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Early start up North

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Howiest

Sorry for rehashing what is likely a well covered topic, but my quick search didn't give me an answer.
 
I have a bunch of seeds currently in moist paper towels stuffed in sandwich baggies, and I'm curious whats the preferred method for germination.
 
I've seen some germinate in the paper towel till they bust out a tap root, and others plant directly to the seedling trays, and I don't know if one is preferable to the other. I've had some other seeds mold before they germinated using the paper towel method, and it seems the peppers can take a bit of time to germinate so I'm not sure which way to go. I'm leaning towards planting in seedling trays on heating pads but figured I'd ask those that know.
 
Thoughts?
 
Try multiple ways and see which you like the best.I am not a fan of the paper towel method as it adds an unnecessary transplant step and puts young roots in peril. There are plenty of people it works fine for though.

As long as you have temps between 70-85F and a good water to air ratio,you can use just about anything or any method.
 
Walchit said:
Don't some people soak in camomile as an antifungal?
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I've heard of it. If nothing else, it'll help soften the shell before planting. I've never had a desire to try it cuz most my seeds sprout in 3 to 7 days just using a heated tray. I have soaked "difficult to germinate" seeds of non-pepper varieties in water for 24 hours though and had much sooner than anticipated germination.
 
I moved everything over to the seed trays with domes on heat mats. I think the seeds were in paper towels for 2 or 3 days, and a bunch of the tabasco and a handful of the orange habanero had already put out a tap root. I think most of the tabasco are up, and a handful of others. I need to move the trays and heat pads under a light for the seeds that have sprouted already, and I'd like to get a decent germination ratio. I don't need all 99 to sprout, but I don't know what is a typical sprout vs not ratio. I'd rather have extras and plant them around the yard or give to friends after I get all mine going.
 
Pr0digal_son said:
Try multiple ways and see which you like the best.I am not a fan of the paper towel method as it adds an unnecessary transplant step and puts young roots in peril. There are plenty of people it works fine for though.

As long as you have temps between 70-85F and a good water to air ratio,you can use just about anything or any method.
Click to expand...
I've definitely damaged some young roots with paper towels. This year, I tried coffee filters. It's a much better medium for using the same method. Still, probably a little stressful and the potential to damage roots still exists, but it's way better than paper towels.
 
Bicycle808 said:
I've definitely damaged some young roots with paper towels. This year, I tried coffee filters. It's a much better medium for using the same method. Still, probably a little stressful and the potential to damage roots still exists, but it's way better than paper towels.
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I have seen people using filters also. Same principle but safer on roots. They definitely work but I think those methods stem from a case of agita. We are all guilty of checking on seeds every 15 minutes.

I know when I started growing things that were harder to germinate I needed to be able to visually inspect seeds to make sure they weren't rotting. It's hard to stay patient when some species can take 75 days to germinate. I use rockwool or plugs for all that stuff now. I can tame my OCD by being able see what's going on,plus I can get them under lights and start feeding as soon as I see them hook. No extra steps.
 
Oh, no doubt my ocd is a factor, as is my rather petty worry about wasting resources on dud seeds.

At this point, I'm such a rookie that I feel like I need to stick with what has worked with me, which has been soft pair in sandwich bags on top of the fridge. So far, nothing has taken more than three weeks to pop for me that way, including a lot of Supers that are notorious for taking a while to germ...
 
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