seeds Low germination rates from a particular vendor

P

PepperDoc

This year I started seeds purchased from three vendors. I started seeds in Hydrofarm plugs on a heat mat set at 82F. Within 35 days, I got good germination rates (60-100%) from two vendors, and these were mostly superhot and very hot C. chinense seeds.
 
I purchased 7 varieties of C. annum and 2 varieties of C. chinense (mild and medium hot) seeds from a third vendor--a respected vendor on this forum--and got very bad germination overall. I started anywhere from 6-23 seeds of these varieties. My germination rates varied from 0% to 100%, but averaged 35%. I wanted to get a lot of seedlings for a couple varieties and tried to start 20 or more seeds, but had 0% germination for one variety and 5% germination from the other.
 
Another surprise is that this vendor isolates plants for seed production, but I'm seeing surprising variation in the seedlings that did sprout, and these are landrace strains. Not a single variety from this vendor was a hybrid.
 
Pretty disappointed overall. I realize that there is no guarantee for germination, but this was a surprise. The vendor did throw in a lot of extra seeds, which was nice, but I'm not sure I'll bother trying to sprout them net year.
 
Anyone else have an experience like this? What did you do, if anything?
 
stringer said:
Anyone else have an experience like this? What did you do, if anything?
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I'm relatively sure many of our members have had bad germination rates in the past.  I know I have.  My suggestion is for you do as I have done before, which is to contact the vendor, explain the situation and your disappointment and see if the two of you can work something out to your satisfaction.  Addressing your issue that way (as opposed to a forum post) would likely be the best manner to reach a solution.  Good luck.
 
 
I agree. If the vendor has a good rep on
the forum, they are probably on the up
and up. I have had some of my own seeds
come up zero sometimes, when everything
else, mine included, germinate successfully. 
Go figure.
 
Give them a chance to make good on the
seeds that zeroed out.
 
stringer said:
 
 
I purchased 7 varieties of C. annum and 2 varieties of C. chinense (mild and medium hot) seeds from a third vendor--a respected vendor on this forum--and got very bad germination overall. I started anywhere from 6-23 seeds of these varieties. My germination rates varied from 0% to 100%, but averaged 35%. I wanted to get a lot of seedlings for a couple varieties and tried to start 20 or more seeds, but had 0% germination for one variety and 5% germination from the other.
 
 
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All reputable vendors are probably (read hopefully) doing germination test before puting their seeds out for sale. What I realized this year is seeds could be damaged to some point during shipping. Most of the times, you will see crushed/powdered ones when it happened but sometimes, damage is not flagrant. So now, every time I see pin hole one the ziploc bag they came in, I took them out and have a closer look with a magnifying glass. Then, I toss away every seeds that shows cracks. As a test, I did try to sow damaged seeds but without any luck, which tell me that it's directly contributing to the low germ rate on some orders/particular batches of seeds. 
 
SmokenFire said:
 
I'm relatively sure many of our members have had bad germination rates in the past.  I know I have.  My suggestion is for you do as I have done before, which is to contact the vendor, explain the situation and your disappointment and see if the two of you can work something out to your satisfaction.  Addressing your issue that way (as opposed to a forum post) would likely be the best manner to reach a solution.  Good luck.
 
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JDFan said:
Was the vendor overseas ? IT is possible the seeds received radiation during inspection if they were shipped internationally and had to come through customs.
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Below dated 2015, haven't a clue if overseas agencies handle shipped items similarly.
 
Although at one time the USPS expected to irradiate all mail, it later scaled back to just treating mail sent to government offices, including all mail directed to the White House, Congress, and the Library of Congress.
 
I have issued several refunds this year for claimed low germination rates. I harvest my pods at their height of ripeness (or even a little over), and try to collect the seeds within 1-3 days. I bleach treat them and air dry them before storing them in a refrigerator. Usually my germination rates are good, but sometimes I get a variety that just won't sprout. I'll be damned if I know what to do differently.
 
midwestchilehead said:
I have issued several refunds this year for claimed low germination rates. I harvest my pods at their height of ripeness (or even a little over), and try to collect the seeds within 1-3 days. I bleach treat them and air dry them before storing them in a refrigerator. Usually my germination rates are good, but sometimes I get a variety that just won't sprout. I'll be damned if I know what to do differently.
Click to expand...
 
For me, none of your Goronong x Madame Jeanette seeds sprouted this year... I reached out to you and you were kind enough to send me a second pack totally free of charge, which was more than appreciated! Unfortunately, I was'nt more lucky with this second batch but hey, no problem ther, shit happens!! Thanks again John, keep on doing things the way you do ;)
 
Thanks. I have had a few complaints on that variety and have removed it from the site. Bummer because it is a popular hybrid, bu until I can grow it out with  better genetics, it will remain off the shelf. Maybe with this down time I can do some research on what causes low germination and ways to avoid it.
 
Bou said:
 
For me, none of your Goronong x Madame Jeanette seeds sprouted this year... I reached out to you and you were kind enough to send me a second pack totally free of charge, which was more than appreciated! Unfortunately, I was'nt more lucky with this second batch but hey, no problem ther, shit happens!! Thanks again John, keep on doing things the way you do ;)
Click to expand...
 
 
Thanks for the replies. All the seeds I used this year were from domestic vendors. I did soak all seeds in tea except for one variety from a different vendor, and I got 100% germination from those.
 
I'll reach out to the vendor, but so far they've ignored two information requests.
 
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