I haven't grown it, but I've heard that it does take longer to germinate (up to 3 weeks) and tends to have lower germination rates. But it's not extremely difficult or anything--just takes longer.

I find I can germinate almost anything on paper towel. For plants needing very long germination, I wet some paper towel and place it in the bottom of one of those small rectangular pyrex storage containers, scatter seeds on top, and then cover the container with plastic cling film. If needed, I lift a corner and replenish moisture. As soon as I get a decent radicle sprouting, I move to seed starting medium. Using this method, I've germinated even notoriously difficult seeds that would mold and rot if germinated on paper towel inside a plastic baggie.

As for whether it's worth it, hard to say without having grown and tasted it myself. I guess it's a question of whether satisfying your curiosity is worth the extra time.

Hi Gorbelly,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and seed sprouting method I will most likely try that method. I am curious about a lot of plants. Just finished growing sunchokes and besides the gastro affects everything else about them is great. I went ahead and purchased some seeds for the Galapagos tomato going to give them a try. I also picked up some seeds for Mexican cucumbers they look like tiny watermelons, hopefully they taste good.

I also picked up some seeds for Mexican cucumbers they look like tiny watermelons, hopefully they taste good.

Ah, the sanditas/Mexican sour gherkins. I grew them this year. They are super cute. I did a write-up of my impressions here. Maybe it will be helpful to you.

I got my seeds from Baker Creek, and they were no more difficult than any other seed to germinate.

Thanks for the link to the write up, sounds about what I was expecting on taste, good to know about vine growth, I have to prepare for the wildness of vine growth. I see you are my neighbor, I live in PA also, near York, so I think I will have sumilar results.

Speaking of germination techniques, I am hoping to germinate 10+ year old seed. I have been reading about these ideas. Any of them could be used in the plastic container. Any experience with these:

Tea in ref overnight

Alcohol

Chlorox

35% peroxide

Gibberellic acid (?)

Soak in nitrogen

Chloroform (where to get)

How many seeds do you have? And what kind? Tomato?

If tomato and it wasn't a case of being down to my last 10 rare seeds for a variety or something, I'd just try to germinate some of them normally on damp paper towel. Tomato seeds have surprising longevity.

I save and plant my Galapagos seeds and they germinate just like my other Tomatoes.