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Seeds not sprouting

12 years ago

This is the third season of starting our own seeds. Method is baggies with 20:1 mixture of water and H2O2. Last two seasons we had about a 95% viability. This year (31 seeds from 3 crosses) no sprouts after a week. Last year most seeds had started after 2 or 3 days. Any ideas? Thanks.

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Comments (8)

Julia WV (6b)
12 years ago
Since you have been successful in the past with germination, I can't think why this year you would be having issues. If you did all the same things as in the past.

Are the 31 seeds from the same crosses you did in prior years?

Julia
tepelus
12 years ago
I winter sow mine, so this may or may not apply, but I've noticed different crosses germinate at different times, some don't take long at all (once the soil warms in the jugs), others are more slow to sprout. Have any sprouted yet since writing this post?

Karen
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shive
12 years ago
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Edward_Kimball
12 years ago
I wrap my seeds in a wet paper towel and I have gotten seeds sprouting from all crosses within one week. I just checked my latest cross and it is ready to be planted in a shoebox. The first three crosses have had 90%+ germination rates.

Edward
alameda/zone 8/East Texas
12 years ago
Edward, do you put the wet paper towel in the fridge, put in a baggie or leave outside the fridge? I have some seeds that are not sprouting after 3 weeks in water/peroxide solution and am wondering if the paper towel method might be worth a try?
Edward_Kimball
12 years ago
Wrapped in a wet paper towel, put in a fresh zip-lock baggy and then placed on the counter...actually on top of the breadbox, on the counter.
del_s
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks all for your responses. I have been checking out some other threads here and noting that some have found some crosses to take longer than others. The crosses I am starting are all different this year from other years. Since my original post, I decided to try putting the seeds in a slightly warmer location and have had about a 2/3 germination rate, with more showing up on a daily basis. At least I am not completely skunked. It just seemed funny to have this reluctance when previous years the seeds could hardly wait to get going...
dipsandtets
12 years ago
Last year I had a cross take 59 days to germinate. Another one was 47. So don't give up on them yet.

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