Germination to date

Firefyter-emt · March 25, 2012

Well, it's been 2 weeks that I started my seed's. They are in my fairly warm basement and sitting on a homemade rope light heat mat. My seed's are a nice mix of stuff I saved from last year, new store bought ones, and some that were received from Wintersown's free seed offer. I thought I would share my results... My planting from 2 weeks age was for 108 tomatoes, and 16 more were started tonight to "replant" the poor performers.

San Marzano = >1 out of 6 (Store bought, Tomato Growers)
Rio Fuego => 0 out of 6 (Wintersown)
Opalka => 3 out of 6 (Saved seed, my crop)
Rio Grande => 2 out of 6 (Wintersown)
Believe it or Not => 6 out of 6 (Wintersown)
Ashleigh => 1 out of 6 (Wintersown)
Black Russian => 5 out of 6 (Saved seed, shared tomato)
Green Zebra => 5 out of 6 (Saved seed, shared tomato)
Brandywine => 6 out of 6 (Saved seed, shared tomato)
Sweet Pea Currant => 5 out of 10 (Store Bought, Tomato Growers)
Costoluto Genovese => 4 out of 10 (Store Bought, Tomato Growers)
German Giant => 0 out of 10 (Store Bought, Tomato Growers)
Yellow Pear => 2 out of 4 (Store Bought, Tomato Growers)
Mortgage Lifter => 2 out of 4 (Wintersown)
Louisiana Pink => 4 out of 4 (Wintersown)
Costoluto Fiorentino => 0 out of 4 (Wintersown)
Thesalonki => 1 out of 4 (Wintersown)
Donskoi => 4 out of 4 (Wintersown

I replanted 16 (twin seeded) of the worst performers in hopes of getting them to sprout. I may still have some pop up that were planted prior, but as of week two, this is where I stand. It's a nice mix and not too happy with the germination of the store bought ones either! I am VERY happy to see how well my saved seeds were. The Opalka's were saved from the best tomato grown from Tomato Growers seeds last year, and the three listed as saved seed, shared tomato came to me in tomato form by way of an elderly Italian friend of mine that shared them from his garden last year. Those seeds were saved by me as well. I think I did it right, seeing has how it was the first time I had done it.

Oh, and I thought I would share a trick I am using to track these. I created a word document with three tables on it. These tables are set to have the same 12 x 6, 9 x 4, or 4 x 4 seed tray pattern. I printed off a few blank tables that can be used to check the boxes of the plants that sprouted. Then I typed in the tomato started in each square and printed that out. Both pages are slipped into a clear sheet protector. This way I can keep an eye on exactly what I have planted, and what has sprouted. I can also watch for any new ones that pop up late. Oh, and just to make sure, the seed trays are marked "front" too!

tam91 · March 25, 2012

I've had very poor germination from all varieties I purchased from Tomato Growers Supply last year also. Another member mentioned this to me as well. Saved seeds, trades, and seeds from other commercial sources such as Tania have germinated very well for me. We were guessing perhaps something is happening in the mail, as unlike the other vendors, TGS didn't use a padded envelope.
I didn't buy any from them this year, so wouldn't know what they're doing now.

Firefyter-emt · March 25, 2012

Just to be fair, I did have good germination from the Opalka and RomaIII I bought from them last year. I am also not trying to trash anyone, although the $20 seed order and such low performance compared to the other diverse supply's was not what I expected.

tam91 · March 25, 2012

I didn't think you were trashing anyone - just reporting what happened. As am I. I will say, I personally don't purchase from that vendor any more, due to bad germination from many varieties especially compared to other vendors.

Firefyter-emt · March 26, 2012

Well, there is some data to back you up then. :-) I will report back in a week or so and see if any of the new plantings or the ones that did not sprout, do come up... but I was not pleased.

The good thing is that I have way too many, and a huge overlapping selection to choose from. But I was really looking forward to that German Giant to be honest. But I do have the Believe it or not and a few Mortgage Lifters that will take it's place easy enough.

March 25, 2012	#1
Firefyter-emt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: NE connecticut Posts: 47	Germination to date Well, it's been 2 weeks that I started my seed's. They are in my fairly warm basement and sitting on a homemade rope light heat mat. My seed's are a nice mix of stuff I saved from last year, new store bought ones, and some that were received from Wintersown's free seed offer. I thought I would share my results... My planting from 2 weeks age was for 108 tomatoes, and 16 more were started tonight to "replant" the poor performers. San Marzano = >1 out of 6 (Store bought, Tomato Growers) Rio Fuego => 0 out of 6 (Wintersown) Opalka => 3 out of 6 (Saved seed, my crop) Rio Grande => 2 out of 6 (Wintersown) Believe it or Not => 6 out of 6 (Wintersown) Ashleigh => 1 out of 6 (Wintersown) Black Russian => 5 out of 6 (Saved seed, shared tomato) Green Zebra => 5 out of 6 (Saved seed, shared tomato) Brandywine => 6 out of 6 (Saved seed, shared tomato) Sweet Pea Currant => 5 out of 10 (Store Bought, Tomato Growers) Costoluto Genovese => 4 out of 10 (Store Bought, Tomato Growers) German Giant => 0 out of 10 (Store Bought, Tomato Growers) Yellow Pear => 2 out of 4 (Store Bought, Tomato Growers) Mortgage Lifter => 2 out of 4 (Wintersown) Louisiana Pink => 4 out of 4 (Wintersown) Costoluto Fiorentino => 0 out of 4 (Wintersown) Thesalonki => 1 out of 4 (Wintersown) Donskoi => 4 out of 4 (Wintersown I replanted 16 (twin seeded) of the worst performers in hopes of getting them to sprout. I may still have some pop up that were planted prior, but as of week two, this is where I stand. It's a nice mix and not too happy with the germination of the store bought ones either! I am VERY happy to see how well my saved seeds were. The Opalka's were saved from the best tomato grown from Tomato Growers seeds last year, and the three listed as saved seed, shared tomato came to me in tomato form by way of an elderly Italian friend of mine that shared them from his garden last year. Those seeds were saved by me as well. I think I did it right, seeing has how it was the first time I had done it. Oh, and I thought I would share a trick I am using to track these. I created a word document with three tables on it. These tables are set to have the same 12 x 6, 9 x 4, or 4 x 4 seed tray pattern. I printed off a few blank tables that can be used to check the boxes of the plants that sprouted. Then I typed in the tomato started in each square and printed that out. Both pages are slipped into a clear sheet protector. This way I can keep an eye on exactly what I have planted, and what has sprouted. I can also watch for any new ones that pop up late. Oh, and just to make sure, the seed trays are marked "front" too!

March 25, 2012	#2
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	I've had very poor germination from all varieties I purchased from Tomato Growers Supply last year also. Another member mentioned this to me as well. Saved seeds, trades, and seeds from other commercial sources such as Tania have germinated very well for me. We were guessing perhaps something is happening in the mail, as unlike the other vendors, TGS didn't use a padded envelope. I didn't buy any from them this year, so wouldn't know what they're doing now. __________________ Tracy

March 25, 2012	#4
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	I didn't think you were trashing anyone - just reporting what happened. As am I. I will say, I personally don't purchase from that vendor any more, due to bad germination from many varieties especially compared to other vendors. __________________ Tracy

March 26, 2012	#5
Firefyter-emt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: NE connecticut Posts: 47	Well, there is some data to back you up then. :-) I will report back in a week or so and see if any of the new plantings or the ones that did not sprout, do come up... but I was not pleased. The good thing is that I have way too many, and a huge overlapping selection to choose from. But I was really looking forward to that German Giant to be honest. But I do have the Believe it or not and a few Mortgage Lifters that will take it's place easy enough.