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How long do chilli seeds take to germinate?!

tink1981_2
tink1981_2 Posts: 194 Forumite
in Gardening
Hi

Just after a bit of advice...

We planted some seeds back on 14th Feb :happyhear and I was just wondering how long to leave them before I give up hope of seedlings. We followed the instructions on the packet. We planted mid-feb, we've kept them covered and moist and have kept them indoors on a shelf near radiator. I've left a thermometer with them and it seems to have been generally between 15-18 degrees.

It said on the pack that they should start to appear in 7-14 days and we're now over 3 weeks and there's still no sign.

I'm a new to growing my own and I'm not sure if there's anything more we can do or if it's just a case of being a patient a wee while longer.

We do live in the north, not sure if that'll have much bearing on things with them being kept indoors! :cool:

tink x
:j

Sealed Pot Challenge #1505
'you wouldn't worry about what people think, if you realised how seldom they do'
«13

Comments

  • valk_scot
    valk_scot Posts: 5,290 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    How moist? If you've been adding too much water they could have just rotted. Dig one up and have a look at it.
    Val.
  • sirbrainy
    sirbrainy Posts: 2,749 Forumite
    I don't think they're quite warm enough. Have you got a spot where it is reliably at least 22-23C?
    http://www.chillisgalore.co.uk/pages/growingtips.html
  • tink1981_2
    tink1981_2 Posts: 194 Forumite
    thanks for replies... think I will try moving them to the boiler cupboard and see if that helps :)
    :j

    Sealed Pot Challenge #1505
    'you wouldn't worry about what people think, if you realised how seldom they do'
  • smk77
    smk77 Posts: 3,677 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    I put 15 jalapeños in my heated propagator (about 26c) middle of last week. I can see 3 or 4 have come up already. The can take 3-4 weeks but you may want to consider trying another batch somewhere a bit warmer just in case!
  • yumyums
    yumyums Posts: 686 Forumite
    Mine all seem to have taken around 10 days in the heated propagator. Not sure what temperature it's at as it's only a cheapy one.
    I managed to germinate some sweet peppers on a sunny windowsill in 16 days but not sure if these need as high a temp as chillies
  • Air_Cooled_75
    Air_Cooled_75 Posts: 497 Forumite
    Yep, mine were doing nothing until I upped the heat, now they've all germinated. My sweet peppers on the other hand are a different story though, still waiting for those, none have germinated and I'm wondering where I'm going wrong...
  • Sunnyday
    Sunnyday Posts: 3,855 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Mine all have the tiniest of shoots coming out of the seeds.

    They are on damp kitchen roll in jars laid on their sides, the end of the jar is covered in a piece of kitchen roll held on with an elastic band.

    I put them in the airing cupboard but have wrapped them in a towel on top of a radiator before.

    I mist the jars with a water spray every couple of days and when the seeds are really on their way i pop them into pots on a sunny windowsill near a rad.

    I got this idea from someone else on here after having quite a lot fail to germinate.

    HTH

    SD
    Planning on starting the GC again soon :p
  • smarttart
    smarttart Posts: 66 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I planted ours in an unheated propagator on the 21st Feb along with basil, sweet peppers and aubergines and have had nothing come up yet. I did notice that there were a lot of what look like fruit flies crawling around on the soil and flying around the room. I was worried that they were fungus gnats so I've chucked the tray in the greenhouse and replanted some more seeds at the weekend.

    I think I'm going to need to invest in a heated propagator by the sounds of things.
  • point3
    point3 Posts: 1,830 Forumite
    I sowed a packet of 6 Naga Jolokia seeds 2 weeks ago and now I have my first leaf - how exciting! :D
  • smk77
    smk77 Posts: 3,677 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    point3 wrote: »
    I sowed a packet of 6 Naga Jolokia seeds 2 weeks ago and now I have my first leaf - how exciting! :D

    Enjoy your Naga's!!

    Towards the end of the year strip all the foliage off to over winter them so they look something like this (taken from thechilliking.com)

    Ready-For-Winter.jpg

    I did this and now the one Naga that I successfully grew from seed (they've got a low germination rate!) looks like this:

    img4806s.jpg

    It's rather strange looking with that big side shoot i'll have to secure but it's even got some buds on! I reckon I'm therefore about 3 months ahead so a long growing season ahead!

    img4810h.jpg


    I also took the seeds from one of my Naga chillies and planted about 6 of them a couple of weeks ago and one of them has now germinated.
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