Germination Success!

After waiting patiently for what seemed like forever, my carrot seed and bell pepper seed have finally germinated. The long wait was most likely caused by the unseasonably cool temperatures that those of us in Western Washington have been experiencing. Normally, the May temperatures are in the the low to mid 60s with a nighttime low of 45 to 50 degrees. This year, the highs have been in the mid 50s with lows in the high 30s. There have been a few nice days here and there, but nothing consistant.

I discovered these tiny seedlings on May 9th or the 10th earlier this week. The next day, I noticed some slug slime and even caught a small slug in the act of eating one of the seedlings. I have applied a layer of Corey's Slug and Snail Death, which is visible in this photo, to protect the newly emerging seedlings. Slugs are always a huge problem in Western Washington. The ones that like to eat vegetables are non-native species introduced from other countries. Western Washington does have a native slug, called the bananna slug, but it is usually out competed by the non-natives and is usually only found in the temperate rainforests of the Washington Peninsula.

Here are the newly emerged bell pepper seedlings and a very close up shot at the top of this post. I believe their slow germination was also caused by the cooler temperatures. Even though they were started indoors, I did not keep them directly under the grow light until just recently. On May 9th, I began to move the tomato plants outside during the day and was able to place the peppers directly under the lights which provided a sudden increase in temperature. As stated before, peppers need warmth not only to grow but to germinate as well. I found emerging seedlings on May 11th and did not remove the plastic bags until May 13th. This is a neccessary precaution as you don't want the seedlings to suddenly dry out after being in a very humid and warm environment. I usually remove the bags after I see the leaves popping out of the soil.

In review:

Carrot seed planted on April 23, 2011. Carrot seed germinated on May 9, 2011. Approximately 15 days from planting to germination.

Pepper seed planted on April 24, 2011. Pepper seed germinated on May 11, 2011. Approximately 18 days from planting to germination.

Next post: Tomato update