Quote:
Originally Posted by brownrexx
I guess that I am small time compared to many of you. I only start 2 flats of seeds and my heat mat was about $15 on e-Bay so I thought that it was quite reasonable. I only have one but should have probably bought 2 of them.
I only use it for the peppers and eggplants. The tomatoes come up pretty quickly without it but I am starting them in my warm sunroom which is about 70 degrees.
I love seeing them pop up out of the soil. It wouldn't be as much fun for me to use a paper towel method although I have used that method to check germination rates on packs of older seeds of things like corn or peas.
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I also enjoy watching them come up, unfurl and shed their seed coats naturally. But
To each their own and I have used pregermination sometimes. Typically not for regular tomato seeds though. I think that germination under and then growth up through soil is a more natural way for a seed to start out. When possible, I think it is very good practice to sow extra seeds, at least double the number of plants you actually want and then select the best and most vigorous seedlings right from emergence. pre germinating can allow weak or otherwise abnormal seedlings to grow that would not have made it out of the potting mix. Personally, I do not really want a plant from a seed that has trouble germinating in normal conditions unless that seed is very special or rare or expensive. Some tomatoes are but most I grow are not and I usually have enough seed to oversow and select the best. In particular, I waaay oversow and select only the most vigorous sprouts from my breeding projects