Pepper seed germination?

[wilderness1989]

My sweet peppers, Carmen Hybrid from Tomato Growers Supply, haven't germinated yet but all my other peppers have. Has anyone else had a similar situation?

[Tania]

I had some pepper seeds sprouting after 19-20 days, from a pkt purchased from a reputable seed vendor, when most of the peppers sprouted on 8-10 day.

Although I do find 20 days a bit too long for a pepper to sprout, and if nothing shows up after 12-15 days, I re-seed.

I do use some heating to keep the mix warm, so it is not the cool soil that causes long germination time. I guess some seeds might be a bit old

[feldon30]

Did you presoak in warm water with a few drops of seaweed or fish emulsion?

I know you shouldn't HAVE to, but just curious if you took any steps besides sowing in moist, but not sopping, seed starting mix?

[miniedmo]

Feldon,

How long should you soak the seeds? (Over night maybe)

Is this just pepper seeds or does this apply to any seeds?

[feldon30]

I do this with pepper and tomato seeds. At least 2 hours of soaking seems to be a good thing. For stubborn/old seeds, a presoak in some kind of "tea" can be helpful. Some recipes have been posted in the past here at TV.

Absolutely do not soak bean seeds as they will burst/split or rot. I dump some in my hand, spritz them with a spray bottle of water and then plant them.

[miniedmo]

Thank for the info. I did not soak my tomato seeds, so this might be why it took so long to germinate.

[wilderness1989]

To Feldon30:
No I did not pre-soak as I never have in the 30 years I have been growing peppers, I'll give it a try next time. I have them covered with a dome and the temp at 80 degrees.

[johno]

I'm trying the pre-soaking, too. I am hopeful that this will improve things.

[houseodessey]

Originally Posted by feldon30

I do this with pepper and tomato seeds. At least 2 hours of soaking seems to be a good thing. For stubborn/old seeds, a presoak in some kind of "tea" can be helpful. Some recipes have been posted in the past here at TV.

Absolutely do not soak bean seeds as they will burst/split or rot. I dump some in my hand, spritz them with a spray bottle of water and then plant them.

Has everyone had the same experience as Feldon with beans? I soaked my Limas and my Rattlesnakes overnight thinking that they would appreciate it like my peas seemed to. None of them split during their soak. They've only been in ground for 2 days so I guess I'll just wait and see.

I didn't soak toms or peppers and they all germinated quickly, but they were fresh seeds so maybe that's why. The peppers are kicking butt but the tomatoes are just doing okay. I don't think I'm much of a seed starter. I'll keep working on it, though.

[feldon30]

I would love to figure out how to get peppers to "kick butt". They always trail behind the tomatoes for me. Mine are setting some fruit already.

[houseodessey]

Ha! Perhaps I should have said "kicking butt compared to my pathetic tomatoes". They just seem like a more forgiving plant under my admittedly sub par care. Like I said, I am not good with seeds. Some kind people at another site suggested bottom heat which made my peppers germinate, otherwise, I'd probably have rotten pepper seeds in the starting flats and put out boring Home Depot varieties in the garden.

[feldon30]

Out of curiousity, what part of Texas are you located?

[houseodessey]

I'm in Fort Worth. Sadly, I don't think there are any tomatovillians here.

[feldon30]

Hmm. Suze just moved from Fort Worth to Austin. I think Calloway's in Dallas should have a large variety of tomato and pepper plants. Calloway's just bought Cornelius Nurseries in Houston and have started to mix the two brands. Last year, Cornelius grew some of their own varieties and got many others locally. This year, they got most of their varieties from Chef Jeff which I consider to be an excellent selection of tomato varieties. They have some good peppers too.

P.S. I do hope you'll join us at the S.E. Texas Tomato Fest.

[houseodessey]

I lived in Austin from 91-94... great place to live. I'd love to do the tomato fest but I can not drive or ride in Houston at all. I don't even do Dallas well. I bet I can find a backroads route, though.

Thanks for the tips. We have a Calloways here in Cowtown, too. I'll resort to purchased plants if I have to but I'd like to do it on my own, if possible. Otherwise, I'll use the rest of my seeds to practice seed starting techniques for the rest of the year.