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Old September 14, 2016   #1
habitat_gardener
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California Central Valley
Posts: 2,539
Default secrets of pea germination?

I've read that peas are supposed to maintain good germination for 3 years, but this year the peas I've planted have had 3% to 50% germination (averaging 20%) for seeds that were dated 2014-2015 (commercial packets). And only 50% for 2016 seed! All of these are either sugar snaps or snow peas, 7 varieties, from different sources.

I plant my seed in 6-packs, and when the plants are big enough I transfer them to the garden.

I wll try one more round, this time soaking the seeds overnight.

If you've had better germination rates, please tell me your secret!

(Last year, I had close to 90% germination for many varieties, doing pretty much exactly what I did this year! The lowest rate was for 2009 seed, which had 35% germination.)
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