How Should I Germ Vegetables And Fruits Seeds?

hey all

i have some cherry tomatoes, habanero chili, serrano chili and put them with cool white cfls in wet soil, using cups, with a clear lid on it..... but they have not sprouted... i checked them and they are the same size/weight than before :S .... i planning to move them outside once they get strong enough..

i also tried the paper towel method to germ them and nothing....

the seeds came in air-tight envelopes



i also have some carrot, round pumpkin, watermelon seeds that need to be planted in the ground directly :S , can i put them indoors first? so they get around 28 C at day and 20 at night?

and i think its still to cold outside in the night for the seed.... because i putted some MJ seeds in paper towel, when the seed opened i putted them directly in the soil (outside) and they have not sprouted at all.. it gets around 23inth day and 7-10 at night

i live in ensenada, baja california so right now its the time to plant outside!! but my seeds dont grow!! they need different threatments than marijuanaor what???!!
i hope i explained my self

thnx for ur time

peace

Air temperature doesn't really mean a whole lot as long as you're not getting frost. I just till the ground and sow all the seeds directly into the dirt. I've had amazing results with everything but peppers. If you're using a humidity dome you may want to check the temperatures, they can get sweltering if left unattended.

You shouldn't have a problem with germinating most of those seeds unless the air temperature is getting below 32* at night or you aren't watering enough. It was my initial impulse to germinate or veg small plants inside too (having grown weed) but i found growing them outdoor from seed naturally promotes healthier plants by weeding out the duds. I live in Tucson AZ and since they love the arid climate i have around 11 different types of Peppers in my garden. As for things like Carrots, I'd recomend growing them directly into your gardens soil. I've found them hard to transplant. But just take a pencil tip and make 1 inch holes and throw in 3-4 seeds. It's kind of excesive, but honestly 200 carrot seeds cost about $2. Just throw them in, lightly cover up the holes, softly pack the ground and water. Youll find so many germinate you have to thin them!

also what did you use to make your soil? if things really refuse to grow it could be your soil not the seeds

Anycolor how long is your growing season out there? Because on the east coast we only have from Last week of may untill mid octoberif we are lucky. Roughly 120 days here give or take a couple of weeks. You can directly sow tomatoes or peppers into the ground but it is best to start indoors up to 2 months before last frost as these two are hard to get started to the point of transplanting into your garden. Which is the best for yields. Generally 12"-18" is best. Peppers are best germinated in a humidity dome with either a heat mat or on top of the fridge. These freakin seeds are hard to believe something will grow from something that looks like a small piece of paper unless you get pelleted seeds. Good luck if you have any questions feel free to ask. Later

I got lucky this year and had my plants in the ground the last week of april , im east coast too.Totally agree with your other points.

I got started with mine around March-April as well. I put in my last row of corn about a week ago though and they're ranging from sprouts to 3'. As for tomatoes I've always just bought potted plants. I get those established early on and then take a mass of cuttings for late in the season. I'm up to about 20 plants from 4, and have given bookoos to the neighbors.

Wow i honestly have an opposite problem with tomatoes. My potted and transplants are fine, but now i'm getting little sprouts everywhere! i have about 8 volunteer tomatoe plants if not more! I assume this is a sign my compost isn't broken down enough. Is this something to be worried about or just a few rebel seeds?

sup ppl

first of all thnx everyone for ur answers....

im using the same soil of MJ, look here are some pictures cause im bad explaining myself lol
im watering with tapped with 1/10 nutrients (cow manure, wraped up, summerged in water , and an air pump). I saw this on a video some time, its all organic so i hope i dont harm the plants.... anyone knows if im doing ok giving them this? the water is clean, because the "shit" is inside an old t-shirt so no dirt comes out, just water diluited in it.

in a 12 pot humidity dome, i putted 2 seeds on each hole... (1/2 cm deep)
8 habanero on the left
8 cherry tomatoes on the center
8 serrano en the right

i also putted 12 seed of MJ in the other humidity dome, and putted both domes outside....

they didnt sprouted in 5 days... si i putted the under cfls....

the temperature is 30 C, like 85

maybe i shocked them putting them outiside first :S cause other MJ seeds are growing good inside so maybe the problem was cold nights??

there are no frosts here.... these days u need to sleep with a blanket and pants but thats it...
jhonny, i dont know the cycle here in So. Cal..... but its not the same in all places?? i mean we are all planting outdoors within these months, to harvest around september right after hour change? if i germ i april just gonna get bigger plants that if i germ in may... am i right?


im gonna try again but this time gonna put them directly outside... they are gonna struggle more there than inside i because rougher conditions

peace and thnx again all u guys for ur time

ps. excuse me 4 my english.... still working on it

pics...


u can see both domes without sprouts... those MJ started here, they werents outside as both other domes


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2 pc fans blowing air out

temp is 85 :S should i put the extractor upper? or its ok there

the lights are 10-15 cm away

5 bulbs 4 cool white 1 warm white, rotating the plant daily so they get all the spectrum possible


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this is some humus i got today, gonna mix some outside for the plants


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see ya

Hi , ill answer one of the questions im able to , the US is split into different regions for planting , these regions are numbered and usually on the back of the seed packet it outlines when to plant for your region.
Im thinking your in Sunny California so lucky you , i believe its the region with the longest growing season of all at 323 days , last frost warning for So Ca is Feb 10 and end of season is Dec 10.
I got the info from the old farmers almanac 2010.

You really have to watch the humidity domes if you put them in direct sun. I used them earlier in the year and found temps soaring to over 100f inside. Out of 3 72-spot trays with a variety of vegetables the only thing that could sprout was corn. I decided to plant everything in the ground after that and that's when I realized it's not the air temperature that really matters, but more so the ground temperature, and that takes weeks to cool after it's been warmed.


About the volunteer tomatoes. Unless I know for sure they're growing from seeds from a store-bought tomato I'd just cull em. Any that may have gotten cross pollinated from the garden tend to throw some retarded fruit. Of course if you only grow one variety that doesn't apply.

yeah i got some hierloom tomatoes and several cherry tomatoes. Since my garden currently has the space I'm gonna let them do their thing but thanks for the advice and keep that in mind (more likely then not i'll end up pulling em) But i agree with Whiteflour, it's amazing what natural dirt and sunlight are capable of with a little water.

hey guys!!

first of all thankyou all for the help, i appreciate it.

finally some seeds germinated!!.. i think those are cherry tomatoes, i hope in the next days the other seeds grow

should i transplant them outside now? or i wait a few days..



heres a pic....

i also mixed the soil outside my house....

i digged like 20 cm deep.... add worm castings... foamy balls (as perlite) , compost, tobacco & sheep(i dont know if its called like that but in spanish is "abono de borrego") soil mix... and then mixed everithing.

im gonna put 4 seeds of each envelope i have on little holes.

thnx again dudes

peace

I soak my seeds in hydrogen peroxide for five mins then put them in wet paper towels in a tray with just straight water in a tray on an old heating pad I bought from thrift store set on low. Normally have seedlings in about two days. Hydrogen peroxide, oxygenates the seed husk and allows faster permeation.