In my experience, here in Thailand, DO NOT use soil for seed germination. I have tried 6 different types of commercially available potting soil and only one was successful for germination and that was for a Thai pepper of the annum family. Out of 100+ chinense seeds (mostly Costa Rican Red) only 1 germinated. Recently my wife did get 2 orange Habanero seeds to germinate in our top soil (from our yard) but only 1 survived and it's growing very, very slowly.
The greatest success has been from coir pucks; roughly 90+%. Out of 20 successful germinations 17 have survived (pics in a previous post of some) and are growing well.
Chinense are notoriously slow to germinate and one did take 27 days (for 4 Costa Rica Red Habaneros) to pop up; I had almost given up on them. My experience with Nagas, bhuts, choc Habs, orange Habs, and red Habs has been from 5 days to 27 days and I've heard of longer, so don't be too quick to give up.
Be sure not to let the germinating medium dry out, but avoid outright wetness; damp is ideal.
I would also recommend NOT using tap water because it is likely very alkaline. Rain water, distilled water, or RO (reverse osmosis) water is best and that would go for normal watering also. I save as much rain water as I can in large barrels. I have noticed a marked increase in growth since the rainy season started.
After germination, soil is the next most important item. That will be my next post.
good blog...as far as germinating seeds goes...if you will use a seed starting mix such as Hoffmans or Jiffy Mix (both soil-less seed starting media) and keep your seeds at a constant 86F/30C, you will definitely see a huge improvement in your germination percentages and most will sprout within 2-3 weeks...annuums have been known to pop their little hooks up in as little as 3-5 days...again...this is all dependant on temperature...other factors such as seed quality and how wet you keep the soil will also play a major role...
ReplyDeleteHi Ronnie, thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, here in Thailand these choices are non-existent for the most part; but coir pucks are working very well.
Good advice. Cheers.