Victory Seeds website refers to Germination Standards from the Federal Seed Act -

Here is a link that might be useful: Germination Standards

But speaking to the tomato standard of 75% germination, not all places actually do germination on the seeds that they sell. The those Federal standards are not enforced on a regular basis or usually not at all.

In addition, even if I distribute seeds of a variety that are last year's seeds I know before hand that the results will vary wildly.

I use to do a large seed offer here at GW for many years and I remember one of the last years I did so I got extensive data back, which I still have somewhere, and one person with current seeds would get zero germination while another one would get 100% with the same exact seeds.

So even if a seed pack says 80% germination on it I know that folks using those seeds will have wildly differering germiantion rates and it's b'c no two folks use the same seed starting mix, some seed too deeply, some use heat mats, some don't, some use domes that don't provide enough air so they cook the seeds, some start in real what I call dirt which never works well, etc.

Just two days ago I had a woman ask me why her seedlings were plopping over and dying and I asked a few questions and she said she wanted to grow organically so was taking the cardboard tubes out of TP rolls, wadding up TP and stuffing it inside the roll and setting the rolls up in a pan of standing water all the time to be sure, as she said, that they never ran out of the rainwater she was using.

Sometimes I think I've heard it all, and then, well then, something else comes along to surprise me.

In my next seed offer maybe I should suggest that folks not use wadded up TP stuffed into a carboard tube and setting the tubes up in a pan of rainwater. ( smile)

Carolyn

Carolyn,

Wow. Unbelieveable. Ummm......

Does that woman buy toilet papar that is labeled "certified organic"?

That is just weird. Wonder where she got the idea?

Bets

Takes all kinds. ;) Good thing there isn't a Seed Germination police to come and measure exactly how many seeds you got to germinate and how many days it took to do it, etc.

"Tardy germination" is common in commercial settings and really isn't any big deal when dealing with massive numbers of seeds and plants and an assembly line operation. I think it is only the home grower with a few plants who counts seeds, times the days to germination, and notes percentages of germination.

Dave