variable germination

[weedin project]

I've been frustrated this year with some of my squashes/pumpkins.

I decided to grow 4x varieties of this family - courgettes, butternut, melons, and a blue pumpkin "blue ballet".

My courgettes, butternuts and even the melons all germinated about 6/7 weeks ago without any problem and are now sitting patiently in the greenhouse waiting to be planted out (or planted in, in the case of the melons).  Yet the blue ballets have given me ZERO germination.  I even managed to get a replacement pack of seeds from my suppliers, of which I have 4 left.  They had identical treatment to the others - temperature, moisture, compost, light in a heated greenhouse.  I'd have thought that conditions suitable for courgettes and melons would have been OK for pumpkins too.

Any ideas?

[Mrs Ava]

Curious!  Most of mine have done really well this year, and so far (tempting fate) I have been able to avoid any slug damage.  However, cannot for the life of me get watermelons to germinate!  Have tried again and again, and will try again tomorrow - final attempt. 

I grew blue ballet last year and don't recall there being a problem.  I guess if you are treating all the seeds the same, then the seed must be dodgy. 

I find a good watering to start, then nothing until the little critters are through as the seed does rot off very easily indeed.  Also a touch of heat helps speed things along.

[wardy]

A little bottom heat, eg the elec propagator with no lid usually starts things off.  Take them out when they sprout 

My squashes were sown in my shed and they have not germinated so I've bought them into the house where hopefully they'll put in an appearance 

[Doris_Pinks]

Mine too are taking an age and very sporadic this year    I hope I don't have to resow! And EJ, I had 6 lovely looking melons come up, then they expired!!   So down to 2 seeds and fingers crossed 

[Svea]

my buttercup squash hasnt budged a bit. i will take the soil off carefully to see if they have even started swelling etc, or not...
and will resow if necessary

[Doris_Pinks]

I have been digging around mine too Svea, (a bad habit I must get out of, so impatient me! ) and they are all just sitting there, doing absolutely nothing! I shall give them a good talking to, and wait a few days more................

[Alimo]

I was getting worried about my butternuts and pink jumbos.  The Butternuts are now all up, but only one pink jumbo..

Will keep trying tho.  I've never tried squashes before, so am looking forward to them.

Alimo

[Svea]

oh, carefully scraped the earth back. one seed was not even swollen, the other had put out a root downwards but not made any effort to actually grow upwards.
so stuck two more seeds in and put them back on the windowsill.

wait and see, i guess.

[Diana]

EJ & Svea:

This year I've taken to germinating both Butternut + Watermelon  in an unheated propergator on the windowsill after previous years no show.

Same packets of seed (left over from 2 years ago) + this year 100% germination

Might be worth a try?

[Moggle]

Hmmm, I have had a couple of problems too, thinking about it. Sowed 2 queensland blue, one germinated, sowed 2 HG crown, 1 germinated  Might bring the others that I have sown in to the airing cupboard, or on the windowsill.

[weedin project]

Update on this topic as I posted the original on 4th May. 

I threw the pots of compost with the failed/dead/rotted/infertile Blue Ballet seeds into a raised bed, and forgot about them.  I then raked and hand cultivated the bed, and planted out my sweetcorn there.

Today I noticed what is obviously a squash plant popping it's little head through the soil.  I assume it is one of those discarded Blue Ballet seeds risen from the dead.

Never say never, I guess.

[Doris_Pinks]

hehehe  if my 24 pots of compost with no show squash seeds rise from the dead, I shall be in big trouble!

[NattyEm]

Well, the ones that the lovely DP sent to me, the butternuts and turksturban were mostly OK and germinated and now in plastic covered manure on couch grass heap at the lottie.  Have lost some to slugs but are left with a few. (theres a pic on my journal www.livejournal.com/users/emloulottie) slugs have had some of them though, eek only left with 3 and a half plants and they're making slow progress.  None of the giant pumpkin germinated.  In fact I put them on the windowsill in May and they are still there!  Nada. Zip. Nothing.  A poke in the soil shows the seeds intact and inactive.  Ho hum.  Better luck next year!  I have some left over I didn't do so will try again next year.