Soaking Tomato and Pepper Seeds Before Planting. Necessary? Worth It?

[@frankdavidson9675]

i m 87 yrs been doing this along as i can remember i put my tom seeds from the pack ointo plastic cups with about 2 inch pottingtsoil put 2-3 seeds in each cup keep damp about 10 days they come out two tiny leaves aftr they get about 2 inches tall add some potting soil so the want get leggy leave about i inch sticking out as they grow add more soil till cup is full put in larger cuo the add soil as needed i try to plant in garden good friday weather permitting i start this last of feb that gives me 8 weeks so they will be ready to plant

[@pingpong9656]

Do you have drain holes in the cup? Sounds like a pretty nice and simple way to get going... Old is gold!

[@ali-mw5no]

We need more of your awesome and precise work in the KZbin.

[@LEDTonic]

Aw, thank you!

[@johndoh5182]

Hey dude just want to say that was a well done test and some good info to go along with it. I've seen another test to see how quick seeds can get to root, and it was less than a day, and once rooted the seeds were transplanted with 100% success rate. The starting of the soaking was different, with an alternation of going between very warm and very cool water, a few seconds for each and then put onto a tampon layer, which got warm water and a tampon layer on top that didn't have water pooling up that high, so it was moist but not full of water drowning the seed. He got to sprouting sooner doing it that way. I think I'm going to try 6, 9 and 12 hours for soaking in cups on a heat pad only to keep the water warm, doing the same in mild temp water, and then do the test of taking the seed back and forth between warm and cold water and then with all methods do the tampon thing I mentioned above so I have multiple ways of wetting the seed. Another person shows first putting seeds in the refrigerator for a time period before taking them out of the package to simulate winter, he also had a very high success rate, the soak time was shorter like maybe around 6 hours and he used tea. So now I'm being hit with ALL KINDS of ideas of what to try. What I know though is you need a controlled germination area, being able to maintain the temp and a heat pad under the trays as peppers want to germinate in warmer soil.

[@buffyplays2577]

thanks for this, you confirmed my suspicions with the pepper germination. did it by accident and the seeds that were soaked longer than 24hours took many more days to germinate in my experience

[@Ruktiet]

Great video, thanks for doing this precise experiment!

[@LEDTonic]

Time is precious! Clickable timestamps below: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Materials and theory 02:14 Preparing the first group of seeds 02:42 Six hours later and planting second group of seeds 03:22 14 days later 05:23 Germinating results 07:16 Final conclusion

[@halasimov1362]

Timestamps!!! You rock. [Subscribed]

[@Purrringcat]

Great video. The best video I've watched on soaking till now.

[@billywaters2830]

😅 Ppl

[@anand_naik]

Excellent!! Thankyou for taking the time for doing this and sharing with the world! 🙏

[@aquaseahorselove3939]

This would explain why my habanero and cayenne peppers wouldn’t germinate, but all my tomato seeds did. I will soak my pepper seeds overnight from now on and plant much more than I actually need for better chances. Thank you so much! 🌱🌱🌱

[@LEDTonic]

Soaking isn't necessary but a 6-12h soak definitely seems to help. I love the paper towel method rather than planting them right away. I like to keep a moist paper towel with seeds in a transparent lunch box. This allows for a perfect level of moisture that can't escape, and it's easy to open the lid and grab a seed once it has germinated. This was, no dead seeds are planted and it's super easy to follow the whole process. 25-28c/77-83f temperature will help, too. Hotter varieties seem to need more time than milder ones. Good luck and happy farming! :-) Max LEDTonic

[@veronical3135]

I water my pepper and tomato seeds every morning and evening after sowing them in pots. They all germinate, the only secret is to keep them moist enough after sowing but never overwater after they germinate. I also get them outside when it is sunny and bring them back in the house in the evening when it gets colder. The pepper seeds germinate later than any other plants since they’re a hot weather plant so don’t get discouraged.

[@emily_devos]

For what its worth, I didn't soak my peppers. It took them a little over two weeks to sprout, some three weeks. But they did, and they look excellent now. I just threw them in some potting soil with water with some cheap grow lights I set up overhead. No heating mat, just a warmer room in the house (probably 73 F avg temp). Getting to the phase of having 4-5 true leaves just 6 weeks later from seed sowing date. I honestly almost threw them out because I thought they weren't gonna come up, and I needed to do other techniques. Totally agree with Veronica! Don't get discouraged. I was watching all my other plants sprout, thinking peppers wouldn't. One day there was a little green sprout, and within a week, there were more than I could count and I had WAY too many seedlings that sprouted. Easily 99% germination success rate.

[@jeffclarke5497]

Nice work! Thanks for your efforts. Helps to get a handle on the soaking method. Cheers!

[@saraax]

Exactly what I needed to know. Thank you!

[@indianb1918]

Thank you for this valuable video. I soaked sunflower and calendula seeds for 24 hours and i got a very poor germination rate. I guess a hour of soaking will be better.

[@jrparmar05]

I am new to gardening and this will really help. Apart from the information, I really appreciate your efforts. You have conducted your experiments and produce great presentation data. Overall learned great deals from your video.

[@freddieivory625]

Great comparison, thank you for sharing

[@stephm69mtl]

fantastic and rigorous experiments and results presentation ! Thanks !

[@LEDTonic]

We're happy to hear that you liked it! Thanks for your comment and happy farming :-) Max LEDTonic

[@SecretsofPlants]

It all depends on the temperature. I germinate the seeds at a higher temperature.

[@LEDTonic]

Hello, A slightly elevated temperature will absolutely be beneficial for many seeds. Peppers and tomatoes seem to do very well in between 25c/77f - 30c/86f. However, trying to germinate lettuce seeds at temperatures higher than 25c/77f can become quite a challenge. Not all seeds benefit from temperatures above regular room temperature. It all depends on the variety. Also, while higher temperatures help, the balance between water and oxygen are about as important as getting the temperature right. Too much or too little moisture can be equally as bad as having too low temperature, if not worse. Thank you for your comment and happy farming! :-) Max LEDTonic

[@avgrim7729]

@@LEDTonic Yes, cold weather plants like lettuce, mint, etc don't need heat. Warm weather plants benefits from heat mat.

[@MixedGoku]

Absolutely lovely video

[@arnolddizon1718]

Wow I was actually thinking of this idea, thanks man

[@justanotherfool7668]

a clever trick i learnt about is to highly oxygenate the water ,typically i use a compressor in a small cup of water for about 5 min ,when i soak seeds in this water they usually crack open in under 24 hrs ,the more oxygen the more aggressively it breaks down the seed, bound oxygen is best but using this method will allow sufficient amount of oxygen to become bound in the water

[@LEDTonic]

Cool idea! Will definitely try that someday if it's feasible.

[@OSGCourtWatch]

Supposedly soaking in about a 10% hydrogen peroxide/water mix greatly increases the oxygen level as well as that extra oxygen molecule breaks free...ever tried that? I just started some seeds in baggies a couple hours ago using that mix to soak my paper towels...

[@cigileyAtTR]

@@OSGCourtWatch What were the results. Were curious :) .

[@OSGCourtWatch]

@@cigileyAtTR seeds germinated in just under 2 days

[@cigileyAtTR]

​@@OSGCourtWatch Fantastic. I'm glad it went well. It would have been nice if you had another batch without it, to check the difference.

[@ali-mw5no]

You're great! Thank you. This informations is awesome.

[@gardeningtipswithvicky]

Hi ..Did you cover the cups in order to create a mini greenhouse effect??

[@terrystevens8890]

Also, a cup of water with a Tbsp. Of hydrogen peroxide and then soak for 24 hours, speeds germination. The extra molecule of oxygen in the peroxide gives them a ‘kick’ .

[@Anonomush_oranges]

Finally, the scientific method and not just some hack taking 10 minutes to explain how to put seeds in a paper towel. I have another variable for you. Do a comparison of water vs. 1% hydrogen peroxide. This year is the first time I have tried to start peppers from seeds rather than buy the expensive plants. I did not realize how notoriously difficult it is to germinate the seeds.

[@MrShutterbug321]

Thank you, this was helpful, but I'd really like to know the optimum time to soak the seeds. All we really know for sure are the results at the two data points (6 hrs and 12 hrs) are about equal, and better than any other measured times, but it could be that the peak was at 2 hours, or 4 hours, or 9 hours, or even 14 hours. Could you redo the experiment, in 2 hour intervals, from 0-12? That would not only be very helpful, but reinforce the results of your first trial.

[@LEDTonic]

Thanks for your comment and feedback :-) You have some valid points and I agree, but I also think it comes down to what pepper species one is planning to grow and what the temperature is. If you're using different seeds or a different temperature, you might benefit from a slightly different soaking period, too. Jalapeno seeds are fairly cheap to buy and I highly recommend doing your own tests. Just remember to share your results here later. www.amazon.com/dp/B001JO82G0 Happy farming! Max LEDTonic

[@valeriesanchez3074]

What's very odd here I soaked some jalapeño seeds for about 2 days had radicals emerging. But I used water with hydrogen peroxide. No telling about leaves sprouting yet, but soaking with added oxygen helps

[@theronkenny3112]

Very nice home experiment 🙏🏼

[@LEDTonic]

Happy to hear you like it! Thanks for watching.

[@ko7356]

Science!!! Love the accent 🖤

[@stinejakobsen9798]

Can you do an experiment where you just leave light on pepper plants 24 hours a day and see what happens? I have heard 16 or 18 hours of light, but I have had mine on 24 hours of light for a couple of weeks now, and they seem to be doing better than the ones that are getting 18 hours. It would be an incredibly interesting and fun experiment to watch you do!

[@LEDTonic]

That is a cool idea! It is a common question that pops up every now and then. We'll try to arrange something in the future. Stay tuned!

[@stinejakobsen9798]

Definitely will! 😃

[@stinejakobsen9798]

Another thing I have been wondering lately. A problem I often times have when germinating pepper seeds on paper towel is that the seeds and seedlings can get mouldy. I know a friend of mine soaks their seeds in a solution of water and hydrogen peroxide to prevent this, and I read somewhere that it could be beneficial to the seeds, but I also think that could be damaging to the seeds. Would be interesting to see if you germinated on paper towels that were too wet, if the ones soaked in the hydrogen peroxide would get less mouldy. Maybe you could even do different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide to water and see if it makes a difference when it comes to amount of mould and what effect it has on the seeds. I heard the right concentrations could even increase germination rate, but don’t know if this is true or not. Just a thought. Would definitely be interesting if you choose to check it out :-)

[@zippylocked]

So soaking seeds before planting is good?

[@DarbukaWave]

what about bigger seeds

[@bdfreedom2024]

which process better for germination? with paper towel or with water??

[@LEDTonic]

Soaking pepper seeds for 6-12 hours and then placing them on a moist paper towel gave the best results in our test. Soaking didn't have a large effect on tomato seeds and they can be planted in moist soil right away. Thanks for your comment! Max LEDTonic

[@bdfreedom2024]

​@@LEDTonic do we need to make dry the pepper seeds after soak ??

[@LEDTonic]

No. The seeds should never dry out once it's been wet. Letting it dry out can kill it permanently. It should be moist throughout the whole germination process and also after planting/transplanting. We have covered the cups in the video with plastic wrap to keep all moisture trapped in the cup and prevent the seed and paper towel from drying out. I recommend you do the same :-) Max LEDTonic

[@yoriichi3347]

Can you try to use Round Magnet for seed germination experiment?.

[@LEDTonic]

We might in the future if we ever make more videos on this topic. Didn't know this was a thing and it would be cool to test out. Thanks for your comment and have an awesome day! :-)

[@yoriichi3347]

@@LEDTonic no problem 😁

[@D.A.Hanks14]

This is cool stuff to know. Soaking too long is worse. I would have never known.

[@LEDTonic]

Hello! Thanks for the feedback, happy to hear you like the video! Have a great day and happy farming! :-) Max LEDTonic

[@allesistaussternenstaub]

😊

[@gregoutdoors7]

Good job, well done sir 👍🏻

[@derekgrimes6544]

SUBSCRIBED.. ! :) good work thanks.. !

[@LEDTonic]

Thanks, Derek!

[@Ottawajames]

I read the title as "Smoking Tomato and Pepper Seeds..." I was a little disappointed it wasn't that. haha.

[@LEDTonic]

Haha! That would be something!

[@AngelaKSellsHomes]

Tomatoes and peppers don't need soaked. Try a larger harder seed that soaking is supposed to help.

[@pingpong9656]

Did you have hydrogen peroxide in the water? Lots of bubbles...

[@LEDTonic]

It was just plain water.

[@carolsanborn5332]

Very precise , Max . Being an American , I can't help but wonder what is your country of origin is, as your accent hints that you are possibly Russian , but I may be off a country or two in my guess . Please let me know how far off my guess is...

[@allanallansson9532]

He´s Swedish with good grammar and vocabulary but an unmistakable accent that I happen to share with him. To be more precise, he is from south of Sweden, from the province of Scania ("Skåne" in Swedish; "å" pronounced "au" as in sauce). You can get this from other videos of his.

[@carolsanborn5332]

@@allanallansson9532 Thank you so much, Allan. This was the first video of his that I watched , so I was curious. My mother's parents migrated to Massachusetts from a border town between Sweden +Finland. There were disputes amongst our relatives as to which country they were actually from. One cousin said she did the research +believed our mother's ancestry to be Swedish . A DNA test returned the result that she had some Russian ancestry , however , so we can still only guess. Interesting, none the less when one contemplates their ancestral origins. I appreciate your responce ; very kind of you, Allan.💖

[@racingwithnogas]

Let's be honest... How many videos of the same topic, saying the same things can there be. Seems like some can be deleted

[@amarjitsingh5153]

Perfection 😊

[@MsPongkit]

ñ

[@mio.giardino]

You only needed 2 cups for this test and 10 of each seed total.