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seeds Can I Germinate Them?

I bought a Habanero at the store, ate it, and picked out big clump of seeds from the middle out. The pepper was in a fridge twice so I am not sure if that hurt the viability of the seeds. I am wanting to let them dry out for a few days then try to germinate them. Also, the seeds are pretty well attached to the "stalk" from the middle of the pepper. Do you think they have a chance of germinating? Also, are those little black dots fungus?
 

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One of my favorite species of habanero is a Dominican landrace variety that I picked up at the local latin store.  I grow it every year.
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Sometimes, the best way to answer a question, is by experience, rather than inquiry. ;)
 
If they were viable to begin with, being in fridge for a few days won't harm them one bit. I've germinated and grown 3 plants this year from 5 year old seeds that were collecting dust in an improvised envelope. Though it's possible that those were crossed, but you can, of course, try it anyway.
 
The fridge won't put a dent in them.  I've germinated seeds out of the freezer, before.  Also, people who live in cold climates get volunteers the season after hard freezes...  
 
It's definitely worth a try. You'll have better luck if the Habanero is open-pollinated as opposed to being a hybrid. There's no way to tell just by looking at the pepper.

If you're worried about fungus/mold, soak the seeds overnight in diluted hydrogen peroxide solution (maybe ~1 teaspoon per cup). Other people soak the seeds in Camomile tea to kill the fungus, and condition the seeds.

Since it is now mid-June, you may have trouble growing these to the point of producing pods in the time remaining in your season. You may want to dry out a few of these seeds and save them for next year.

Have fun and Good Luck!
 
There are seed vaults in the event of a massive Earth changing catastrophe and they ensure the survival of them by it being naturally cold enough in there that it doesn't matter if the electricity goes out.
 
I haven't grown seeds from store bought pods in a long time. I did it this year just for grins. The Fresnos i had in the fridge had an excellent germination rate. All i did was put the seeds on a paper towel for a week and fold it over. Ive got pods already this year from those seeds. Cant wait to see if they have grown true to the store bought.
 
Ya those look viable.
After harvesting/processing pods, I dry my seeds inside a folded paper towel or napkin envelope laid on some cardstock in the fridge.
However, I separate them from the placenta, which can be more difficult when the pod begins to soften, once ripe or during storage.
Anyone else ever germinate fresh seeds and sip on the water used for soaking overnight?
 
Mr. West said:
Anyone else ever germinate fresh seeds and sip on the water used for soaking overnight?
 
Why do you soak fresh seeds?
 
The only time that I've ever soaked seeds, was as an experiment, and I soaked them in fish and seaweed. (also, in a second experiment, kelp)  For me, that answer is overwhelmingly NO.
 
solid7 said:
 
Why do you soak fresh seeds?
 
The only time that I've ever soaked seeds, was as an experiment, and I soaked them in fish and seaweed. (also, in a second experiment, kelp)  For me, that answer is overwhelmingly NO.
 
I think what he's asking is if anybody germinates fresh seeds.
 
"sip on the water used for soaking overnight" as in drink it instead of soaking the seeds in it  :P
 
Hah! No kelp nute smoothies.
I mean I've soaked in plain water, then drank it after.
Fresh seeds still have cap on them, so you get hot pepper water with some micronutrients released from the seed coat.
I don't do this with gibberelic acid. Not my jam.
 
solid7 said:
 
The only time that I've ever soaked seeds, was as an experiment, and I soaked them in fish and seaweed. (also, in a second experiment, kelp)  For me, that answer is overwhelmingly NO.
 
Was the kelp effective? I read that it speeds germination and improves success rate but high concentrations of GA can cause seedlings to stretch and become leggy.
 
Soaking them in some kind of acidic solution or peroxide scarifys the outer coat. Better germination typically, although I wont soak fresh seeds until Ive first dried them in the sun for a few days. Its weird but it worked well with last years fresh Ghost pepper seeds. Oh and they were in the fridge for weeks, its like a pepper going through winter
 
An important thing to remember when germinating anything is first to be clean. Clean everything including your hands and utensils.
 
 
I'm using a very mild seaweed & humic acid soak. It's basically just leftover dust from a compost tea brew bag and activator pouch (kelp) in RO water. I doubt theres much gibberrelins in the powder form. Anyway, a fertilizer company has a statistic up on their page something like < 30% increase in success rate with kelp and 50% when combined with humic at a 2:5 ratio. I shouldn't have problems, but it can't hurt my chances.
 
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