Snow White germination

[ddrsheden]

I get my tomato seeds from Tomato Growers and this year I thought I would try this white cherry tomato. I have planted 18 seeds and have only 3 germinate. All the other varieties germinated well. Anyone else notice problems with this variety?

[velikipop]

I started two and both germinated and are doing very well.

Alex

[Barryblushes]

Did you presoak the seeds? This year Ive presoaked all my tomato seeds and got a much better germination rate.I dont waste seeds now,hoping for them to sprout.A few sprouted but didnt grow much afterward.Not every seed is gonna be good.I will presoak from now on tho.Well I presoaked 6 snowberry seeds that were commercial and three years old.I got 4 to sprout and are growing nice. Last year I tried the same seeds just planting and no presoak,I didnt get any to grow.

[ddrsheden]

I've never presoaked any seeds, I have never had a germination problem before. It seems to be this variety, or the batch of seeds.

[Barryblushes]

ohhhhhhhhhh ok.Well contact them and maybe get a refund or replacement possibly.Some companies guarentee their seeds.Worth a try at least.

[neoguy]

Barry, what is your presoak method? I've had some trouble with pepper seeds and was wondering if your method would work with them next year.

[Suze]

Originally Posted by ddrsheden

I get my tomato seeds from Tomato Growers and this year I thought I would try this white cherry tomato. I have planted 18 seeds and have only 3 germinate. All the other varieties germinated well. Anyone else notice problems with this variety?

I've been buying seeds for years from TGS, and have yet to have a germination problem of note with any of their seeds. But, personal experience (and seed lots) may vary. Maybe I have been lucky.

I almost surface sow most of my seeds, especially the smaller seeded types. Can't recall offhand if Snow White is, but many cherry types are.

How long has it been, and what are the temps like where you are trying to germinate things? I would give it at least 2 weeks to make a final conclusion on germination %, especially if you deeply sowed the seeds and/or temps are cool.

Frequently, a way to get your seeds to germinate is to sow some more. The first ones tend to come up a couple of days after you do that.

I don't normally pre-soak my seeds before sowing as I grow too many varieties to make that practical. But I do take the time to do a pre-soak for any resowings I feel I need to do. Overnight to 24 hours max, with just a pinch of fertilizer added.

[huntoften]

I got my super snow white from tomatofest. Same problems...all the seeds in the cells around them sprouted, but only one of the snows did. I'm leaving them in the incubator for two more days, then giving up.

EDIT!!! Ooops...I stand corrected. I looked at the labels incorrectly. My striped caverns are not germinating, the snow whites are up just fine.

[Barryblushes]

NEO I soak the seeds in baby food jars with maybe an inch of water for about 8 to 10 hours,tomatoes that is.Peppers only one hour.Then,place the seeds on a wet paper towel folded.I fold one corner up a bit, to easy access the seeds to see if they have sprouted.Then I place the towel on a plastic container marked what seeds they are.The containers are from Lean Cuisine dinners.Then I place the container inside a plastic bag,with one end open.You can even use bread bags.Some people just put the towels in sandwich baggies,and leave the bag open for ventilation.I like to use the containers,cause with a label maker,I can label them for future use,and I dont mix up the types.Then I make sure towel is kept moist but not soaked heavily.After a few days maybe up to a week seeds will spout.Then I use tweezers to pick up the seeds and plant them.I found that planting them after they start sprouting works better if the sprouts arent too long. The long sprouts tend to dig into the paper.You can also use washcloths too.

[ddrsheden]

How long has it been, and what are the temps like where you are trying to germinate things? I would give it at least 2 weeks to make a final conclusion on germination %, especially if you deeply sowed the seeds and/or temps are cool

The first batch was planted 4 weeks ago and got one of eight seeds to germinate. I started them in the jiffy pellets and in the same tray started several varieties and had good germination. The second batch was planted 2 weeks ago and got a couple more plants.

[neoguy]

Barry, thanks for the info.

[Barryblushes]

You're welcome NEO.I did that with my pepper seeds two kinds.Eight of one kind,six of another. All sprouted and are planted now.Just presoak pepper seeds for an hour tho.

[the999bbq]

I don't presoak my seeds, but I do give them a few extra drops of diluted tea before I cover them up (and 'firm down' the soil with some few drops more). This year I had about 120 3cm rolls, on average 4 seeds per roll, about 60 different varieties (so on average 2 rolls per variety), from my own seed and kind gifts or trades with the international tomatocommunity (thanks to tomatovillians and other forums). About a third was germinated with at least 2 seedlings within 3 days, half within 4 days and now two weeks later there are 8 rolls that didn't come through at all; 1 roll had some seeds that I knew in advance were not likely to give good results, another one had one seedling but that was decapitated (earl faux - of the three rolls of earl faux I had, only 1 on 4 seeds germinated). My own seed I saved last season performed best of all (fast and nice big seedlings too, bigger than the backup seeds of that same varieties) but on average all seeds did well. I must admit that I don't store my seeds with the care some other tomatolovers give (freezer,...) but with all the facts above it is fair to say that seeds like to grow into the plants they were designed to, with some TLC and good conditions (heated closed propagator in my case). Under these circumstances, whatever did not germinate in two weeks I consider lost (peppers are granted some extra time).

So don't panic, the don't need much ...

Peter