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Fast chamomile germination

12 years ago

Apropos of not much, I thought I'd report that even though my (fairly old) German Chamomile seed packet promised germination in 10-15 days, I got sprouts in less than 36 hours.

The seeds are sharing a 3 cells of a 6-pack with something else, so of course I picked something that also reported long-ish germination times (though not nearly as long as 10-15 days). Sometimes I wonder where the seed companies come up with these dates!

For those wondering, the seeds were sown on the surface of the seed starting mix, under a humidity dome, under fluorescent lights, on a heat mat, in the basement.

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Comments (6)

fatamorgana2121
12 years ago
Congrats! Chamomile is as pretty as it is useful. It can self-sow. I've had chamomile coming up in a corner of my veggie garden for the last few years. I leave or move the volunteers and continue the cycle.

I often interplant flowering herbs in my veggie beds to help attract pollinators. And so chamomile, borage, and calendula all reseed themselves throughout my veggie beds.

FataMorgana
leira
Original Author
12 years ago
I've had chamomile in the garden before (from this same aging seed packet, even), and sometimes it has re-seeded, but a combination of things kept it from really getting established long-term. I've been making too many changes in my herb bed, I guess. Part of me is hoping that this batch of seedlings will be the last ones I start explicitly.

I do like the idea if having flowers and herbs in the vegetable bed, but I've been reluctant, since I like to be able to clear out and amend the whole vegetable bed at once. However, this objection mostly has to do with perennials...maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let some re-seeding annual flowers and herbs in. Hmmmm.
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ssfkat, I am doing seeds for the first time in my life (pretty much newbie to ALL gardening except for house plants), and my seeds are doing the same thing. Some of them started sprouting in just a couple of days, to my great surprise and delight. I'm in California's Central Valley, and we've had some very lovely sunshine-y days and nighttime temps in the upper 30s and low 40s. I have the tray in our sleeping porch - LOTS of light and sunshine, with windows all around, and I can open one window up during the day. It's been getting really warm out there in the middle of the day, although we're supposed to get a cold storm tonight or tomorrow. My seeds are all from Seeds of Change, an organic mail order company, except for one row: lobelia, which I found at Lowe's and planted just the day after the others. It hasn't come up yet, but there's still plenty of time. I planted them all in one of those trays with plugs in them (composted bark fiber "inoculated with beneficial microorganisms") that I ordered from the same place. I keep telling myself "So far, so good", because I've been reading about "damping-off", etc., and realize that there are still a lot of things that could go wrong. Also we had a terrible and prolonged cold snap earlier this year, very unusual, so I feel like anything could happen weather-wise. Nevertheless, I got SO EXCITED when I saw them coming up! I have to restrain myself from going out there every hour on the hour to look at them. Hurrah for Spring!!
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I'm sure your frost date is in September or October. Lots of time. As long as you have good germination I don't see why they wouldn't be to a harvestable size before the end of the season. FataMorgana
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Deanna, I see you are in 8b, the same zone as we are (central Texas). I suspect your problem with dill and chamomile is the planting time, not the planting method. Both herbs are cool weather herbs and die out in heat. I plant both in the fall, around mid-October. The chamomile comes up and is happy until mid-May. It reseeds itself very easily, so I just let Mother Nature take care of the planting for me. Dill will sprout in early, early spring--February for us, and is just now finishing up. It, too, reseeds prolifically. Try fall planting, and see if your luck doesn't change!
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I have not planted anything bug my begonia seed and pepper seed - BUT I like opening a fresh bag of germinating mix...the smell reminds me of life SPRINGing!!! I love the experience of starting with a tiny seed and from that seed feeding my family, neighbors, co-workers... and then canning and eating all winter long fresh sauce. I like starting with a tiny seed and from that tiny seed being able to share 100's of tiny seeds with people who could have the same experience I am.
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fatamorgana2121
12 years ago
Annual herbs do work nicely in the veggie bed as there is nothing to move in the spring. But if you do start perennials in the veggie bed, which I have done many times, plant them in one end that is easy to work around or move them as you need in the spring before amending or tilling. I find the veggie garden a great place to pamper young seed grown perennials until they are ready to be moved elsewhere.

FataMorgana
batyabeth
12 years ago
I've killed chamomile every time. That's if it gets to the stage where I can see it die. Usually I plant seeds and get nothing at all. And yes, I'll try again this year!
sammyyummy
11 years ago
congrats//ive tried mine but have not been successful.
ive resorted to the baggie method still nada.

a question to all of you: when im preparing the soil (in general and for chamomile) for sowing (i only use the soil in my backyard and shovel it into plastic yogurt cups with holes at the bottom), do i have to water the soil well (bottom up method) or do i just moisten the topmost layer with a spray bottle)

thanks
leira
Original Author
11 years ago
I moisten my potting mix before putting it in the pot. In the case of the chamomile, I sprinkled the seeds on top and didn't cover them. I used a humidity dome until after germination.

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