seeds Germinating Superhots

Hiya
 
I seem to have an inordinate amount of bad luck with this branch of the tree...

Either I'm planting seeds which are not viable, or I'm doing it wrong, so let me ask:
 
How long do you leave seeds in germination trays before dumping them as unviable? (Obviously this is after the germination conditions are reached)
 
Also, what temps do you find these seeds germinating at? I've tried heat mats, the Sun and prayer, and prayer came closest but I haven't had a result since my first clumsy attempts five or so years ago! :-)
 
Hope you can help, folk...

Try presoaking the seeds in warm water and a touch of hydrogen peroxide for about 12 hrs. Ive found that presoaking rapidly speeds up the germ times. I also recommend keeping the germ temp at 80-85.Ive had seeds take up to a month+ without presoak. The hydrogen peroxide will help aid against impurities or diseases I believe.

What Megahot said. Some seeds can be stubborn and take forever. Wilds are the worst
 
I soak mine in 1/2 strength chamomile tea overnight. Same principle as hydrogen peroxide. Softens the casing as well as kills any bacteria that might be on the outside. I use the 72 cell starter trays with lid/dome. Fill em with either seed starting mix or Pro Mix. Wet the cells down and put three seeds per cell just in case (about 1/4 inch down. Pop the dome on and put it on the heat mat. I have a 4 ft germination mat I got from Amazon so I can fit 4 trays on it. I don't bother with a thermostat. Check the moisture everyday and if the tops are dry I spray em down with water. Once sprouts start to pop I take the dome off and leave it off. Some people take it off the heat mat but I just left mine on until 75% of the cells had sprouts. Just check your moisture more often if you do this as they can dry out and die. I've got 400+ plants so I probably planted 1500 seeds (3-5 seeds per cell depending). I had 98% germination rate. Had a ton of culling to do lol.
 
Before I had the heat mat I put them on the radiator since it was winter when I started them. Worked just as well as the heat mat.

Or you could grab a plastic deli container with lid.Place a folded coffee filter in the container fold the edges so the filter fits flat.Mist filter with spray bottle.Place container on top of your refrigerator with lid on container and label.Works like a charm.

I had seeds (reaper for example) that germinated after 8 weeks. I gave up hope after the fifth week but continued to water them (don't even know why). So from now on I won't give up till 8 weeks for sure. I use a heating mat, by the way.

After trying multiple germination methods I now do the following:

• Soak seeds in cammomile tea (after it cooled down..) for 24 hours
• Plant them no more than 3-5mm below the surface - use jiffies
• Keep the temperature between 25-32C (77-90F)
• Ensure the jiffy doesnt dry out but dont flood them either as the seeds may rot

Do all that - and you'll have a good time!
 
Some pop through as early as 3 days (yup I've had chinenses germinate that quickly) and the longest I had to wait for about 2 months, after that I give up on them.

Scorched said:

What Megahot said. Some seeds can be stubborn and take forever. Wilds are the worst
 
I soak mine in 1/2 strength chamomile tea overnight. Same principle as hydrogen peroxide. Softens the casing as well as kills any bacteria that might be on the outside. I use the 72 cell starter trays with lid/dome. Fill em with either seed starting mix or Pro Mix. Wet the cells down and put three seeds per cell just in case (about 1/4 inch down. Pop the dome on and put it on the heat mat. I have a 4 ft germination mat I got from Amazon so I can fit 4 trays on it. I don't bother with a thermostat. Check the moisture everyday and if the tops are dry I spray em down with water. Once sprouts start to pop I take the dome off and leave it off. Some people take it off the heat mat but I just left mine on until 75% of the cells had sprouts. Just check your moisture more often if you do this as they can dry out and die. I've got 400+ plants so I probably planted 1500 seeds (3-5 seeds per cell depending). I had 98% germination rate. Had a ton of culling to do lol.
 
Before I had the heat mat I put them on the radiator since it was winter when I started them. Worked just as well as the heat mat.

Click to expand...

ditto with that ! 

I've had great success using rapid rooter plugs with a heat mat and tall dome.  I don't think I've ever had any that didn't sprout within 2-3 weeks except chiltepin which seemed to be a real pain to get to germinate.

Wonderful replies - thank you all!
 
I will certainly try each of the methods which are clearly varied paths to the same temple and see which one works best for me.
 
My dealer just contacted me with the news that she has some seeds for me so I am raring to go! 

I have had 2 Chiltepin Plants that I started from seed. I am now on my third plant which is just over a foot tall. I really have an affinity for these little chiltepin peppers. But I have found it extremely discouraging trying to start a plant from a seed.  So like everyone nowadays I started up my computer to solve my chiltepin seed problem through online searches for the answer to why my chiltepin seeds won't sprout. 
I truly believe I have an answer. Scarifying and soil temperature. Scarifying is the act of scaring the outer hull of the chiltepin seed which allows the water to reach the interior of the chiltepin seed which begins the growth cycle. This is not my discovery, scarifying is practiced everywhere and is quite common with farmers and growers.  The chiltepin seed hull is hard enough that it takes forever for water to breach the hull and get to the interior of the chiltepin seed. There are a variety of ways to scarify a Chilitepin seed, anywhere from using nail clippers to break a piece off of the chiltepin seed or sand paper to remove a bit of the surface of the chiltepin seed to soaking the chiltepin seeds in 1 Teaspoon of 5% Chlorine Bleach in one quart of water for 10 minutes. The water should also be boiled to sterilize it. Now I know of the reasoning behind scarifying a seed it makes sense to me why the chiltepin seeds rarely germinate  when I put them in a peat pot. 

Another thing that makes sense to me now is soil temperature. Through research on the web I now know that a chiltepin seed wants a soil temperature of 85 degrees to germinate. I'm sure this is natures way of making sure that chiltepins don't germinate in the winter. I have always kept my peat pots indoors.  My house does not reach 85 degrees in the summer or winter. So it would make sense that the soil around the chiltepin seeds would never reach a steady 85 degree temperature required to germinate.  This also is not my discovery, there are heating pads on the market designed just to raise the soil temperature in seed trays. Who would of thunk it.

So that's it, my revelations on why I think it is so hard to get Chiltepin seeds to sprout quickly everytime. .

fox farms ocean forrest soil, plant seeds, water, watchem grow... i have had tremendous results with this method.