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What exactly are the seeds coated with - does it say on the package? I see the bit about why they're coated but not with what. I've never used seeds treated simply for the purposes listed on the package, so I can't comment whether it would be better to soak it off or not. If they were treated with a fungicide or something like that, then I would not soak, but that isn't the case here.

You could put them in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag and check for germination daily. Plant carefully so you don't break the roots. That way, you know which seeds are good.

To the extent that seeds are coated with compounds to aid germination and reduce disease, it doesn't seem smart to soak them, as soaking will just remove them. The package says, for the coating, "improved water uptake, enhances germination", "increases oxygen penetration/availability, and "better field visibility". Not sure what any of those really mean, but it doesn't seem smart to remove it. They'll get soaked when you plant them. To the extent they remain dry when planted, they sure won't germinate. So why pre-soak?

Kaolin or bentonite (both forms of clay) are typically used to coat seeds. I never use coated seeds but I wouldn't soak them, but then again I never soak seeds of any type.

But without knowing exactly what they're coated with, I question why tomato seeds need to be coated for the purposes listed on the package. Tomato seeds (1) aren't going to have trouble uptaking water or oxygen if they're sowed into amenable soil/growing medium, (2) they're light-colored and medium-sized, so easy to see and handle, and (3) a good seed house always lists their germination rate on the package or catalog description -- high 80s and above and you're not going to have much trouble at all with germination if properly sowed into amenable conditions.

Sometimes there is a very good reason to coat seeds, but I don't view the reasons cited on the package as needed for tomato seeds, which are generally easy to germinate with few, if any, problems.

Agree about coating, why? This was the only packet when I needed some so I got them. Dan I tend to agree but I am pretty sure my germination took longer and was half what other tom's seeds were. I use miracle grow which holds a lot of moisture. I occasionally getting damping off and often moss on top. Maybe the wet soild combined with seed coating holding more moisture caused seeds to rot? Hard to tell.

Wait, hold on....are you using Miracle Grow when you sow seeds? If so, stop doing that. It is not needed. Not at all. All a seed needs to germinate is moisture and proper soil temp and light conditions (covered vs uncovered). No fertilization needed until seedling has its first set of true leaves, and even then only at 1/2 strength. So you may be burning the seeds.

Are you maintaining an appropriate soil temp during germination? if it's too cool, seeds take much longer to germinate, or they refuse to germinate.

My understanding is that damping off is caused by a fungus and cool, wet growing medium. If the fungus isn't present, then no damping off even if the growing medium is cool. Do you disinfect your growing containers?

I'd have to presume that you just had a packet of bad seeds. It happens. I can't see how any coating could prevent germination. Once the coating gets moist in the soil, it pretty much falls off.

Re MIracle Gro, I have to presume he means Miracle Gro soil (or potting mix), not fertilizer. That's a credible mix for germination.

Some people have trouble with their eyesight and/or their dexterity. Even a tomato seed, as big as it is compared to some other vegetable seeds, can be too small to see or handle well. Pelleted seed is an option for these circumstances and they are coated in clay.

I agree that your problems with germination and damping off is likely because of your choice of potting mix.

To soak or not to soak is a personal matter. Some people do soak their seeds prior to sowing. Yes, even tomatoes. It's up to you as to whether you want to or not.

Rodney

If using a miracle grow mix to start seeds then their seed starting blend works best, it's ingredients aren't as coarse as what is typically found in potting or garden soil mixes. I use Jiffy seed starting mix and have no problems with tomatoes or any other seed germination issues. As for damping off prevention, as mentioned above > warm soil, plus real sunlight and once the plants are established then watering from the bottom helps keeps the container's soil surface drier. Best to have too little watering rather than too much.

Thanks! Like Dan said it was miracle grow potting soil. I do not get a lot of damping off but some. It is known for holding moisture and they even brag about holding moisture on the bag.

I have to agree it seems really unlikely the coating affected it. It was also not really bad so maybe it was some bad luck. I did get plenty of germination I just thought it was 75% (not 95% like I usually get) and it "seemed" to take longer.

All my stuff is indoors, in a room that is about 70 degrees. Warmer is better I put a heating matt under it but it does not do much. I simply start a few days earlier to make up for slower germination, easier than trying to raise the room temp a little.

I do mostly water from below, it helps. I also water 2x a week. I also have a fan running lightly across all plants. A tip from someone here. Simulated wind and IMO helps dry top of soil to prevent damping off.

I have few issues but I try to start so much stuff that room is critical, and planning, so even 2 plants no germinating affects me a little. I do 2 seeds per pot (unless I am lot on seeds) and can replant more 2 weeks later if needed.

All I use to start my seeds is miracle grow potting soil with no problems, but run it through a 1/4" x 3/8" mesh shifter before using it for seeds. Finished up a bag last week which had a lot of partially composted pumpkin or squash seeds in it. I've used other brands but they had to much trash in them otherwise it wouldn't matter. I had enough of the nonsense playing with coconut coir, sphagnum peat moss, perlite and vermiculite years ago and simple works good enough for me.

The coating is clay, pearlite, and food coloring. It's used to make very small seed easier to see and place. How much the clay can help with even or improved water absorbtion, or the pearlite can help with the oxygen might be debatable or hype with such a minimal amount of it used to coat the seed. But the food coloring and the coating increasing the size of the seed package does make the fairly small seed easier to handle and see for some folks.

Update. I planted 8 of these and today 0 have emerged. A week later I planted 8 sungold tomato's (same days to germination) and all have been up for 3-4 days.

I know they came up last year but I also remember it took a long time, longer then all my peppers. My take is seeds are not bad but somehow coating is making it take a lot longer to germinate which means it somehow is not taking on water nearly as fast.

I am soaking some seeds today for 8 hours, maybe more, then will plant to se if that speads it up. I will never buy these again but I am still curious because this is tough to explain.

In my mind, these seeds were evidently mistreated in some way, either by the producer or by those marketing them. Though you say last year they took longer to come up than peppers. That is strange indeed. Peppers are some of the slowest vegetables to germinate. Perhaps the coating is defective, and requires some serious scarification to remove it. You might just soak a couple in water and see if the coating falls off, like it should, or at least softens. You might get in touch with the producer (Ferry Morse, I believe, which has a Service and Support line) and report your trouble with them.

Since this post I watched a video by a soil scientist about starting seeds. She said to mix a whole bunch of fine grade vermiculite with the starting soil and not to water from the bottom and only spray water from above. She said most problems with germination is because of a lack of oxygen and the seeds rot or just die before emerging.

I was having problems with onions and had a germination rate of maybe 40% and believed it was because I used seeds from last year. I decided to try her advice using the same seed packs and planted another flat to see for myself. I used about 30% vermiculite and the rest miracle grow potting soil and watered from above with a spray bottle like she said. I counted how many seeds I planted and ended up with a germination rate over 90% so it wasn't the old seeds.

I use 72 cell flats and plant two seeds in each cell so I also dug out the dirt from the first planting where there were no onions and replaced it with the vermiculite mix and taking the flats off the wicking mats. Again I got 90%+ germination, and now i have to many onions. I've had no problems with any other seeds, old or new, with over 90% germination of my peppers, brussels sprouts and cabbage except for one variety of pepper with nothing. I have a new 4 pack planted in the vermiculite mix watered from above so will see how it goes.

I'm convinced the onion seeds have a hard time growing in low oxygenated soil and hope oxygen was the reason the yellow pepper variety didn't come up. The soil scientist also refers to Vermiculite as the weapon of choice for fussy seeds, Her channel on youtube is "gardening in Canada" if you're interested and she is a soil scientist with a lot of very good information and based on science and not momma's grandpa told me so it's how I do it.

Interesting! I am still soaking the coated seed and they look hard as a rock. My new theory, and about all that makes sense, is the coating is not right and/or to thick. If it takes a week to break down the coating that is a delay - and I suspect many the coating was simply too hard for seed to break through.

As I said, you should inform Ferry Morse. Something is wrong with their coating. At the least, they can inform you about how best to test it, and will probably send you a substitute batch that you can compare with. BTW, Ferry Morse has a page about them - https://ferrymorse.com/blogs/ferry-morse-home-gardening-blog/are-coated-pelleted-seeds-really-worth-the-hype

Thanks! I had some honeydew melon seeds that had 0 germination, in the ground, in a wet paper towel, all seed floated and never sank. How bad do you have to treat seeds to make a brand new packet have 0 germination?

The seeds that float and don't sink after soaking are generally non-viable. They may have been overheated in storage or transit. It happens.

Update, this is more to hlep me track this. 2 days ago I took a dozen and saoked them overnight. Yesterday the coating was soft and easily brushed off. I planted 3 per pots. Today I noticed 2 of the original seeds finally emerged! It has been about 3 weeks!