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Denver, CO

For the first time ever ( out of 3 years of growing) I have lost all but one of my plants do to no germination of the seeds.

I purchased seeds from a new place this year, the Pacfic Giant Vegetable Growers web site but dont think this was an issue?? ( 666 Hester, 1114.7 R. Wilson, 1123 Daletas and 1124 Hester and a 777 Handy from a differt place.)

I filed the seeds carefully not touching the tips, soaked them in water for 2 hours, planted them 1 inch deep in a warm house enviroment at a 80-90 degree temp 4" under a flourescant light.

12 days later, only one was up the 1123 Daletas. All the others either had a mangled mess of roots about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long with about 6-7 of the roots from the tip or the had 2 to 3 inch roots but the leaves never opened up from the seeds, they just stayed inside the craked shell until they fused into the shell itself

Any thoughts are great. In the past I have always chipped the tips of the seeds off, then got them started with the paper towel method, sure whish I had not chickend out this time and done the same.

5/5/2005 5:00:07 PM

Cornelius, Oregon

What was your soil moisture like? Could there have been a spike in temps? Did you sterilize the seed coats before planting after soaking? Did your horoscope say "Dont plants seeds today" on the day you planted? All possibilities. only reason I poke some fun is that I too had a very poor germination time this year. Lots of frustration due to mice and too high soil temps combined with soil moisture. Sometimes there is no reason but Murphy's Law.

5/5/2005 6:49:27 PM

Denver, CO

Dang! I knew I should have checked that horoscope before I planted! I appiled Maneb garden fungicide. Some of the seeds seemed to sink down in to the soil to a depth of about 2 or 3 inches, maybe the reason as well

5/5/2005 7:44:44 PM

Puyallup, WA

Seems to me that I've heard a lot of germination woes this Spring. This is my worst year ever!

5/5/2005 10:22:59 PM

[email protected]

There are really only 4 things that can go wrong.

1.) Wrong temperature.....they like 85F.
2.) Wrong moisture....drier is better.
3.) Fungal disease....it happens if we're not careful.
4.) Seeds are sterile....old seeds especially.

Sterile seeds are probably the least likely culprit with your club purchase especially considering the names of the growers you sited. These are some very accomplished growers. I know from personal experience that PGVG seeds are carefully scrutinized for quality.

5/6/2005 4:59:21 AM

Montoursville, PA

Steve..........you missed one. A perfectely correct and natural response is: "That's the way pumpkin seed are performing this year". No more need be said. I'm hearing it all over my circle, of contacts.

I have never seen such ugly cotty leaves. The first true are however looking as they should, in most cases.

5/6/2005 8:23:02 AM

Minnesota([email protected])

I lost some nice seeds due to non-germination as well.
I guess it keeps us humble. Maybe I should practice seed starting methods many months ahead for next year.

Doug

5/6/2005 11:46:30 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

I have also noticed ugly, curled up cots on 2 of 3 sprouts this year. Not a lot of experience to go by but it is sort of strange that this is happening all over this year...any conspiracy theories out there...LOL Peace Wayne

5/6/2005 1:53:30 PM

Denver, CO

Thanks for the quick responses everyone. On the bright side, I still have one pumpkin, the 1123 Daletas '04, which should have great potential. If anyone has a 666 Hester that they are willing to part with I will pay up to $15.00 for it if I can get it within the next week. Thanks again!

5/6/2005 4:31:42 PM

C N Y

i think the reasons for your problem are obvious:
first, the seeds were planted too deeply,
(one inch, edgewise, is good!!!) i see that you started at this depth, then something happened?

and second,
skip the fungicide whenever possible.

the only time i see it necessary to add fungicide to anything is if the seed has a history of being difficult to germinate (such as the 1140 Stelts, for ME, anyway),
or has mold or black areas on the seed that could be brought back to life upon seed-starting. i am surprised that no one mentioned these items. i could and probably AM totally wrong, but there's a couple more possibilities.

i suppose you could have the 666 Hester since i am not planting it this year, and you would not have to pay for it.
as it is the same cross as the 1180 Daletas--yeeeeow!!!
i'd appreciate if you might plant a Gerry seed or two, which i can include in the bubbly, but it is not a requirement....email me if you are interested.....DOH!

5/6/2005 6:09:27 PM

Denver, CO

Thanks pumpkinpal2! The spirit of the pumpkin community is alive and strong. Please see you email as I will gladly accept your offer.

As well, I begin to think the planting depth is my biggest culpirt. I think what I did was to plant them is such a loose medium, ( about 50% vermiculite and 50% cow manure) that as the water soaked it increased the wieght of all the soil on top and pushed them down to deep. So I probbally used to much water ( poured water on the pot just unitl it came through on the bottom ) and they were to deep. A double no-no whammy.

5/6/2005 6:42:02 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

I had 10 out of 11 seeds come up. My grandmother loved to grow flowers in the house. She had a huge side porch loaded with all kinds of plants. One thing she always did was when she bought any kind of soil, It always went in the oven at 325 for a half an hour to kill off anything that was bad.

5/6/2005 10:43:09 PM

Sophia WV

I have lost seeds this year too.My seed leaves on some are knotted but turned out ok.

5/7/2005 8:06:31 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

Doc, any theories as to why such a plethora of curled, knotty cot leaves showing up all over this year. Peace Wayne

5/7/2005 8:35:25 AM

[email protected]

Planetary alignment???? Or too much filing.

5/7/2005 9:01:00 PM

Montoursville, PA

Wayne..........Not only do I have a theory but an absolute answer. Ans: That is what pumpkin seedlings are doing this year.

I started about ten or fifteen seeds this year. All but two had horrible looking cottys. My Beachy and my friends 845 DiMarco were the only two that looked good. By second true leaf they all looked good. The stems all looked about the same. All were started in the exact same conditions.

There are often things like this, in many plant fields, on a given year. No specific reason. That is just how they were performing that year.

5/7/2005 9:48:33 PM

Abbotsford, B.C

Not with me! I had 100% germination with my eight first seeds, and only one of the seeds had a cot that was a bit mishapen, in that it was about half the size it should be. Otherwise, everything is as normal.

Cameron

5/7/2005 11:16:37 PM