• If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.

seeds Seeds still viable after being in a dehydrator?

Mezo

Mezo

Ive been collecting my seeds from my Bhut Jolokia`s & then drying them separately.

Would the seeds still be OK if i left them in the dryer at say 120°F (48°C) would they still germinate?

Thanks in advance.

Mezo.
 
I dunno, I always let my seeds dry naturally in the open air for a month or two. Is that higher then the boiling point of H2O if it is then I would expect the viable tissue is cooked. I guess the only way to find out is to try germing a few..?

If you want you can send me a couple of fresh pods and I will test the drying process ;] hehe
 
Sustained temperatures above 86 degrees F tend to kill whatever living enzymes and embryo's that are inside. You can give it a shot but chances are you've lost them. 120 degrees pretty much obliterates any livelihood within the seed.
 
Thanks for the reply lads, ive actually got three seeds on Jiffy`s right now that have had a week in the ghetto dryer to see if they will sprout or not?

Temps over east (where i am) don't get that high, but the guys working out west actually work in 50°C (122°F) days so i thought well if a human can survive them temps surely a seed could? no?

I know i used to work daily up in tin roofs at 60°C (140°F) and although it was friggin sweltering i survived (just) haa two heart attacks later says Mez, so a seed must be able to handle that sort of heat?

Mezo.
 
I've had some luck germinating seeds from store-bought dehydrated peppers, and I doubt most of those are air dried considering how little color is left in the dried pods. 120 might hurt the germ rates, but it's not much higher than temps encountered in natural conditions, so there's always a small chance.
 
I dehydrate at 110F, and of my dehydrated seed had 100% germination this season. 120 starts to push it, but you could still get some to pop. 85F seems like a lowball number to me, there's no way seeds will lose viability over 85 when their natural habitat has days pushing over 100. Temps over 130 usually kill seed pretty quickly though.
 
You may get some to pop...but probably not many. I have successfully germinated seeds that were commercially dehydrated but usually only a few out of 50 or more will pop, and sometimes none. I think the long term and repeated highs and lows your system produces will probably kill most (if not all) of your seeds. Better off collecting the seeds prior to as you've been doing for better success.
 
Thanks for the reply's guys, it would save me load of time if i just sliced them in half & then just chucked them in the dryer.

And this solar dryer ive got doesn't get overly hot anyhow & only for a few hours then it cools off overnight & then back up the next day. I think ill save the seeds & label them as "dried indehydrator" and ill do a side by side test later in the year to make sure & if its all good & then ill be doing all that way in the future, huge time saver.

Mezo.
 
Well I planted 25 seeds from machine dehydrated 7pots and got 9 plants to pop here is the progress of 6 of them
7pot.jpg
 
Well I don't think we have enough information to say for certain one way or the other... How hot did your dehydrator get?

In the end I think the correct answer is going to be that some will likely sprout, and some won't. The cooler your dehydrator, the more likely the seeds will be to sprout. The hotter, the less likely.
 
On a good day it will get to 50°C (122°F) but that`s only when the sun is high in the sky on a clear blue day.

I wonder how Judy (pepperlover) does hers? does she take them out or leave them in? its her seeds i brought that in six months ill be wanting to save some obviously, i don't want to go cook the dam things or ill be back to square one.

Mezo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top