un-happy 'medium'?

18 years ago

Ok, due to finances, I ended up using a generic bag of indoor/outdoor potting soil(bought at end of season last year)to start my pepper and tomato seeds. When I opened the bag, it was a bit heavy(sand and clay), so I mixed in some left over jiffy mix from last year. It lightened it up quite a bit. I had soaked all my seeds overnight in weak (green)tea water. I planted them in various cell packs and placed the packs in aluminum cake pans with plastic lids. I'd punched holes in the sides of the pans for ventilation. I put the mater seeds on the fridge at pretty much room temperature(low 70's), and the pepper seeds on our old computer monitor, which keeps the soil temp around 86-87 degrees. I've been taking the covers off at least once a day for a half hour or so and when I do, the soil smells a little musty. I've seen no mold or fungus, and I originally watered the packs with weak chamomile water. I know the soil is moist, but the top of the soil keeps getting hard and dry, so I've been misting it lightly just to soften it before I put the covers back on. Is this still too much moisture? Is the soil still too dense? How do I find that "happy medium"? I ran the tip of a toothpick very lightly over the soil to loosen it a bit. It's been 5 days and I haven't seen any sprouting at all. I understand peppers take a little longer, but no maters yet, either. The seeds came from 3 different sources. Am I being too anxious(neurotic)?

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Comments (8)

steelwheels
18 years ago
I saw growth on day 6, and by day 12 things were going great. I got my seeds from Redwood City and they said not to use any peat; unfortunately I couldn't find soil that didn't have it so I followed their directions and cut it by 1/2 with Perlite. It's going on 3.5 weeks now and I'm getting ready to transplant my first seedlings. Maybe just a little more patience. Redwood also said to use Miracle grow "bloom" fertilizer until you get sprouts, think about trying that.
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john47_johnf
18 years ago
There is a lot of variation in germination times because of many factors including varieties, age of seeds, germination temperatures, etc. 5 days is not long enough to be worrying. Because you have a heavy soil it may be easier to keep the medium too wet. You want it just moist and not soggy.

John
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noinwi
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you both for the responses. I guess I'm just too impatient. I was worried about the soil moisture and it hasn't been soggy, but firm...no water seeping to the bottom of the tray. I'm just trying to keep the tops from getting crusty by misting once daily. I'll post my results, good or bad.
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noinwi
Original Author
18 years ago
Yay! It feels like Christmas morning! Sprouts are happening! Both toms and peps are popping up. Now I can continue with my side-by-side comparison test. I bought seeds from Reimer's(before I knew!) and then the same seeds from TGS. I want to see just how bad(or different) the Reimer's seeds are, then I'll post my results(with pics,hopefully)as the season progresses. Thanks again for the support!
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vera_eastern_wa
18 years ago
I just had 100% germination by Mar. 24 from last years seed sown Mar. 17th: Thai Hot, Habenero and Fairy Tale Eggplant (completely germinated by Mar. 21). I used one of those large strawberry plastic containers that is complete with air vents and is 11x8" 4" deep. I taped all the vents up, closed the lid and let it go at room temp. Since it is deep enough and seeds are well spaced I can let them grow on until too crowded. By that time it should be nice enough to pot up and start hardening them off. I should also mention that as soon as the eggplant popped up I removed the tape from the vents in the lid to allow air flow...the Hab's and Thai's begin to germ by Mar. 22 and were done in 2 days. Now the lid is completely open and in my South facing window.

Vera
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lil_rhody
18 years ago
john47_johnf is correct, way too many variables. Patience is a must.

I didn't soak in tea or water w/ weak tea, I simply planted the seeds out of the packet directly into the starting mix.
The first to germinate (3 days) were Orange Thai. Excluding two tepin type varieties (Rat Turd & Rooster Spur) the remainder sprouted in an avearge of 6 days.
In 25 days, Rooster Spur has yet to show their head and only one Rat Turd sprouted approx. 6 days ago.

Paul B.
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noinwi
Original Author
18 years ago
LOL! The names of some of these peppers cracks me up! I'm feeling much better now. I thought for sure I'd ruined things by using cheap soil. I've got peps and toms sprouting here and there, the very first up was Reimer's Early Jalapeno, which suprised me, it was a free pack they sent(consolation prize?), both Guajillos from Reimer's and TGS came up at the same time and look the same. Still waiting on Aji Dulces and Chimayos. Reimer's Black Krim was the first tom up, then some home harvested Branywines. Anyway, I'll be posting on further results in a new thread...thanks for all the germination juju!
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lil_rhody
18 years ago
LOL noinwi, I don't name 'em, I just grow 'em.
Some names like "Rat Turd", just make you want to eat a handful. :)

I'm really looking forward to growing out the one that sprouted. With any luck, Rooster Spur will break the surface. That's the brass ring.

Paul B.
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un-happy 'medium'?

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un-happy 'medium'?

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