Testing seed viability?

[frontiergirl53]

So I have some baggies with damp paper towels with them, I am testing some of my seeds. I have a question as this is my first time doing this. Do you put them in sun or no sun?

 

[dickiebird]

You put them where it's warm, not many seeds need light to germinate, but they do need warmth.
If you are testing pepper seeds they will take a lot longer than most other seeds.

THANX RICH

 

[frontiergirl53]

I actually am testing peppers so that good to know!

 

[valley ranch]

Greetings, Some people put them on top of their water heater. I've used a heating mat, many peppers sprout in less than half the time.

Richard

 

[Smiles Jr.]

I only use paper towels - no plastic bags. I use several old plastic cafeteria trays and I put two layers of paper towels on the bottom. I carefully make
two neat rows of 10 seeds each about 1/2 inch apart. Then I cover the seeds w/two more layers of paper towels. Add water. I put the trays in a warm utility room where the furnace and water heater are. Use spray bottle to moisten the top sheet each day.

I consult my books or the internet to determine the germination time for each kind of plant. When the time period has passed (sometimes I cheat and add a few days) I uncover the seeds and inspect for germination. Let's say that 17 seeds sprout. 17 sprouted seeds ÷ 20 total seeds = .85 or 85% germination rate. Depending on the quantity of seeds I have and the available space for planting, sometimes I'll go ahead and sow my seeds even if the germination rate is only 50%. But I usually like 75% or higher.

I'm in the process of testing gobs of seeds that my Dad had out in the garden shed as I do not know the harvest dates on all of the little containers of seeds out there. Many of the bottles are marked but not all. Oh yeah, "gobs" is a highly technical term that means "a whole bunch".

 

[so lucky]

Smiles, didn't you mention that your dad had left jars and jars of tomato seeds that weren't labeled? At least maybe you can thin those out a bit. Then if you have the space, grow out a couple from each viable jar, and see if you can figure out what they are.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

I use a damp paper towel folded up inside a tupperwareish container and place that on a heat mat. Seeds go on the towel. Open it every other day to let the air exchange but otherwise leave them alone.

Once the seeds sprout I can cut the good ones away from the others and pop them right into dirt.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

Smiles, didn't you mention that your dad had left jars and jars of tomato seeds that weren't labeled? At least maybe you can thin those out a bit. Then if you have the space, grow out a couple from each viable jar, and see if you can figure out what they are.

Oh yeah there are 31 large plastic pill bottles out there. Some have about 200 seeds and some have about 10 seeds. There are 9 bottles with no labels at all and there are 5 labels that I can't read. I'm sorta overwhelmed by all the seeds and I'm sure there will be plenty that will never get planted. I'm not the kind of gardener that Dad was. He always had 50 to 100 tomato plants and took tons of them to neighbors, friends, family, and the soup kitchen. He and Mom put up about 100 qt. jars every year. Many jars became Christmas presents. I'll plant maybe 6 or 8 tomato plants and that will be more than enough for us. Maybe when I'm retired I'll get into more planting.

 

[digitS']

I never germinate seed and then sow it.

I question whether I'd be able to! ... maybe bean seed ...

Even testing seed, I just use one of DW's house plants. They can share the potting soil for a few days.

fumble digitS'

 

[frontiergirl53]

Are seed mats economical and usefull? @SprigOfTheLivingDead