We sowed 10 jalopeno seeds into moist, new seed compost about a month ago. They went straight into the new propagator (no temperature control) and have been nurtured since with watering from below, wiping out the propagator lid, checking for damping off (none), and signs of life: None. Nada, zip, nil, zero, bupkiss.
Any ideas on why this is?
new or old seed ?
The only clue I have to your problem is you say with watering from below,
I have a feeling they are too wet and have rotted away!
Try scraping a bit of compost back and try and locate a seed/s and see what condition it is in.
Depending upon variety and conditions germination times can vary, but based on what you describe I would have thought maximum two weeks.
This is how I grow mine; http://tinyurl.com/2luy3n if it were me I would be thinking of starting again.
I tried my chili seeds in a heated propagator a few weeks ago (also no thermostat, I think it keeps around 70 degrees), came to the conclusion it wasn't hot enough. Tried them (same seeds) on top of the hot water tank; within 48 hours, all seeds up! Might be worth a try? :-\
any chilli probs go to http://www.chillisgalore.co.uk
;D
Sowed 12 Cayenne and 12 Mixed Hot Chillies on 28th Jan in my heated propogator (no thermostat and in an unheated greenhouse) and the Cayenne were up in 7 days and the others three days after that. They were sown along with my toms in a 40 cell tray so the initial watering (soaking with warm water from the bottom also) lasted until after germination.
Like the previous comments I think they may have rotted away. Still, plenty of time to have another go. Let us know how you get on. TC:)
I have found covering them with a cloche makes them come up really quick. I use half a plastic bottle.
One lot I started in an airing cupboard with the cloche over them. With another lot I placed the seed in between a few sheets of quite damp tissue, then put the tissue in a sealed up plastic bag and placed that in the airing cupboard, they sprouted in a few days, then I planted them into normal soil in a propagator.
I have also found if you keep them under a cloche on the window sill they do a lot better than non-cloched ones in the same place.
Mine are on top of the hot water tank. They're a bit late going in, but it worked last year.
mine didn't do anything for ages, sown in the same tray as my toms which also weren't doing anything, after reading a thread in here about putting them in the airing cupboard i tried it and within a few days my toms were up, gave in on the chillis at this point and concentrated on the toms putting them on the windowsill and rotating them a few days later the chillis started to pop there heads up there was no cover on them just a warm window sill and some hard loving!
Lucy
I had the same problem with chilli seed last year. This year I used saved seed, so wasn't expecting anything at all. Sowed about 10 in a 3" pot and covered ightly with compost. Placed in a unheated propagator on the kitchen worktop by the back door, then ignored. Checked last night and they had just started to pop up - taken 8 days.
I think tough love and no direct heat is the answer :D
Mmmm, lots of advice to work on, thank you!
Have re-sown with new seeds - still in propagator - and will keep a close eye. Not really able to use remainder of the flat as a greenhouse so will try and pot up a few seeds and leave them, unheated, by the french windows (no proper windowsills to work with, they're only 2" deep!). The windows are bloomin' draughty and single glazed so will tie a strip of clear plastic around the pot circumference to give them half a chance!
If you put them in pots you can cover them with upturned clear plastic drinking cups to keep any draughts out.
I've never used a propagator - just a south facing window sill in March - and have never had problems germinating. In fact, it's more a case of how to find homes/friends/enemies to give to when I pot on and run out of space. Having a break this year as we're about to embark on stage 2 of the garden, but hope to be back to chilli growing next year.
we had a bit of trouble this year but finally got them going by gently giving them a spray to moisten the compost then covered the tray with cling film and stuck them on the top of the kitchen cupboard and then they all shot up :) dont have them too wet they like it rough!