seeds Starting seeds advice

[bennoz]

g'day fellow chilli heads... am hoping for a bit of advice:

I recently bought a mini greenhouse and some seed starter mix, and planted some naga's, trinidad scoprions, birdseye's (from paddys market that had dried), and jalepeno's seeds from my old man.

that was 3 1/2 weeks ago, and so far nothing:
I went digging around in a few of the mini trays and the seeds are still there, but the bottom of the trays is like mud – im afraid ive overwatered.

With the recent hot weather syd has been having i wanted to keep the seed starter mix moist. It seems ok up the top, but wet (like mud) at the bottom.

The seeds havent germinated yet. Ive been leaving them in the sun and at the end of the day, shaking out the condensation to try and dry the seed starter mix out abit

is there another way to dry it out ?
should i start again?

Also the temps inside the mini greenhouse gets up above 40deg during the day (have a cheap mini thermometer in there - same as the strip thermometer one i use in homebrew ;P ). I know seeds need heat for germination - Is it possible for it to be TOO hot?
usually i keep them above the fridge where its a pretty constant 25deg, and move them out in the day

 

[AlabamaJack]

probably your temperature...

germination rates are near zero at 40C...best germination temp is about 30C....

 

[wordwiz]

I soak the potting mix after adding the seeds, let the tray drain, cover, set over a heat source and do not water again until the seeds have germinated and are growing.

Mike

 

[Mister_Al]

Take the cover off for a day, or two. If the soil gets too dry on the surface just mist a little water on it with a spray bottle.

I plant all my seeds in styrofoam cups without a cover and I never have any problems. I do remember that some of my Naga seeds didn't sprout for weeks and then sprouted only after I let the soil almost completely dry out.

Alan

 

[NoVa Hothead]

Anybody have a preference for pretreating seeds or not?

 

[chilliman]

we use NAA and IBA for problem seeds - YATES Plant Starter from bunnings we have found works best for our methods.

edit: its MULTICORP- plant starter

 

[bigt]

If the seeds got over 100F, I think they are cooked. I never got any to germinate if they got that hot. I would start over with new seeds, keep them between 80-85F and you'll be fine.

 

[Dyce51]

Some people think I'm nuts....but I have never been disappointed with a weak germantation. I take my seeds, place the seeds on a WHITE napkin and fold it in half. I place the folded napkin on a small plate. I lightly soak the napkin (not too wet) with a weak brew Chamomile tea. I cover the plate tightly with plastic wrap and let it go a few days. I get a quick germantion and very few seeds do not germanate (I think last year I had 3 seed that did not germante) once th seed begins to sprout I plant the sprout in Happy Frog soil filled peat pots...

 

[bennoz]

thanks for the tips all

ive let the mini greenhouse dry out some and am just leaving it inside in a shady spot, temps around the 25deg mark.

i also got a plastic cup, put some holes in the bottom and planted a few more seeds. Covered the cup in glad wrap and we'l see what happens

im pretty sure this is the seed mix ive been using - curtsey of good old bunnings:
http://www.amgrow.com.au/products/pot_ag_seed.htm

ill keep you posted on results

 

[POTAWIE]

Some people think I'm nuts....but I have never been disappointed with a weak germantation. I take my seeds, place the seeds on a WHITE napkin and fold it in half. I place the folded napkin on a small plate. I lightly soak the napkin (not too wet) with a weak brew Chamomile tea. I cover the plate tightly with plastic wrap and let it go a few days. I get a quick germantion and very few seeds do not germanate (I think last year I had 3 seed that did not germante) once th seed begins to sprout I plant the sprout in Happy Frog soil filled peat pots...

You're not nuts, lots of us use the paper towel technique. I always have great success and I never use chamomile, but I prefer to plant in a soiless medium with no(or very little) nutrients. Another trick some like is to use a coffee filter instead of paper towel so the seeds don't grow into the medium.

 

[willard3]

Get paper towel and a zip-lock bag:

Place seeds on paper towel:

Wet paper towel a little (not saturated), place in baggie, seal baggie:

Keep at 85 to 87F and wait.

 

[bennoz]

awesome willard - ill do that tonight

 

[wordwiz]

Keep at 85 to 87F and wait.

Ah, but for how long?! I've got some banana seeds that have been sown a month and show no signs of germinating. Another five I soaked for five days in warm water - that was over two weeks ago.

I'm trying three Monkey Fingers and three Ensete now - they are in warm water and I may let them soak until Christmas. But I did put five Darjeeling seeds in a moist paper towel today.

What happens if I don't check them often enough (I gets old checking every day, especially if I have to unwrap everything)? If the seeds do germinate, will they push the towel up a bit?

Mike

 

[bennoz]

hiya all

bit of an update: well friday night i put 1/2 dozen seeds into cotton wool balls, wet them abit and straight into a plastic bag they went

went away for the weekend and got back last night to a plesant surprise, the mini greenhouse has sprouted. After about 5 weeks ive got 2/5 nagas, 0/5 trinidad scorps, 3/6 twilights, 2 of my dads jalepeno's and 0 /20 birdseyes

its weird but they all seem to have germinated at the same time. Cant wait to get home tonight from work and see how many have poped their heads up.

Ill keep em in a warm spot, with a bit of light till they're ready to re-pot

ill post some picks later tonight

 

[wordwiz]

I would make sure they get plenty of light, at least as much as a shop light hanging an inch or two above the plants would provide.

Mike

 

[donna74]

I will be trying the paper towel tonight, I had forgotten that one - it is also called 'chitting' or cheating lol.

 

[bennoz]

another update. got quite a few shoots aftercoming back from holidasy. was a plesant surprise.
Read through some other posts on the forums and found some good advice on starting seeds here:
http://www.maximumyield.com/article_sh_db.php?articleID=397&yearVar=2009&issueVar=January
http://www.maximumyield.com/article_sh_db.php?articleID=407&yearVar=2009&issueVar=February

The paper towel method worked for and i got some of the super hots to sprout. Ive got a single Trin scorp which im taking extreme care of

At the time i started the paper towel method, i also got some supplies from bunnings and came back with a 6inch Orange had (yes i cheated ). So far its going ganbusters and in a month its trippled in size and have some shoots already coming through.

Just a few small problems with it however. It seems as though theres something eating the leaves - that or the leaves are breaking. ive checked the underside for eggs, spots, or any sign of unwanted pests but have found nothing so im abit stumped. Also theres some slight discoloration on the old leaves starting to show. I fert with seasol powerfeed once a week, and make sure not to overwater.

anyways here are some pics:

Trinidad Scorp

Numex Twilight

Orange habs in left 4 rows, twilight, scorp, D.Naga on right. Interesting to note the far left row was presoaked prior to planting

 

[bennoz]

Orange hab going well

New shoots

example of holes and discoloration forming. notice leaf in background with larger holes

 

[Noshownate]

Pest Control.

 

[willard3]

What happens if I don't check them often enough (I gets old checking every day, especially if I have to unwrap everything)? If the seeds do germinate, will they push the towel up a bit?Mike

You can see and feel through the bag and towel if any have germinated....just pick it up. It doesn't hurt if you don' t notice for a week or so, they're still germinated and, if you have been careful and sterile with stuff, I have had them go for a month with no problems.