Allotments 4 All

I have four varieties at the seedling stage - Desiree, Skagit Magic, and a couple of plants each of Russian Blue and Blue Belle.

No germination from Violetta so I resowed yesterday. I really hope I'll get some plants from this one!

I also added a few more seeds to the pots of Russian Blue and Blue Belle. Only afterwards I realised I'd mixed up the seeds so now I have them cohabiting. Oops! Oh well, it won't matter too much.

My Violetta came up well. Keep trying!

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 27, 2015, 10:08:33
My Violetta came up well. Keep trying!

It's weird, because the other varieties worked okay but not even a single Violetta seed germinated. Fingers crossed for this lot, I only have enough seed for one more try if this fails!

Sometimes one pot is slower than others. How long have they been in?

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 27, 2015, 20:29:24
Sometimes one pot is slower than others. How long have they been in?

I sowed them all on the 16th, so 11 days. The other four germinated in three or four days, and the Russian Blue and Blue Belle I resowed two days ago already have little roots showing now.

Give them a bit longer. where are they? Maybe they need to be a little warmer. A lot of mine came up in short order - not quite as short as yours - but I had a couple of pots which took longer. One is still being a bit reluctant, with a lot less seedlings than the others. Naturally, it's the one people are most interested in. Apparently there are numerous Ratte-like strains around Europe under various names (this one's Russian Banana), and they rarely set seed. So the question is, does it come true, and will it produce berries? The more I have, the merrier!

They are in a heated propagator, which is at 30 C.

I saw a post earlier on another site which suggested that temperature fluctuations may help germination. Maybe a windowsill would work better? If you're on Facebook, there's plenty of expertise in the Kenosha Potato Project group.

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 28, 2015, 20:32:15
I saw a post earlier on another site which suggested that temperature fluctuations may help germination. Maybe a windowsill would work better? If you're on Facebook, there's plenty of expertise in the Kenosha Potato Project group.

Not sure they'll germinate at all on my windowsill either, the temp in my house is about 13-14 C and it'll be lower on the windowsills. Not warm enough. Might try moving them out of the prop at night though.

It could be coincidence, but this morning I have a Violetta seedling, yay!

The pot has spent two days in my makeshift light box - when the light's on the temp is almost 30 C in there and it's 15-ish with the light off. Perhaps that helped.

Fingers crossed for a few more seedlings!

I've asked on another site, and it's been suggested that the optimum temperature may be about 24-26 centigrade. Someone else said he was varying it between 50-70 Fahrenheit. 30C might be a bit on the high side.

If only I had one of those fancy propagators with temp control!

Actually I doubt the temperature itself was a problem, since the other varieties germinated.

It could be germination inhibitors. Fresh,, unfermented seed can be slow as the berry contains substances which prevent premature germination.

Quote from: Silverleaf on March 30, 2015, 20:34:00
If only I had one of those fancy propagators with temp control!

Actually I doubt the temperature itself was a problem, since the other varieties germinated.

Leave the lid ajar or off and the temperature will drop.  Bottom heat is still beneficial.  It is so easy to make it a little cooler in the propagator.  Mine (not temp regulated) has two top vents, which can be opened, but it is just as easy to wedge one side of it open, where the tps are.  Glad you got something showing.  Sometimes these things take time.   

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 28, 2015, 10:45:15
Apparently there are numerous Ratte-like strains around Europe under various names (this one's Russian Banana), and they rarely set seed. So the question is, does it come true, and will it produce berries? The more I have, the merrier!

If the seeds came via me, they were saved from Russian Banana tubers and were open pollinated. The tps I've grown from that seed batch produced relatively similar offspring, some really nice types. Russian Blue was grown alongside so it is possible some might have colour. I can't remember saving seed from the tps plants, but that might have been a L. Blight issue, you might get better results hand pollinating flowers if they are shy to set pods, but the parent plants set fruits well enough and had an abundance of flowers.

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 31, 2015, 16:34:55
It could be germination inhibitors. Fresh,, unfermented seed can be slow as the berry contains substances which prevent premature germination.

But the best performers have been my own saved Desiree seeds. No fermentation, I just scraped the seeds out onto some kitchen roll and let them dry. Just before I sowed, I scraped the seeds off the paper.

Another Violetta seedling is visible now, I might get some plants after all!

Quote from: Silverleaf on April 01, 2015, 11:04:45
Another Violetta seedling is visible now, I might get some plants after all!

The Russian Banana came form a US grower. If yours are from another source, JayB, then maybe we should compare what we end up with and see if it's the same strain!

And I'm up to 4 Violettas!