Is there a way to tell whether a seed is dead or asleep? From the time I started planting, I always wonder whether the seeds will germinate or not. Then after having some experience in planting, I understand that not all seeds will germinate but is still unable to tell which is good. Is it possible to determine the dead from the sleeping ones?
You can place the seeds on a damp paper towel and enclose them in a plastic bag. When the tiny roots start to show, you know you have viable seeds. This can take anywhere from a day to a month or more, depending on what the seed is. I just plant 'way more than I need and hope for the best! (See "Orphan Plants" in the vegetable gardening forum for what happens when best happens!).
Hi KK, I know of no way to determine the viability of seeds without a germination test. A germination test can be done with a specified amount of seeds in a moist test media under a control temperature for a determined amount of time. What kind of seeds are we talking about? How many? If the amount is too small the only test is planting them. Jerry
A month or maybe more!! Wow that is a really long time Marlingardener. I start most of my seeds in paper towel but I wait 7 days max. I normally start 30% more seeds than I needed because most seed packs states that the germination rate is 80%. Some times I get very good germination rate and end up like in "Orphan Plants" and sometimes just not enough to fill the beds. Anyway thanks for the info and I'll try to be more patience. Hi Jerry, Well I don't do a germination test due to the small amount of plants I plant for each batch. The largest batch of seeds that I germinate for my need is 40 seeds. If I don't see any sign of germination after 7 days max, I start a new batch. I am talking about veggie seeds in general because I do get non germinating from quite a few types of veggies every now and then. Well I guess I'll just have to be a little more patience and do the only decent thing to plant them. Thanks Jerry.
I have had seeds take from 1 day to 6 weeks to germinate in paper towels. Too many factors to list them all but temperature, humidity, light amount, seed type and seed season all play a role. Some seeds require lots of light to germinate. Some don't like light to germinate. If oyu have your seeds in paper towels under a light and they are phto phobic it can take along time to germinate as the lights off period is not long enough. Those that require light may not get enough intense light and prolong the germination process. I started some Gunnera a while ago and thought they were dead and would never germinate. 5 months later I finaly saw one start and 2 months after that I got 3 more starts. I found out later than they need huge amounts of light and quality light to germinate inside. I then tried adding a UV bulb and a sunlight rated bulb to them and got 12 more to germinate in 2.5 months. All the seeds were from the same batch. I wish there was a chart that tells which plant needs what and how long them take to germinate but I have yet to find one.
tough shell seeds i pre-soak 24 hours in a glass of water, just drop them in and the good ones usually sink by the end of it. Other tough ones i nick the shell with a knife, to weaken it i guess is the result of this practice. Mostly i just drop 2-3 seeds a jiffy pod and keep the strongest that come up. Hard to tell if seeds will grow before you plant them unless you know their age and usual viable condition.
I have learned to give hot peppers about 30 days to respond. Some come up in 2-3 days, but it seems the really hot ones..habanera, scotch bonnet, caribbean red etc. need more time. The rest get about 14 days before I replant. Seems I get tomatoes (all varieties) in about 3 days at 82 degrees.
Thanks Halfway, I was just getting restless about the hot peppers that I sowed about a week ago and the seeds were really fresh. Never knew that it takes so long even though I had been planting them. Every time if there is no sign of germination, I'll add a few more seeds until I get a seedling. I'll wait longer from now, thanks again for the info.
