Seed germination

In february and march I had no problem get seeds to germinate, in fact they seemed to throw themselves out of the compost amazingly fast, but in the last month they have been so slow and erractic. I don't think I am doing anything different is it just too hot now to get good germination ??

Mrs Chopper

 

Things like Lettuce, yes definitely, they are not keen on too much heat.

But if it is something tender it ought to be happy at 25C or so for germination.

But if they are in your tunnel, and its getting up to 40C during the day, that would not help ... but the other plants would probably be complaining too!

I germinate my 1/4 sized seed trays in the house ... its a more consistent temperature, and would only get up to 30C+ in a summer heatwave

 

Guess I'll have to clutter up the window sills again :DOH:it definately gets to 35 plus in the tunnel even with all the vents open. Keeping them moist is a never ending battle but thats the same outside at the moment especially with this drying wind that has popped up to futher hinder things.

Thanks for the advice

Mrs Chopper

 

Here's a table of ideal germination temperatures for various vegetable seeds, in case it helps:

Temperature effect on vegetable seeds - percentage germination

The optimal germination temperature for most things is between 18C - 30C, and at 35C most things don't germinate at all :(