Knowledge from Olle Garden Bed: Reasons Your Seeds Aren’t Germinating & How To Fix It

When you sow new seeds excitedly, you find that the germination rate is very low, which is very disappointing. You may even encounter problems that have no seedlings at all. You need to figure out why your seeds have not germinated. The following content also has some reference value for raised garden beds.

Fortunately, it is usually easy to find out the reason. No matter what the result, you can take many simple measures to solve the problem.

Environmental problems that cause poor seeds to germinate

The first thing you have to do is to consider environmental issues. Environmental problems are usually the most likely cause of germination. Different factors in the environment are very important for determining the degree of success of seed germination.

The three key factors for germination of ordinary crops are how much water, oxygen and temperature they get.

1. Too little water

Seed germination usually requires water. As the seeds mature, they will dry. In order to successfully germinate, these mature seeds need to absorb a lot of water. Only when they absorb sufficient moisture, can the cell metabolic process and growth occur.

When the seed absorbs moisture, the processes of the storage of food resources began to convert the stored food resources into a chemical substance necessary for germination.

Seeds often need water to decompose each seed coating so that the seedlings can appear.

If your germination rate is poor, this may be because you do not provide enough water for these processes. If the soil of your seed disk, container, or planting area is too dry, you should be able to see or feel this easily.

Full watering, be careful not to wash the seeds away or push them into the growth medium too deep, your seeds are likely to sprout in time.

2. Too much water

Generally speaking, the goal is to provide enough water to wet the seeds. But you don't want to soak them. Of course, the amount of water required depends on the seeds of a specific type of germination.

Excessive watering is one of the main reasons for poor germination, mottling or no existence. Too much watering can cause waterlogging and compacking, which is related to the following points. The too humid environment is also more likely to make you encounter damping problems-this article will be introduced in detail later.

If you water too much, you can recover things by dried the seed growth medium slightly. However, unfortunately, if excessive watering causes one of the other issues described below, it may be too late to save them, and you may need to start again.

3. The seeds do not get enough oxygen

The germination seeds require oxygen to metabolize until the optical formation process is taken over. Before the leaf of the seedlings develops, it mainly obtains energy from aerobic breathing.

Oxygen demand is closely related to water demand. The coatings of some seeds need to be decomposed first before absorbing water and oxygen from the environment.

Watering and excessive watering may cause seeds to not get enough oxygen to germinate. Insufficient watering may lead to the problem of no decomposition. Excessive watering may cause the soil to be flooded and compacted. Compactness makes oxygen more difficult to pass.

But another error may mean that the seeds do not get the required oxygen. You may bury your seeds too deeply.

You may also choose the wrong growth medium for trying the seeds. This may also cause the oxygen (or water) required for seeds to not get germination. Make sure you know which type of growth medium is needed. If you make a wrong decision last time, please replace your growth medium.

4. Temperature is too low

Other common problems of seed germination are related to temperature. Temperature can affect the metabolism and growth rate of cells.

Seeds usually germinate within a certain temperature range. They do not germinate at this temperature range, and at the end of the temperature range, the germination rate may be significantly reduced.

Many common garden crops have effectively germinated at the average room temperature of heating houses (60-75). However, the required temperature range is wide.

Some seeds germinate at a slightly higher temperature of the freezing point, some seeds germinate when the soil is surprisingly cool, and some seeds germinate when the soil is significantly warmed. It takes a period of cold (Chunhua) to break the dormant state of certain seeds. At the same time, the others germinated only when the temperature fluctuates (just like the seasonal changes).

Successful planting depends on the role of understanding temperature on the seeds we want to plant.

When the seeds are sowing directly outdoors, the temperature is usually too low. You may just broadcast the seeds prematurely. Or the temperature may suddenly decline at night. In the cool or cold temperate climate, evening creams sometimes become the problem of early sowing.

To avoid this problem, you may want to start sowing indoors, and then transplant them to the final growth position after warming in the weather (and soil).

If your growth season is short, it may be important to start planting as soon as possible. In addition to starting sowing indoors, you can also consider creating a hotbed or cold framework to sow, or use greenhouses, multi -tunnels, lids, or closed to protect seeds and seedlings.

Under one of these structures, the soil will warm up faster. Therefore, it may be easier to reach the temperature required for germination.

5. Excessive temperature

If you start sowing indoors or start sowing in the midsummer of the climate, you may encounter the opposite problem. Many seeds cannot germinate around 90-95. If the temperature they experience is close to the temperature in your home or in the garden, this may be the cause of poor germination or no existence.

If you start sowing indoors, check whether there is a heat source near the seed planting area to cause problems. Sometimes, too extreme temperature fluctuations may be the problem.

For example, do your seeds, stoves or ovens are too close, will they be intermittent? If your greenhouse or multiple tunnels become too hot, be sure to open the structure to create sufficient ventilation.

If you want to germinate seeds in a very hot summer, try to provide a cool place to reduce temperature. Ensure the coverage of the soil to reduce evaporation, and fully water it to ensure that water needs meets and create cool soil and air temperature.

6. Damping

If your seedlings have germinated, but it may be mottled, and it will wither and die soon, you may encounter a question called "damping".

Deliness is a problem that affects most seedlings. The damping before the seedlings will mean that the seedlings cannot emerge at all. The damping after the seedlings will cause seedlings to collapse within a period of time after germination.

This is the most common problem when sowing indoors or greenhouses. In spring, when the level of light and temperature is low and humidity is usually high, it is the most destructive. This was because the seeds grew the slowest at the time. However, it may happen at any time of a year.

The damping is caused by fungal and fungal -like creatures spread by many different soil. These include Pythium, Phytophthora, Nuclear bacteria and sickle bacteria.

They attack seedlings after germination and cause them to collapse and decay. You may see white mold around the affected seedlings, which indicates that this is the problem.

How to reduce the chance of damping

If you plant seeds in commercial compost, fungi should not exist in your growth medium. If you grow in self -made compost, it may be the source of damping creatures.

If this is a repeated problem that you compost, you can consider using steam to disinfect the mixture and eliminate the pathogen. However, this is rarely necessary, and most people will not have problems with their own compost.

If you pour plants with rain, creatures may come from there. Make sure your water buttocks and containers are clean and seal to prevent organic matter from entering. This should not be a problem for tap water.

Before using, make sure your tray, pot and container are clean. If damping is a problem, please do not reuse these containers. Keep good hygiene habits, and carefully handle the affected materials, stay away from your garden planting area and compost.

Smooth sowing to avoid excessive crowded, which may make damping more likely to happen again. Do not over -water. Make sure the seed growth area also has good ventilation and airflow to reduce humidity.

Why do seeds do not sprout when the environmental conditions are appropriate

Sometimes you may be sure that environmental conditions are perfect. Linking is not a problem. So what's wrong with? The following is more why your seeds do not germinate:

7. For the seeds you try to plant, the low germination rate is normal

The facts in life are that some seeds naturally have a higher germination rate than other seeds. For any seeds, a certain percentage failure is very common.

However, for some specific species, you may find that only half of the seeds germinate-even less. This may be due to problems. But it may also be that the seed germination rate of the seeds you tried to plant is usually low.

Check the seed packs and information online or in books to see if the results of the plants you try are normal, and then immediately conclude that there is a problem.

8. Seed storage incorrectly

Another reason for your seeds without germination may be that they are no longer feasible. Unfortunately, if the storage is improper, the seeds may lose vitality.

For example, if your seeds are stored in a place with high temperature, this may be the problem. They may also be exposed to high temperature or other environmental hazards on the way to the center of the garden, shop or your home.

Unfortunately, if this is the case, the seeds will not germinate at all, and there are no more benefits. They may have suffered enough damage so that they can no longer mature into healthy plants.

9. The seeds are too old

It is also important to realize that the seeds do have a "use" date. It may be just because the seeds you try to germinate are too old. Seeds can only survive within a certain period of time, and some seeds will lose vitality faster than other seeds.

For example, carrots and European windproof grass is one of the seeds that lose vitality at a faster speed. Of course, this means that it is important to broadcast seeds in time.

The goal is to sow seeds from these plants and other plants that quickly lose vitality within one year. Or, collect or buy these seeds every year.

Seed bags usually have "sowing date". This is not a rigid deadline, and some seeds may still germinate after the given date. But after this date, sowing usually leads to a decrease in germination rate.

If you want to save your seeds, you must mark the date of collecting them on the container so that you can know when to use them.

10. Seeds were eaten before germination

If there are no seedlings at all, this puzzle has the last potential answer. If you sow in the greenhouse or multi -tunnel outside or open, then something may have been eaten before the seed germination!

Birds, mice, mice or field mice may be the culprit.

If you think that pests eat your seeds, it is a problem, you can increase the opportunity to avoid this problem by sowing at home or more tunnels or greenhouse hanging racks. You can also try to protect your seeds with a closed, covering or mesh eye.

In gardening, not everything is planned. However, when you slowly study various options to find the root cause of the problem, and then find a solution for each option, you will definitely have a lot of great success stories. If you are not successful at first-try again, try again!