Hello,
I'm new to the forum. I recently received a packet of Chili seeds from my grandmother who have successfully grown some, these seeds are from a Chili she harvested from the plant she grew. My problem is that I can't seem to get them to grow, I've been watering them for a week but there doesn't seem to be any signs of growth. I'm growing them in nursery pots.
Even under ideal conditions (soil temp of 27C to 29C), chili seeds need about a week and a half to 2 weeks to germinate.
If I understand you the seeds are not germinating. They need to be warm (not hot) and damp (not wet). In general warm season plants like chillis need warm conditions to germinate their seeds too, there are some seeds that sprout in cold soil but not many. As Billy says wait a while yet before giving up. If you have them in good conditions and none have sprouted in three weeks the seed is no good.
DIs there anything I can add to soil to increase its chances of fertility?
The soil fertility is not relevant to germination. The main needs are suitable temperature and moisture and in a few cases light (or dark). There are a few weirdos that need triggers like smoke but chillis don't. Germination is the process, under the control of the genes of the seed, where the food stored in the seed is converted into a seedling that is capable of doing photosynthesis and making its own food independently. It is only once you have a seedling that is able to take up minerals from its environment that soil fertility matters.
The texture rather than the fertility of the germination medium is a factor as over heavy soil may bind tiny roots and shoots physically stoping them from developing properly. This is why seed-raising mix has a light open texture. If it is a problem it is too late to alter the texture of the medium for the batch you have started.
D
Generally speaking home-grown chillis seeds won't produce the same plant that grew them, unless your grandmother did what was necessary to avoid accidental cross-pollination.
Are you in the southern hemisphere or the tropics? If not, it is a funny time of year to be sowing a chilli. In the temperate northern hemisphere, they are normally sowed Feb-April. The thing is that if you sow it now, it will be producing chillis Nov-Dec and you need to have sufficient light and warmth in the last quarter of the year for them to grow, or in fact they will go dormant. Although maybe you are somewhere warm enough to overwinter it and get a head-start for next year.
There is beginners advice on growing chillis here. 'Chillis Galore'
N: 18.37 lb. chicken manure/ 100 sq.ft. (2.88 oz/sq.ft.) P: 3 lb. rock phosphate or (bone meal/ 100/sq.ft. (.48 oz/sq.ft.) K: The late Bernard G. Wesenberg, a former Washington State University Extension horticulturist, recommended using one gallon of ashes per square yard on loam to clay-loam soil, and half as much on sandier soils. Seaweed extracts may be good for growth by providing micronutrients, and growth hormones.
Your garden soil shouldn't be more than 10% (by volume), or less than 5% (by weight) organic material.
Garden soil should be 30% - 40% sand, 30% - 40% silt, and 20% - 30% clay. You can check your soil by scraping away the organic material on top of the ground and then take a vertical sample of your soil to 12 in. (30 cm) deep (rectangular or circular hole). Mix this with water in an appropriately large glass (transparent) jar. The sand will settle out quickly, the silt in a couple of hours, and the clay within a day. The depth of the layer in relationship to the total (layer/total = % of composition) is the percent that fraction has in the soil.
Garden soil needs a constant input of nutrients, i.e. carbon, e.g. brown leaves, and nitrogen, e.g. manure in a ratio of C/N of 25. This is the same ratio you will what in a compost pile.
I know you are in a pot but the same rules apply.
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