LG-3 is: 70-80% Canadian sphagnum peat moss, vermiculite, dolomite lime, gypsum, wetting agent. I did not actually select it from among the several Sun Gro mix formulations, I traded a landscaper/nurseryman something for it, and that is what he had on hand for seed starting.) __________________ -- alias

March 7, 2009	#13
Polar_Lace Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Z8b, Texas Posts: 657	Metro-Mix 360 ~* Robin __________________ It's not how many seeds you sow. Nor how many plants you transplant. It's about how many of them can survive your treatment of them.

March 21, 2008	#2
robin303 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Austin, TX Zone 8b Posts: 531	Thanks Craig, Very nice tutorial indeed. 6000 plants. That would take a few minutes per day.

January 22, 2016	#4
tomtomato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Plantersville, Texas Zone 8 Posts: 2	Craig I noticed you wrote you put your plants in your cool garage once they are up....the cold weather doesnt hurt them? Ive always kept mine in the spare bedroom about 70 degrees most days.....but I sure would like to move them to the garage....(and my wifey as well)... thanks chuck

December 2, 2008	#8
burk4 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Santa Ana, Calif. Posts: 13	Thanks for your starting instructions - always like to hear different methods and compare.

December 16, 2008	#9
karpes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: Louisiana Posts: 73	Craig How thick is the layer of germination mix or is that not a factor? karpes

January 13, 2009	#10
Gerald51 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Germantown, TN Posts: 104	How cool is your garage? Does the cool temperature help keep the seedlings from becoming leggy? Gerald

January 18, 2009	#11
JohnMich Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Queensland Australia Posts: 29	Very useful post but for the benefit of us who can't buy US products could you give us some idea of the composition of MetroMix360, please

March 14, 2009	#14
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	Kay - had to share before going off to snooze - I planted according to aforementioned directions using Metromix 300 - maters & peppers on 3/10. Am using an electric blanket on GFI outlet & have 3 trays in 1 gi-normous very thin plastic bag & a fourth covered by a thin plastic vegie bag the same thickness as the biggie but it is only across the top of that tray. On 3/12 I had 1 Beefsteak seedling (!) & some fuzz looking stuff in the fish pepper section. Today 2/3 of the tomato cells have seedlings! And the Fish peppers have sprouted! That's just barely 72 hrs! Woo Wooo! Am gonna setup lights in some primitive fashion tomorrow (probably using bricks I have a small pile of outside) & arrange my bales of straw to support my freecycled piece of old storm door glass (my primitive cold frame)! Thank you all for your wonderful advice! I so appreciate getting good advice & following it rather than having to learn everything through the school of hard knocks!

August 7, 2009	#15
huntsman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa - GrowZone 9 Posts: 595	Thanks, nctomatoman - I followed your post to the letter and in 3 - 4 days had my sprouts as you said I would! Cheers!