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Bowdon, GA

Marvs book states 70-80 degrees being ideal. Anything over 95 is too high. Most giant veggies I have grown seam to germinate best towards the top of the tolerance range. So what temp do you tomato growers shoot for?

4/15/2015 11:06:22 PM

valparaiso, in

I have my heat mats set for 85 degrees. I figure that way things are about 78-80 degrees at all times.

4/15/2015 11:17:16 PM

France

I had good germination between 20 and 25°C.
It took 3 to 7 days max to germinate all.
Jake, how many plants are you growing ?

4/16/2015 5:15:33 AM

Allentown, PA

I germinate tomato seeds at 86 F.

4/16/2015 7:57:48 PM

Bowdon, GA

Thanks everybody. Mehdi I'm hoping to have around 8 plants. Guess we'll see how many come up. I'm not growing anything else this year so I'm giving giant tomatoes a go for the first time. I'm sure I'll be emailing you some questions.

4/16/2015 10:39:08 PM

France

no problem Jake
I emailed you.

4/18/2015 5:20:18 AM

Bowdon, GA

So far 31 out of 35 germinated at 82 degrees in 4 days. I had some big zac eaters last year that I practiced seed prep on. Just wanted to see if I did it right. I used the fermentation technique on them and all 12 came up in paper towel at 82 degrees.

4/20/2015 11:27:29 PM

United Kingdom

Funnily enough, all commercial tomato growers all over the globe using giant greenhouses etc, recommend no higher temp than 68 F to 72F for best results with no follow on problems, they may take a little longer to pop, but have less seedling problems afterwards.

4/20/2015 11:42:20 PM

East Carbon, Utah

On several occasions, I've tried germinating at room temperature without success for 8, 10, 14, even 17 days. But when I nudge the temperature up into the 80-84° range, up they pop!

I've also had several occasions when nothing I did seemed to work to induce germination indoors. But when set outside under natural sunlight, I've been pleasantly surprised many times!

So maybe there is something more than just germination temperature, medium or moisture content; might there be something in full spectrum sunlight - perhaps ultraviolet radiation - which is sometimes required to break seed dormancy?

Maybe this explains why greenhouse growers can get away with room temperature for germinating. 70° just doesn't produce good results in my basement setup.

4/21/2015 1:33:56 AM

France

For me the best for a good germinated it's 80°F

4/21/2015 5:20:08 AM

Allentown, PA

Dale,

Very interesting. I also believe there is something about sunlight as well as it concerns seed germination.

4/21/2015 6:44:12 AM

Gays Mills, Wisconsin

good info???
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/biology/plants/major-factors-necessary-for-seed-germination-in-plants-internal-and-external-factors/23167/
Good Luck

4/21/2015 8:14:15 AM

Muddy Waters

I float them in a glass of water at room temp 70 & they pop a root in 4-6 days

4/21/2015 1:02:17 PM

Corbin, KY

I have my heat mat in the greenhouse set on 80. They also get full sun. So they pop in 4-5. Then at two weeks they get a spray of Dunkels.

4/21/2015 4:08:29 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

Maybe it is just the sun shining directly on the dark colored growing medium and heating it up?

4/21/2015 10:28:05 PM

Bowdon, GA

So at 82 degrees 33 out of 35 seeds germinated. The two that didn't where the same seed.The third one of that seed was a club foot. Lost the cot leaves on one other. So I have to narrow 31 own to 8. Good point Marv. Thats why I always much my melons because the surface temp of black soil can be close to 120 when the air temp is 90+. It drops quickly as you go down, but I could easily see the soil being much warmer than air temp at a third of an inch deep.

4/26/2015 12:25:14 AM