varied germination times within varieties

May 5, 2017

I sowed four seeds each of 100 varieties this year - all earlies.

Most varieties germinated all four seeds within a week or so of each other.

Some varieties, though, germinated at widely different times. For instance, Polish Dwarf, which I bought in 2010 from Victory Seeds, has one plant with five sets of leaves, one with its first leaf emerging, one with cotyledons, and the fourth has just poked above ground.

I've been eliminating the late germinators because I assume they will continue to grow slowly, and I want early tomatoes.

Has anyone experimented with this? Do late germinators catch up? Do they pass their late germination on when their seeds are saved?

May 5, 2017	#1
LDiane Guest Posts: n/a	varied germination times within varieties I sowed four seeds each of 100 varieties this year - all earlies. Most varieties germinated all four seeds within a week or so of each other. Some varieties, though, germinated at widely different times. For instance, Polish Dwarf, which I bought in 2010 from Victory Seeds, has one plant with five sets of leaves, one with its first leaf emerging, one with cotyledons, and the fourth has just poked above ground. I've been eliminating the late germinators because I assume they will continue to grow slowly, and I want early tomatoes. Has anyone experimented with this? Do late germinators catch up? Do they pass their late germination on when their seeds are saved?