GERMINATION RATES FOR TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS and other vegetables.
Every year we test the seeds we sell you to make sure the germination rate is satisfactory.
Why? Because often customers will sow seeds when the conditions are too cool in the early part of the season. And when the seeds don’t germinate they think there is something wrong with the seed. This is rarely, if ever, true. After all, you could plant 10 year old tomato seeds and still get a good germination rate.
We plant 20 seeds(unless indicated below) of a variety into seed raising mix in our greenhouse. The seed trays are heated on a heat mat to ensure a consistently warm temperature day and night. We then record and photograph the seeds when they germinate and post those photos here on this website so you the customer can see how the seeds perform in optimum conditions.
Terms… S = Sow then date in DD/MM format G = Germination date in DD/MM format. (X) x = number of days for seed to break the surface. GR = Germination rate as a percent Y= if we planted less than 20 seeds the number is indicated here. Sometimes we might just plant 2 or 3, for something like cucumbers.
Vegetable Germination Testing Results 2023
 |  |  |  |
| Tomato Black Russian | Tomato Casady's Folly | Tomato Beefsteak | Tomato San Marzano |
| S 01/08 G 04/08 (3) 95% | S 01/08 G 04/08 (3) 100% | S 29/07 G 02/08 (4) 95% | S 27/07 G 01/08 (5) 90% |
 |  |  |  |
| Tomato Sunrise Bumble Bee (after 2 wks) | Tomato Cherokee Purple | Tomato Sweetie | Tomato Orange Cherry Y (10) |
| S 01/08 G 03/08 (2) 95% | S 01/08 G 04/08 (3) 95% | S 28/07 G 01/08 (4) 90% | S 29/07 G 03/08 (5) 95% |
 |  |  |  |
| Tomato Brandywine Pink | Tomato Tigerella | Tomato Roma | Tomato Black Cherry |
| S 29/07 G 03/08 (5) 95% | S 28/07 G 05/08 (8) 90% | S 29/07 G 03/08 (5) 90% | S 29/07 G 03/08 (5) 95% |
 |  |  |  |
| Cucumber Lebanese Y (5) | Cucumber Beit Alpha Y (6) | Chilli Carolina Reaper Y (3) | Chilli Scotch Bonnet Red Y (10) |
| S 29/07 G 03/08 (5) 100% | S 29/07 G 03/08 (5) 100% | S 16/07 G 31/07 (15) 100% | S 20/07 G 02/08 (13) 90% |
 |  |  |  |
| Tomato Yellow Banana Legs (5) | Tomato Tiny Tim (10) | Tomato Green Elf | Tomato Totem |
| S 07/08 G 09/08 (2) 100% | S 07/08 G 09/08 (2) 90% | S 07/08 G 12/08 (5) 95% | S 07/08 G 09/08 (2) 90% |
 |  |  |  |
| Cucumber Patio Snacker (4) | Tomato Window Sill Yellow (10) | Tomato Big Beef (5) | Chilli Kashmiri (5) |
| S 07/08 G 09/08 (2) 100% | S 07/08 G 12/08 (5) 100% | S 07/08 G 11/08 (4) 100% | S 03/08 G 11/08 (8) 100% [pre soaked] |
GERMINATION MYTHBUSTING!
I often hear people say that seeds that sink are good to plant but seeds that float are not viable.
Can I just say that this is RUBBISH! There is no scientifically proven correlation between a seed sinking and floating and whether it will germinate.
Here is some proof…
And just for the record, during our germination tests these are the materials used. We havent added links as we don’t sell them and are not affiliates of the products.
| HEAT Mat | Mini greenhouse | Rack |
 |
 |
 |