fastest germination ever!

tjg911 · April 13, 2012

about 6 pm on saturday 4/7 i seeded tomatoes, several seeds of each in a cell of a 6 pack plus 2 more cells. as usual i watered them, covered with plastic wrap and took them upstairs where it is warmer but no heat just put them on the kitchen table.

apparently sometime late on tuesday 4/10 germination occurred in a big way! i did not see anything in the morning on 4/10 but on wednesday 4/11 wow. sun gold 5, brandywine 4, earl of edgcombe 6, aunt ginny's purple 6.

the next day 4/12 sun gold 2 more, brandywine 1 more, earl of edgecombe 4 more, aunt ginny's purple 3 more.

on 4/13 black krim 4, prue 5 and fish lake oxheart 2.

the only seeds that have not germinated, and i expected this, is aunt gertie's gold. carolyn sent me the seeds in 2005, the seeds are from 2003 so it may take a while for them to come up. i grew them the year of the great blight (2009 ?) and germination was good.

i'm hoping more fish lake oxheart appear, i wanted to give away some so 2 isn't enough.

most of the aunt ginny's purple have the seed capsule stuck on the stem, maybe that variety is prone to having a hard time shedding the capsule?

tom

Tormato · April 14, 2012

Tom,

I sow seeds very shallow. My averages are about 45% of seeds germinating in three days, 45% in four days, about 10% five or more days, and very, very rarely in two days. Stuck seed coats are expected with shallow sowing. After much practice, I can now easily remove stuck seed coats with about a 1% failure rate (not counting the headless seedlings).

Gary

kath · April 14, 2012

Tom, I planted Fish Lake Oxheart (my saved seed from last year) and the first time got 3 out of 4 sprouting and the second sowing only 2 out of 4. Both times the seeds were a little slower to sprout than the others. kath

tjg911 · April 14, 2012

fish lake oxheart surprised me today - 5 popped up!

aunt gertie's gold has 1 up today so there is hope for more, seed capsule stuck right now.

most all the seedlings with stuck seed coats have shed it and have leaves now.

so far except agg my germination must be close to 95% or higher. i seeded probably 3x the number of plants i need but i can give them away.

tom

barkeater · April 15, 2012

tom,

Nothing like sowing right before the full moon to quicken germination!

tjg911 · April 15, 2012

2 more agg today. in a few days it'll be time to start transplanting.

tom

April 13, 2012	#1
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	fastest germination ever! about 6 pm on saturday 4/7 i seeded tomatoes, several seeds of each in a cell of a 6 pack plus 2 more cells. as usual i watered them, covered with plastic wrap and took them upstairs where it is warmer but no heat just put them on the kitchen table. apparently sometime late on tuesday 4/10 germination occurred in a big way! i did not see anything in the morning on 4/10 but on wednesday 4/11 wow. sun gold 5, brandywine 4, earl of edgcombe 6, aunt ginny's purple 6. the next day 4/12 sun gold 2 more, brandywine 1 more, earl of edgecombe 4 more, aunt ginny's purple 3 more. on 4/13 black krim 4, prue 5 and fish lake oxheart 2. the only seeds that have not germinated, and i expected this, is aunt gertie's gold. carolyn sent me the seeds in 2005, the seeds are from 2003 so it may take a while for them to come up. i grew them the year of the great blight (2009 ?) and germination was good. i'm hoping more fish lake oxheart appear, i wanted to give away some so 2 isn't enough. most of the aunt ginny's purple have the seed capsule stuck on the stem, maybe that variety is prone to having a hard time shedding the capsule? tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

April 14, 2012	#4
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	fish lake oxheart surprised me today - 5 popped up! aunt gertie's gold has 1 up today so there is hope for more, seed capsule stuck right now. most all the seedlings with stuck seed coats have shed it and have leaves now. so far except agg my germination must be close to 95% or higher. i seeded probably 3x the number of plants i need but i can give them away. tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

April 15, 2012	#5
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	tom, Nothing like sowing right before the full moon to quicken germination! __________________ barkeater

April 15, 2012	#6
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	2 more agg today. in a few days it'll be time to start transplanting. tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

April 14, 2012	#2
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,971	Tom, I sow seeds very shallow. My averages are about 45% of seeds germinating in three days, 45% in four days, about 10% five or more days, and very, very rarely in two days. Stuck seed coats are expected with shallow sowing. After much practice, I can now easily remove stuck seed coats with about a 1% failure rate (not counting the headless seedlings). Gary

April 14, 2012	#3
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Tom, I planted Fish Lake Oxheart (my saved seed from last year) and the first time got 3 out of 4 sprouting and the second sowing only 2 out of 4. Both times the seeds were a little slower to sprout than the others. kath