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seeds Seed sprouting problems?

Starting some seeds for pepper plant to grow indoors this year and I have come across a problem. I have planted many seeds (over 20) and have waited over three weeks time for peppers to sprout and nothing... have a fluorescent lamp shining 16 hrs a day and a heat mat under them, overwatering/ underwaterig does not seem to be an issue. Seeds purchased from the hippy seed company (have had good results in the past) and Tyler farms (no experience). Pepper varieties planted: yellow bbg 7 and red bbg 7.
 
Do you have a thermostat for the heat mat? I'm thinking maybe it is either too hot or not warm enough. As long as you don't let the media dry out, and keep them warm (but don't cook them), they should sprout, whether or not you use a dome. I used to germinate with a dome, now I always do it without one and they germinate just as well.
 
Also, you don't need to turn the the light on until the seeds actually sprout.
 
What my friend does is that he sprouts them separately with distilled water and then plants them. Hope that helps better
 
Also if you are going the dome route make sure every environmental factor is controllable and try your best to keep it 80-90 degrees. And a humidity of around 50-70%
 
You haven't really stated what you started them in.  Media can make a difference.
 
It's July.  Take advantage of that fact!  Put them outdoors in a large plastic solo cup.  Water them exactly one time until they sprout. (right at the beginning before planting)  Put them under a shade tree or screened porch.
 
If you do that, and can't get at least one out of 20, throw the seed away, ask nice forum members to hook you up.
 
Hippy Seed company is a good company.  I will vouch for them 100%.  Have ordered multiple times from them, and always get what I order.  Plus, really nice people. (that matters)  But bad seed can happen. 
 
I used a 10percent (my minerals) 90percent destilled water. Put your seeds in a folded paper towel . Wet down the paper towel with the 90/10. Put in a baggie not sealed. Put on a heat mat at 85-95 degrees. You might watch the moisture each day. They should sprout in a week to 10 days.
 
if seeds are high quality you only need air, heat and moisture.  i did sprout red jinda pepper using whatever i can find in my garden, e.g. stone, chopped coconut,  charcoal, sand, clay, etc.   i do it outdoor.  it was 93 degree F in the afternoon. take only 3 days!!!
 
 
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JustLikeNapalm said:
They are in jiffy peat pellets, is it time to start over or just leave them to hopefully sprout?
ok. i got an advice for you.
 
- sterilize container 
- pour boiling water onto peat pellets.
- heat will dissiplate very quickly, sow seed immediately
- have a dome cover
- put the container somewhere with high temperature (around 77 - 93F)
 
that's all.  
 
make sure your seeds aren't getting too hot. If you've got a mat and they're in the hot sun they might be overheating. However 3 weeks isn't exactly absurd for superhots. If I were you, I'd resow new seeds but also keep the stuff you've got because I've had superhots take a month to pop.
 
This is just a suggestion, but you might want to get some cheap Jalapeno or similar pepper seeds from a local store, and sort out your germination problems before you exhaust all your BBG 7 seed stock.

Once you dial in a method that works for you on germinating these seeds, you can go back to your remaining BBG 7 seeds.

But, I will say ahead of time, as a rule of thumb you can expect a Chinense like BBG 7 to be somewhat more difficult to germinate than Jalapeno.
 
JustLikeNapalm said:
They are in jiffy peat pellets, is it time to start over or just leave them to hopefully sprout?
 
Again, I'm biased towards outdoors, and the plastic cup method. (using whatever your grow media will eventually be in the final container)  At this time of year, it usually takes me 10-12 days, maximum, to sprout chinense seeds outdoors.  Although it can take longer.  Typical outdoor sprouting times are in the range of 5-7 days.
 
I have found that a soak in kelp solution - whether bottled or kelp meal plus water - is a starter, that does seem to give quicker germination. (natural growth and rooting hormones in there)
 
if you wanna increase seed germination rate,  feel free to try these
 
- polyethylene glycol PEG-6000


- gibberellic acid 




- trichoderma fungi
 
 
 
- electrical field  (using 9V is more than enough)
 
 
 
Ok. Seed germination especially for superhots is very tricky. I'm guessing you are having problems with overheating from the mat. Maybe put a towel in between or get a thermostat. With my thermostat I can keep it right at 85 degrees. Also peat pellets Don't seem to work well with peppers. I don't know exactly why but it is extremely hard to start superhots in peat pods. I've had my best success using soil blocks. (I bought a soil block maker and so far it has beaten every method I've tried.)
 
A picture of my seedling stage and thermostat. Very good germination rates on most seeds.
 

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Question? If you dont use grow lights and its cold outside how does your plant grow. Would no photosynthesis effect it or will nutrients be enough for the first couple months.If so what lights should I buy?
 
SpeakPolish said:
Question? If you dont use grow lights and its cold outside how does your plant grow. Would no photosynthesis effect it or will nutrients be enough for the first couple months.If so what lights should I buy?
The most importance factor is LIGHT, not NUTRIENT.
 
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