why does it take so long to germinate pepper seeds

I soaked these seeds for two days and then put them in a moist paper towel and then into a small airtight container for two weeks. I placed them on top of the heating duct for two weeks and they won't sprout. These are Cal. wonder and Nardello seeds.

You may have drowned those seeds with too much moisture and no air.

This is a recipe for fungus.

I agree! You don't have to soak these. Just lay them on top of some potting compost and give them a (very light) sprinkle of some more compost or vermiculate. Don't exclude light. They need that to germinate! They should then germinate in 2-3 weeks but often sooner.....

I don't think pepper seeds take so long to germinate because of a lack of water. I think they just prefer 85 degrees to germinate.

If I remember, and I'm organized well enough, I start my pepper seeds 2 weeks before tomato seeds. ;) Since that didn't happen this year, I might have to look at a seedling heat mat.

This message was edited Mar 31, 2008 6:40 PM

I don't soak them either, just put them in peat pellets on either a heating pad, or this year, a bona fide propagation mat. Even so, they can take 2 weeks to germinate. I barely cover them with soil.

I started some on March 2. Most are up, but still have a few stragglers. They get started in soilless mix, slightly damp, and temps in the 80* range. Some came up in 4 days, and some are just starting to break the surface. It's just one of those things that I've come to accept about peppers.

Some of my seeds are old, and I needed to refresh the stock, but new seeds can be finickey too.

Try less water and some soil. If you are putting it on a heat duct, the air temp may be more than 85* that is coming out of it too.

Thanks for the comments and helpful tips. The only reason I soaked these seeds is because a friend said he had trouble with his sprouting and he's using a heat mat. I have soaked pecans and cucumber seeds before and had good results. I don't have a problem with fungus at all. Out of the six seeds, only half of them have sprouted, but it has taken more than a month. Somethin just not right there. Next I will try more heat. The temps coming out of my ducts isn't that hot, I keep my room at 68 degrees. I'll keep experimenting and maybe I'll get it down to two weeks like you pros. Dave

Cucumber seeds and tomato seeds respond well to presoaking for me. 12 hours max btw. But my peppers still lag behind tomatoes by 2 weeks, so I really need to start them 2 weeks earlier.

I do soak pepper seeds, but usually for only about 8 hours... Then they go on a heat mat, set to 80 degrees.

Same here. Soak in weak tea overnight and bottom heat at 80 degrees.