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seeds Floating Seeds

Spankyscolts

Spankyscolts

I have read in a couple of places when soaking seeds floaters should be discarded. That if they float to give em a little poke to break surface tension and they should sink. The point being good viable seeds should sink. Tonight I started soaking about 40 different varities in 40 different cups. After I finished adding water I noticed they were all floating and would not sink, that is except for 3 varities. Each of which were purchased from a commercial seed company Totally Tomatoes. All the rest float but these went straight to the bottom without help. I purchased the rest from several different sources all well respected. I just thought it odd that only the three actually sat on the bottom .. Any thoughts? Ever hear of this?
 
Yeah, I gave mine overnight and very few were floaters at that point.
It just takes a while for the seed coat to become waterlogged for
some seeds.
 
PaulG said:
Yeah, I gave mine overnight and very few were floaters at that point.
It just takes a while for the seed coat to become waterlogged for
some seeds.
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Yea I get that but these others all went straight to the bottom no floaters. I wonder what the difference is?
 
even most seeds that dont sink will most likely germinate in proper conditions! Some people dont bother to soak thier seeds
 
Yea again I know they will most likely germinate and even sink after a few hours but there is obviously something different about the ones I bought from the commercial vender in that all sat right on the bottom. I was just wondering what they do different . I don't think it's freshness I have others just as fresh and these have been sitting with the rest of the ones I had. Just Curious that's all.
 
Floaters and sinkers can both germinate, its an old myth.
I personally don't see the need for soaking chile seeds, they are very thin and don't need to be primed like other thick seeds, and chile seeds usually germinate just fine on their own in the proper warm/damp environment
 
I've never had to soak them either and always had descent germ rates providing the seeds are viable. The biggest thing is to keep them moist, but not too much and temps need to be around 85°F.
 
POTAWIE said:
Floaters and sinkers can both germinate, its an old myth.
I personally don't see the need for soaking chile seeds, they are very thin and don't need to be primed like other thick seeds, and chile seeds usually germinate just fine on their own in the proper warm/damp environment
Click to expand...

I agree that it's a myth. Mine seem to have no discernible difference in germination.

However, I do see quicker (but not better) germination rates when I soak in seaweed/superthrive-ish solution for 12-24 hours.
 
Since the seed coat needs water to soften it and allow water to enter, and
seed contents to swell, I wonder if soaking for a period of time might speed
up that process?
Anybody have some data other than anecdotal? I can't imagine someone
on the forum hasn't done this experiment in a decent way.
In the meantime, I think I'll continue to soak overnight with plain distilled water.

Spankyscolts said:
Yea again I know they will most likely germinate and even sink after a few hours but there is obviously something different about the ones I bought from the commercial vender in that all sat right on the bottom. I was just wondering what they do different . I don't think it's freshness I have others just as fresh and these have been sitting with the rest of the ones I had. Just Curious that's all.
Click to expand...
I noticed this as well this year. Maybe it is something in the processing. Maybe they have some kind of coating that absorbs water, or a wetting agent that facilitates the water uptake by the seed coat. Good observation and question, Spanky!
 
I've seen small tests done on this forum(I think it was here) and others where soaking seeds proved to have no affect on germination rates or speed of germination. Maybe some other trials/tests prove differently but with soft shelled seeds it shouldn't make much of a difference if any in my opinion
 
This morning I still have a lot of floaters. So I hope it's all bunk. Especially the pepper that is the bane of my exsistance the Bhut Jolokia. I have attempted to germinate 150 seeds with 0 success. I think it was the seeds as they all came from the same place. I purchased some more from a guy claiming 80% germination and today many are floating. So I hope it's bunk!
 
I actually tracked how many floated vs sank this year for 5 different varieties. I didn't see any correlation, I had 80-85% germ rate across the board, 2 varieties had 100% floaters.
 
theghostpepperstore said:
I actually tracked how many floated vs sank this year for 5 different varieties. I didn't see any correlation, I had 80-85% germ rate across the board, 2 varieties had 100% floaters.
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Thanks that's reassuring because I have more ghost floaters than anything else. It is the one pepper that I am determined to finally get to germinate.
 
First tray done floaters and all !

IMG_0853.jpg
 
JesterJoker said:
is your white sticker your diagram label.. your 1? lol.. good idea.. I rotate my tray alot.
Click to expand...

It's just a sheet of paper I got 4 72 cell trays and as they hook will be moving them into a waiting 72 cell tray under the light using the sheet as a map. I've already made some mistakes lol. I number each variety to make marking easier adding an A B C etc when the same variety has different vendors and an additional x when there are 2 seeds per hole instead of 1. This lets me track vendors for quality, and the x gives me a better shot at ending with the peps I want . I know lol seems like overkill but I have a 50 yr old memory
 
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