Hi All,
I have noticed that I am unable to get ANY seed to germinate if I plant it after the thrid week in May. That is when the freezing nights stop. (In May, we have 70 to 80F days and 30 to 40 F nights.)
In june we have 80 to 90 F days. I am wondering if the hot days and moist soil cooks or rots the seeds.
I only water every two days.
Your thoughts?
Many thanks,
-T
depends upon the seed and seed quality you are planting, the soil, the conditions that happen after the seed is sown.
it may just be that you have such mineral laden soil that there is no moisture retained (sand or mineral grains are not moisture retainers). could it be that the seeds are placed too shallow for your conditions? they might fry if it is full sun, sandy and hot enough.
perhaps your water is really bad, alkaline, etc.
sometimes things need shade aka a nursery crop or some other things like fire or the seed has to be mechanically abraded.
without knowing a lot more about your attempts and more exact details we're just guessing.
perhaps you are talking about direct sown seeds into your garden soil and we're thinking you're talking about trying to start things in sterile seed starting mix with more controlled conditions.
and that really gets to the next point. when you plant a seed you are asking a question, but if you've not done any prep work then perhaps you are asking a rather poor question which can be improved...
the more you can describe things when you ask a question here the better the replies you might get in return.
songbird
Bob F wrote: ...
yes, when i start beans here in mostly clay i water twice a day but lightly to keep it moist enough. once they sprout i reduce to once every other day or so and then after that it might gradually ease off to once a week. depends upon how much rain we get. in sandier soil with more minerals and less clay and organic matter you'd have to water more frequently. in the arid southwest it's a whole different ballgame. you might need some shade, a wind break or mulches to keep seeds cool enough and evenly moist enough.
glad it helped out. :)
have you been getting regular rains there? it had been really dry here for quite a long time. so much that i was wondering how much BER my tomatoes were going to get as usually the first few that come ripe might have some BER. this year none of the first few pickings had really bad BER but it was close. will have to pick again in a few days.
songbird
Bob F wrote: ...
lucky you! :) no hot droughts there and/or plenty of good deep soil?
songbird
that sounds ok to me. you have drainage. we have it here too but it is almost all via runoff from the top. i capture what rains i can and soak it in.
songbird
The only difference is the heat
Sounds to me as if they are drying out before they germinate. Here I keep the soil/sand moist, watering/misting 2 or 3 times a day until I see results and the cut the watering times back gradually to once every 2 days but with sufficient water to soak deeper. PLUS the all important keeping an eye on the weather and adjusting accordingly.
Mike
After the initial watering, I only do once every two days. I think you solved the mystery.
Thank you!
-T
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