Fast Germination time

[xellos99]

Not sure what is considered fast germination time for tomatoes but this is after approx. 72 hours in a heated machine : Red Alert variety.

[Labradors2]

Ok. We need to know MORE about this heated machine .

Linda

[xellos99]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

Ok. We need to know MORE about this heated machine .

Linda

It is nothing fancy, there is no temp control except vents you can open and close.
The temp stays at about 82.5 Fahrenheit with the vents closed so that is how I leave it.
I do open it once or twice a day and let the water from the lid drip into the centre of the pots and they are very moist / wet but not swimming in water either.

[oldman]

Mine average 4 days from planting on a heat mat. I don't use the dome because I use a spray bottle to keep things moist. I started a few flats to test potting mixes after reading about problems people were having this year.


I planted one with the cheapest mix available, one with the natural & organic starting mix and a third with the mix i use for peppers. The heat mat is 20X50 and keeps the soil temps between 75 and 85 depending on ambient temperature. If I put the domes on they can get over 100F which is the main reason I hand mist.


Everything had at least a few varieties up on the morning of the fourth day. The dollar store mix has about 80% germination today (day 5). It's doing best. The organic Jiffy mix doesn't do as well maintaining a uniform moisture. The flats get rotated to avoid one getting stuck in a hot spot, but the Jiffy tends to get soggy and sometimes individual cells dry out even though adjacent cells are wet.



Some of the seed was really old and might not germinate. All flats have the same varieties in the same position. So 72 varieties in three different soils. I don't expect any to have 100% germination of all types, but I do plan on having to give away some tomato plants this year. : )

[Koala Doug]

Nice pictures, xellos99!

[Nan_PA_6b]

Xellos99, did you pre-soak your seed?

[zipcode]

3 days is about right for good tomato seeds under good temperatures.

[xellos99]

Originally Posted by Nan_PA_6b

Xellos99, did you pre-soak your seed?

No but I got it up to temperature before I put them in.

[Labradors2]

That looks great, and is just what I need. Thanks for sharing .

Linda

[Tormato]

45% in 3 days, 45% in 4 days, an extreme few in 48 hours, an extreme few in 5 to 6 days, and about 10 percent anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks. I sow very shallow, my "heat mat" is the top of the fridge.

[oldman]

Those numbers are in line with my test flats.

All three have the same varieties up now. And the same ones not up.

What hasn't germinated yet are Lime Green Salad (old seed), Black Beauty, Spudakee, Magnum, Polish, Copper River, Rebel Yell, Tree Bottom Yellow, Yellow Ruffles, Pink Oxheart, and Caspian Pink. The other 61 varieties have all ben up for at least a day now.

[xellos99]

Originally Posted by oldman

Those numbers are in line with my test flats.

All three have the same varieties up now. And the same ones not up.

What hasn't germinated yet are Lime Green Salad (old seed), Black Beauty, Spudakee, Magnum, Polish, Copper River, Rebel Yell, Tree Bottom Yellow, Yellow Ruffles, Pink Oxheart, and Caspian Pink. The other 61 varieties have all ben up for at least a day now.

Are you guys using seedling compost from a shop or mixing a special mix or something ?

[oldman]

The 72 cel flats were test flats. One a bag of seed starting mix from Dollar General (very crap mix. Big lumps of clay, shredded tree bark, pebbles and even a piece of sheet metal, not recommended) , one an organic mix from Jiffy, and the last one is a custom blend. So far they all look good. Although the germination on the cheap mix was the fastest.

I did the test because people were talking about dieoff issues and I wanted to see if I could identify varieties or soils likely to have problems.

I think temperature and moisture are what you want to worry about most for germination. Other than that your choice of medium needs to consider how long they'll be in that soil. You don't want anything too rich, but time release fertilizer is okay if you add it to the mix. If it's already in the mix you don't know how much has already been released so that's probably not the best option.