Hi All,

I have noticed that I am unable to get ANY seed to
germinate if I plant it after the thrid week in May.
That is when the freezing nights stop. (In May,
we have 70 to 80F days and 30 to 40 F nights.)

In june we have 80 to 90 F days. I am wondering
if the hot days and moist soil cooks or rots
the seeds.

I only water every two days.

Your thoughts?

Many thanks,
-T

T wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I have noticed that I am unable to get ANY seed to
> germinate if I plant it after the thrid week in May.
> That is when the freezing nights stop. (In May,
> we have 70 to 80F days and 30 to 40 F nights.)
>
> In june we have 80 to 90 F days. I am wondering
> if the hot days and moist soil cooks or rots
> the seeds.
>
> I only water every two days.
>
> Your thoughts?

depends upon the seed and seed quality you are
planting, the soil, the conditions that happen after
the seed is sown.

it may just be that you have such mineral laden
soil that there is no moisture retained (sand or
mineral grains are not moisture retainers). could
it be that the seeds are placed too shallow for
your conditions? they might fry if it is full sun,
sandy and hot enough.

perhaps your water is really bad, alkaline, etc.

sometimes things need shade aka a nursery crop or
some other things like fire or the seed has to be
mechanically abraded.

without knowing a lot more about your attempts
and more exact details we're just guessing.

perhaps you are talking about direct sown seeds
into your garden soil and we're thinking you're
talking about trying to start things in sterile
seed starting mix with more controlled conditions.

and that really gets to the next point. when
you plant a seed you are asking a question, but
if you've not done any prep work then perhaps
you are asking a rather poor question which can
be improved...

the more you can describe things when you ask a
question here the better the replies you might get
in return.

songbird

On 8/23/2022 3:47 PM, songbird wrote:
> T wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I have noticed that I am unable to get ANY seed to
>> germinate if I plant it after the thrid week in May.
>> That is when the freezing nights stop. (In May,
>> we have 70 to 80F days and 30 to 40 F nights.)
>>
>> In june we have 80 to 90 F days. I am wondering
>> if the hot days and moist soil cooks or rots
>> the seeds.
>>
>> I only water every two days.
>>
>> Your thoughts?
>
> depends upon the seed and seed quality you are
> planting, the soil, the conditions that happen after
> the seed is sown.
>
> it may just be that you have such mineral laden
> soil that there is no moisture retained (sand or
> mineral grains are not moisture retainers). could
> it be that the seeds are placed too shallow for
> your conditions? they might fry if it is full sun,
> sandy and hot enough.
>
> perhaps your water is really bad, alkaline, etc.
>
> sometimes things need shade aka a nursery crop or
> some other things like fire or the seed has to be
> mechanically abraded.
>
> without knowing a lot more about your attempts
> and more exact details we're just guessing.
>
> perhaps you are talking about direct sown seeds
> into your garden soil and we're thinking you're
> talking about trying to start things in sterile
> seed starting mix with more controlled conditions.
>
> and that really gets to the next point. when
> you plant a seed you are asking a question, but
> if you've not done any prep work then perhaps
> you are asking a rather poor question which can
> be improved...
>
> the more you can describe things when you ask a
> question here the better the replies you might get
> in return.

My theory is that if seeds start to sprout, then dry out, they tend to
die. So I water newly planted seeds regularly but lightly so the soil
around them stays moist until they sprout and grow a bit. More than once
a day if they begin to dry out. Then I decrease the frequency of
watering, but water more so the deeper soil gets wet so the roots grow
down into it as the top soil dries out.

Getting that soil test earlier, and adding the lime, nitrogen, and
potassium it said I needed has made my garden take off! we went from a
really dismal looking garden of bolting tiny yellowish plants, to very
strong healthy rapidly growing dark green produce everywhere.

Bob F wrote:
....
> My theory is that if seeds start to sprout, then dry out, they tend to
> die. So I water newly planted seeds regularly but lightly so the soil
> around them stays moist until they sprout and grow a bit. More than once
> a day if they begin to dry out. Then I decrease the frequency of
> watering, but water more so the deeper soil gets wet so the roots grow
> down into it as the top soil dries out.

yes, when i start beans here in mostly clay i water twice
a day but lightly to keep it moist enough. once they sprout
i reduce to once every other day or so and then after that it
might gradually ease off to once a week. depends upon how
much rain we get. in sandier soil with more minerals and less
clay and organic matter you'd have to water more frequently.
in the arid southwest it's a whole different ballgame. you
might need some shade, a wind break or mulches to keep seeds
cool enough and evenly moist enough.

> Getting that soil test earlier, and adding the lime, nitrogen, and
> potassium it said I needed has made my garden take off! we went from a
> really dismal looking garden of bolting tiny yellowish plants, to very
> strong healthy rapidly growing dark green produce everywhere.

glad it helped out. :)

have you been getting regular rains there? it had been
really dry here for quite a long time. so much that i was
wondering how much BER my tomatoes were going to get as
usually the first few that come ripe might have some BER.
this year none of the first few pickings had really bad
BER but it was close. will have to pick again in a few
days.

songbird

On 8/24/2022 8:54 AM, songbird wrote:
> Bob F wrote:
> ...
>> My theory is that if seeds start to sprout, then dry out, they tend to
>> die. So I water newly planted seeds regularly but lightly so the soil
>> around them stays moist until they sprout and grow a bit. More than once
>> a day if they begin to dry out. Then I decrease the frequency of
>> watering, but water more so the deeper soil gets wet so the roots grow
>> down into it as the top soil dries out.
>
> yes, when i start beans here in mostly clay i water twice
> a day but lightly to keep it moist enough. once they sprout
> i reduce to once every other day or so and then after that it
> might gradually ease off to once a week. depends upon how
> much rain we get. in sandier soil with more minerals and less
> clay and organic matter you'd have to water more frequently.
> in the arid southwest it's a whole different ballgame. you
> might need some shade, a wind break or mulches to keep seeds
> cool enough and evenly moist enough.
>
>
>> Getting that soil test earlier, and adding the lime, nitrogen, and
>> potassium it said I needed has made my garden take off! we went from a
>> really dismal looking garden of bolting tiny yellowish plants, to very
>> strong healthy rapidly growing dark green produce everywhere.
>
> glad it helped out. :)
>
> have you been getting regular rains there? it had been
> really dry here for quite a long time. so much that i was
> wondering how much BER my tomatoes were going to get as
> usually the first few that come ripe might have some BER.
> this year none of the first few pickings had really bad
> BER but it was close. will have to pick again in a few
> days.

We have been watering. I had to look up BER. I don't remember running
into that here in western WA.

Bob F wrote:
....
> We have been watering. I had to look up BER. I don't remember running
> into that here in western WA.

lucky you! :) no hot droughts there and/or plenty of
good deep soil?

songbird

On 8/24/2022 2:33 PM, songbird wrote:
> Bob F wrote:
> ...
>> We have been watering. I had to look up BER. I don't remember running
>> into that here in western WA.
>
> lucky you! :) no hot droughts there and/or plenty of
> good deep soil?
>

Well, we did have a few days of up to 108F in that "heat dome" last
year, breaking many records. Normally, it seldom gets much into the
80's, with a few days into the 90's. Upper 70's today. It is getting
hotter over the years for sure. And dryer, but not in the drought range
yet. East of the Cascades is entirely different.

12" or so of rick loam, with excess organic material from all the
compost I've added over the years, according to the soil test, over
10-15 feet of fine sand. Apparently a hard clay layer under that. Water
table is 8-10 feet down in the summer. Up to the lower spots in the winter.

Bob F wrote:
> On 8/24/2022 2:33 PM, songbird wrote:
>> Bob F wrote:
>> ...
>>> We have been watering. I had to look up BER. I don't remember running
>>> into that here in western WA.
>>
>> lucky you! :) no hot droughts there and/or plenty of
>> good deep soil?
>>
>
> Well, we did have a few days of up to 108F in that "heat dome" last
> year, breaking many records. Normally, it seldom gets much into the
> 80's, with a few days into the 90's. Upper 70's today. It is getting
> hotter over the years for sure. And dryer, but not in the drought range
> yet. East of the Cascades is entirely different.
>
> 12" or so of rick loam, with excess organic material from all the
> compost I've added over the years, according to the soil test, over
> 10-15 feet of fine sand. Apparently a hard clay layer under that. Water
> table is 8-10 feet down in the summer. Up to the lower spots in the winter.

that sounds ok to me. you have drainage. we have it here too
but it is almost all via runoff from the top. i capture what
rains i can and soak it in.

songbird

On 8/23/22 15:47, songbird wrote:
> without knowing a lot more about your attempts
> and more exact details we're just guessing.

The only difference is the heat

"T" <T@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:te2u59$31dbc$1@dont-email.me...
> Hi All,
>
> I have noticed that I am unable to get ANY seed to
> germinate if I plant it after the thrid week in May.
> That is when the freezing nights stop. (In May,
> we have 70 to 80F days and 30 to 40 F nights.)
>
> In june we have 80 to 90 F days. I am wondering
> if the hot days and moist soil cooks or rots
> the seeds.
>
> I only water every two days.
>
> Your thoughts?
>
> Many thanks,

Sounds to me as if they are drying out before they germinate. Here I keep
the soil/sand moist, watering/misting 2 or 3 times a day until I see results
and the cut the watering times back gradually to once every 2 days but with
sufficient water to soak deeper. PLUS the all important keeping an eye on
the weather and adjusting accordingly.

Mike

On 8/31/22 20:05, Bloke Down The Pub wrote:
> "T" <T@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
> news:te2u59$31dbc$1@dont-email.me...
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I have noticed that I am unable to get ANY seed to
>> germinate if I plant it after the thrid week in May.
>> That is when the freezing nights stop. (In May,
>> we have 70 to 80F days and 30 to 40 F nights.)
>>
>> In june we have 80 to 90 F days. I am wondering
>> if the hot days and moist soil cooks or rots
>> the seeds.
>>
>> I only water every two days.
>>
>> Your thoughts?
>>
>> Many thanks,
>
> Sounds to me as if they are drying out before they germinate. Here I keep
> the soil/sand moist, watering/misting 2 or 3 times a day until I see results
> and the cut the watering times back gradually to once every 2 days but with
> sufficient water to soak deeper. PLUS the all important keeping an eye on
> the weather and adjusting accordingly.
>
> Mike
>
>

After the initial watering, I only
do once every two days. I think
you solved the mystery.

Thank you!
-T