Are your seeds having spotty germination?
Do you notice that some seeds like broccoli are coming up without an issue, but your peppers are slowly and poorly germinating?
Some seeds simply require a little more attention when it comes to germination.
Here are some incredibly simply tips for accelerating your germination, while significantly increasing your successful germination rate!
Heat, Heat, and Some More Heat!
A lot of seeds, such as eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes, require warmer germination temperatures. Without them, the seeds will either sit there quietly waiting, or they will germinate incredibly slowly. They can take over 3 weeks to germinate if the temperature isn’t warm enough!
Most people now use cool growing lights for their seedlings, which don’t put off enough heat for the seedlings. These lights are preferable truthfully; they won’t burn the tender seedlings quite as easily. They’re also great for an indoor garden for us, because they won’t heat up the house during summer. Thus, most people need supplemental heat. This is where heating pads like the one below come in.
Don’t Forget: Some Like It Cooler….
If some seeds just don’t seem to germinate at all on a heating mat, or if they won’t come up in summer for a fall crop, you’re likely dealing with a cooler weather plant. Thus, the seed may require cooler temperatures in order to germinate. Really high temperatures can greatly reduce seed viability, so be sure that seeds are not stored in a hot place.
My favorite example here is spinach; it simply won’t perform in the heat. If it’s too hot, you’ll have to germinate the seeds indoors in a cool spot. Then, you can plant the spinach outside in cooler weather. There are some bolt resistant spinach varieties,
This is a list of some of my cheap homestead ideas which involves seed starting and sourcing free/cheap pots; it may be a resource that you’ll want to check out if you’re having to rotate seedlings from indoors to outdoors throughout the year.
The Rarely Needed Scarification Process
There are a few seeds that benefit from scarification. This is pretty rare, and generally doesn’t apply to your everyday garden seeds. Instead, this applies more for fruit or nut seeds, other tree seeds, landscaping bushes, flowers, and more.
However, scarification is a great way to ensure and speed up germination among seeds with hard, protective shells. Scarification involves scratching, cutting, or otherwise breaching the seed coat. This allows water and air in, which speeds up germination. It also allows the seedling to emerge from its seed much more easily, enhancing your overall germination rate.
Below are Nasturtium seeds, which benefit from scarification.
Did You Properly Chill Your Seed? If Not… You May Have A Problem….
If you are trying to grow seeds that require a chilling period, you need to ensure that you completed the stratification process. If you haven’t, do not be alarmed! You can simply pop your tray of planted seeds into the refrigerator or freezer. Some of these seeds may include:
- Strawberries (I’ve got you covered with strawberries here!)
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Perennial Herbs
- Lavender (Andddd I’ve got you covered with Lavender, check it out!)
- Butterfly Bush
- Perennial Sweet Pea
- …. You Get the Point!
Stratification is the process of imitating winter for plants. You place the seeds, dormant plants, bulbs, tubers, etc (whatever the case may be) into a cooler or freezer, and give them a few weeks to go through an artificial winter. When you pull the propagation material out (in this case, seeds), you plant it, and you should wind up with an average germination rate for that variety of plant. Some of these seeds are slow to sprout- just be sure to imitate the warming temperatures of spring by placing them on a sunny windowsill or in a warm room of your house.