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webster n. y. u.s.a.

i,m halving poor luck with germination this year.the method i,ve used in the past is to file and soak the seed for 6 hours and then wrap the seed in a small piece of wet paper towel and put it in a zip lock bag with a few drops of water andkeep it at 80 to 85 degrees and in 4 or 5 days when a white tail sprouts i put the seed in the green house. this year no white tail,any body else try this method ? tim

5/4/2007 4:55:55 PM

Farmville, Virginia (mfowler@hsc.edu)

I've always skipped the zip lock bag part. Usually file and soak for about 6 to 8 hours and then straight into the peat pots. They have all pretty much popped through the soil in about 4 to 5 days.

5/4/2007 10:18:50 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Tim,

We upped the temperature to 90°F this year (from 85°F) this year & I don't file the edges any more but other than that the method I used is the same as yours & it has worked like a charm.

Did you soak in straight water? What temperature was the soak? Are you sure the temperature of the seeds is constant?

5/4/2007 11:48:02 PM

Georgia

Ive had ok luck this year but most of my seeds are taking more then 8 days to crack the surface and my temps are all at about 87 degrees. The one seed I reallyt wanted to plant the 1302 z still hasnt popped up and its been 10 days how long should I wait before I throw in the towel??

5/5/2007 8:53:53 AM

Delaware, Ohio

Jaspn D....become a digger and figure out what's going on with that seed!
I dug up the 8 I had started to find that only one had germinated. I repotted them all, in dryer soil, know they are probably gonners, but a girl's gotta have hope!!

5/5/2007 4:46:37 PM

Delaware, Ohio

Jason D...

5/5/2007 4:46:59 PM

Mount Prospect,illinois

I had the same problem last year with generic store bought seeds. I tried a bunch and got 2 to germinate but it took like 2 weeks for them to come up. This year i used a method from Joel Hollands dvd (2005 dvd) and i am 6 for 6 with all seeds coming up within 4 days. And i am new at this so there is hope. Why 6? because of last years problems. Now i am lining up friends to use the seedlings i cant use. I actually feel guilty giving them away because of the kindness from people on this board who gave me seeds. I feel i should grow all of them (the wife would really love that)

5/5/2007 10:02:49 PM

Linwood, NC

I am at 100% germination this year. I file and soak, then straight into the starting medium that will home them until transplanted into the patch. They sit atop a heat mat until they break soil, then straight under the grow lamps. Remember, the starting medium can be too wet. If you can ring water out of a handful of soil, then add more to dry it out some.

5/5/2007 11:37:40 PM

Simi valley, ca

tim iv tryed that methood with poor results ! use the seed starting mix , & only soak 10 miniuts ea side of seed ,& try to keep temp at 85*-88* & DONT over water !! average time to get it sprouted is 36-42 hrs Some less -some more ! I peek at it but its trickey you can break that little root easly! & root can already be at bottom of pot in only few hours !!

5/6/2007 11:24:37 AM

Simi valley, ca

O ya & if you have any rain water, use it ! for soak & other

5/6/2007 11:26:22 AM

Pinedale, WY

I want to add onto this question. I use the "hot water bottle in the cooler" style of germination. I planted six seeds, and five came up in 50-75 hours. How long do I let the sixth one continue until I call it quits?

5/8/2007 12:26:55 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

I had a stubborn seed pop on day 12 but I've heard of others taking a full 2 weeks. These are pretty rare cases.

5/8/2007 7:21:27 AM

Georgia

I checked on my 1302z and became a digger for the first time. It was weird I guess my temps werent warm enough. The seeds just sitting in there no signs of rot or anything it looks like I just placed it there a day ago. Maybe lack of water and heat I guess. So I gave it a little water and wrapped it real good with saran wrap and placed it back on the mat. Day 11 will see what happens Im not giving up yet.

5/8/2007 9:19:16 AM

Pinedale, WY

I don't think this makes a difference, but the 5 that came up were all pumpkin seeds, the sixth is a squash seed. They are all from good genetics, maybe it's not my time to go green. We only have room for 4 plants as it is and we have 5, so I don't think I will worry about it too much.

5/8/2007 11:18:33 AM