Often when seeds are hard to germinate, it's because they have not been given the proper conditions. I use a heated, lighted greenhouse to germinate most of my seeds. It is kept at 75 degrees during the day, a little cooler at night. Works great for all Solanaceae, Cucurbitaceae, and Fabaceae, which love heat. I couldn't get celery to germinate there, though. That did better in my unheated basement, under conditions which would have rotted the others. I tried growing Martynia (the young pods can be eaten like okra), and attempted to start them in peat pots the first time as transplants. Only 1 of 16 cells came up - disappointing. I threw the dead cells on the garden, and turned them under in the Fall. In June the next year, almost all of those "dead" seeds germinated! They just needed cold treatment to trigger them. It turns out that the best way for me to grow them, is to just let them volunteer. C. chinense peppers often have delayed or staggered germination for me, even from fresh seed. Same for some eggplant; "Casper" has staggered germination even from new seed, while "Diamond" has nearly perfect germination even after 5 years. Go figure. Parsnips give me poor germination, but I'm probably getting them in too late... my soil is generally too waterlogged to plant in Spring. They might be better winter sown, since wild parsnips grow in my area. Bitter melon germinates well in the heated greenhouse - when the seed is only a few years old. It doesn't age as well as cucumbers or melons, though, and has more sporadic germination after about 4 years or so. Some gourds have given me trouble, but that was usually seed from swaps, of unknown age. They can have very prolonged germination. Chilliwin, I've had winged bean seeds sent to me that had zero germination - completely dead. Good seeds will respond to soaking. Soaking them overnight, and planting only those which expand the most, has worked well for me. Those which are slow to expand can be soaked for another night, after which you will probably get a few more good ones. Old seeds can sometimes be revived by a nitrate soak. Add 1 tsp. of a high-nitrate liquid fertilizer to a gallon of water. If an organic fertilizer is used (such as manure tea) then boil the solution to destroy pathogens & allow it to cool. Yeah, boiled manure tea... wouldn't that smell great in the house. ;-) Plant the seeds in sterile seed starter, then soak the pots in a tray of solution overnight, and drain any excess in the morning. If any additional water is needed to keep the soil moist, use only plain water (if chlorinated, allow the water to air out overnight in a bowl). This technique will work on a wide range of seeds, from beans to tomatoes. I had some yardlong bean seed that was sent to me, which looked shriveled & under-developed. The first time I tried to start them in pots, I got 0/32. The next year, I tried the same seed with the nitrate soak method, and got about 60% germination. Too bad they turned out to be daylength sensitive. :-(

I had asked Marc from Bambu-u for some advice since I purchased some seed from him. Here's what he said: "I actually sow them, keep them cool and only damp. about this time of year [December when I asked] I place them in warm not hot space (cool bottom heat would work. I get far better results this way than direct sowing then bottom heat techniques." Cheers-Marc Not sure if that will help (I didn't know exactly what that meant). Anyway I think the temperature changes (diurnal) can only help. My guess is darkness is the way to go (IMO). Anyway, if you got 2/3 of your Moso to germinate you won't have much problem with fresh nitida. :)

Saintpfla, morning glory and moonflower seeds need to be soaked overnight before planting, or nicked slightly and soaked, both. You didn't mention whether you did that or not, but if not, that might be the cause of the poor germination. They don't need to be in sun while germinating, though after they start to sprout, you want to increase the light gradually and eventually work them up to it. Temperature can play a big part in germination. Some people put a heating pad under their seed trays (set on low) to warm the soil and coax the seeds to sprout. I haven't tried that yet, but have heard it helps. Or you can sit them on top of the fridge, where the slight warmth can help. It does sound like they may have been too wet. Often new seedlings will get what's called "damping off" and rot near the soil line. That might be what happened with the one that is looking poor right now. Personally, I think starting things from seeds can be a challenge. I nearly always put 3 seeds in each pot to increase the chances of at least one making it. It's tricky to get all the factors just right, but with patience and a bit of trial and error, it's often very rewarding. And certainly the least expensive way to get a lot of plants. Don't give up! Good luck! Marcia

The experiment continues: Excuse me if this is kind of wordy but it's got a little complicated because of my methods. The seeds are in 12 cell inserts and there are 5 inserts in a standard tray. Previously # 2, 3, and 4 had been allowed to dry out of the heat pad but # 1 and 5 had not. The results up to that point are posted above. ( perhaps I should reorganize the data to make it easier to follow). On 1/30 I turned off the heat mat and started taking the tray out to the garage for brief periods until the soil temp was between 35 F and 63 F. I then brought them into the back bedroom where they stayed at room temp. --about 68 F. On 2/2 I left out # 1 and 5 to dry out and they continued to also get the brief cold treatment. On 2/7 # 1 and #5 were re-wet and all were returned full time to the heat mat. 2/10-- PI 439414 C. chacoense germinated . Seed was originally one of 3 planted 11/15/06--the other 2 seeds germinated 12/6 and 12/9 2/11--PI 260437 C. chacoense germinated. Seed was one of 2 originally planted 10/25--the other germinated 11/26 All of the seeds continue on the heat mat. Stay tuned John