I have sowed beet seeds and have only one bed of almost 100% germination, four other beds were pretty much failures. I have four different varieties, have beautiful soil with pH around 7, organic but no manure or animal products are used, temps are crazy 90 one day 50 the next, but for the most part warmer than normal, we keep even moisture in the garden........seeds are from three different companies, I even ordered fresh seed from Territorial and High Mowing. I have never had trouble with seeds from either company. Seeds are put in moisture and temperature control environment upon arrival, so not a storage problem and the best germination was from my oldest seeds. I've tried soaking, using compost, not using compost, covering with remay hoops, not covering, chilling seeds.............nothing. It is driving me crazy!
I plant by the signs, but even tried sowing some not by the signs! I have no trouble with carrots, radishes, turnips, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers germinating now............nothing else is giving me this problem. Now is our main growing season.
Anyone have any suggestions? The varieties I grow are Touchstone Gold, Kestrel, Merlin and Boro.
I can't believe I'm having this problem!
Are you planting directly into the ground? I am no expert but I have found that Tomatoes need bottom heat and more controlled conditions, such as cups or flats to germinate. I'm sure someone can give you more details.
Lady Lily,
The first 2 times I sowed beet seeds, they took FOREVER to come up! I was almost ready to plant something else when they finally peeped.
They were in there a good 2 months before they came up. And, when they finally peeped, they PEEPED. A gazillion of em!!
Of course I was growing your average, garden-variety Bull's Blood and Chioggias. Nothing fancy like you probably planted. I had amended the small raised bed with Black Kow Composted Manure.
Hope this gives you a lead....
I soak my beet seeds overnight in warm water with a little seaweed mixed in then plant them into damp furrows - don't let them dry out or it's the kiss of death! If you soil forms "crust" it will help to cover your seeds with damp fresh potting soil and keep the bed moist until they sprout. Varieties recommended for my central TX location are:
Beet Days to Maturity
Bulls’ Blood 60
Chioggia 55
Cylindra 58
Detroit Dark Red 60
Golden 55
Red Ace 50
Ruby Queen 60
For more cultural into see: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/easygardening/E-504_beets.pdf
when i planted my beets in jiffy pots back in March, they were the first to pop up and then transplant. when I transplanted, they stalled for a while and took off like gang busters.
I direct sowed this time mid October, having soaked in water/peroxide mixture, and they have not taken off yet.
I'm going to have to soak overnight with water/seaweed mixture and try a new batch, i think.
Jo, not having trouble with tomatoes, they had 99% germination. We have green tomatoes the size of tennis balls right now. I am having trouble with beets only.
Gymgirl, that makes sense! I have one bed of beets I'm getting ready to harvest, either Merlin or Kestrel, and I could have sworn there were only ten or twelve seeds that came up. I replanted the bed with squash and suddenly the whole thing is full of beets! These last seeds were planted on 10-19 and only a few have germinated, so instead of replanting with broccoli (which was my plan because I have 450 seedlings to put somewhere) I will give it a few more weeks. It really throws off my scheduling of garden space when something takes forever to germinate!
I grow the fancy ones for sweetness and disease resistance and to be different from all the other farmers at the market.
Soil is not crusty, soil did not dry out. I tried soaking the seed in warm water as recommended by a seed company, but that didn't improve germination.
I am not a new grower, I do this for a living, but have never had this problem before and it has me baffled.
I will be patient and wait for them to germinate, I will be patient, I will(keep repeating this until I learn patience!)
It IS a virtue, you know...^^_^^
Soaking at least overnight or even rubbing with sandpaper to abrade the thick skin ...
Keeping the bed CONSTANTLY moist for 1-2 weeks, until they sprout ...
Planting into somehwat warm soil (55-75 F) ...
No-crust covering ...
This word "patient", I don't recognize. Someone who is in a hospital?
Calalily,
You might try another seed source - Baker Creek. Bob Webster, owner of Shades of Green Nursery in San Antonio recommends them highly for quality, quantity, and price; he uses Baker Creek seeds in his own vegetable garden. [Bob's radio program on 550AM, Saturday 5:30A-9:00A and Sunday, 8A-11A., give him a call...]
I've replaced Territorial with Baker Creek; I have High Mowing seeds but haven't planted those yet.
Sassy
Have you tried the paper towel/plastic bag method? You might try this just to test germination rates. If it works you can sow the germinated seed capsules directly in the ground. I had Chard that I germinated in the house, then put out in pots. Not all the capsules had sprouted but when temps cooled down I noticed some more had germinated. This was 6 weeks after sowing! I think the crazy temps are making the plants confused too.
Bi-Polar disorder. Too hot -- too cold; freezing -- scorching. Drought -- floods...
yea, temps are wacky - but all my greens and chard are loving this weather - now if i could only get my beets to germinate.....
direct sowed some, but a few days ago put some out in jiffy pots. hoping they germinate. the lettuce i had in the jiffy pots has already germinated like crazy - only one day out!
I haven't done a germination test, but have soaked the seeds in milk (neighbor suggested), hot water, warm water, cold water. Soil does not crust, bed did not dry out. Some came up, in random patterns in the beds. I replanted heavily, if they don't come up I will just fill the bed with something else. The funny thing is, one bed came up almost 100% and it is the worst soil in the garden, crusted over, gets less water and doesn't hold moisture due to more sand, carrots came up best there also.
Does Baker Creek sell in quantity? I buy beet seeds half pound at a time.
Gymgirl, crazy temps here. It was 80's mid week, then Thursday night down to 47! Right now it is 62. We got about 1/8 inch of rain two nights in a row. Yesterday I planted bok choi, swiss chard, watermelon radishes, transplanted 100 cabbage plants, 45 tomato plants and prepped beds for broccoli and cauliflower. Don't know where I'm going to put them all, but I will find a spot somewhere.
Yes, they do sell in bulk. Thats how I buy squash seeds. If you dont see what you want on their website contact them by phone. I know they also sell greens seeds in bulk.
Thanks, I will contact them. Finding good squash seeds is important, that is one of our staple crops. I get all my greens seeds from High Mowing and am very happy with those, but they don't have much in the way of summer squash (and a few other things). Abundant Life used to sell in bulk, but had a fire a while back and now does not have the inventory to sell in quantity.
Hope it works out, let us know how it goes.