Pre-Chitting Squash Seeds !!!

[veg4681]

What an absolute bore!!!, these squash seeds are taking forever to sprout (except for one which still took 12 days ). I wrapped the seeds in damp k-roll before placing them inside a sealed plastic bag and left in the pantry. Have I made a mistake by not putting them in the heated propagator? It's 14 days since pre-germinating (should be typically 6-10 days) when you start to question....

I'm only pre-chitting to prevent myself from rotting the seeds but if this method is painfully slow to the point of even 'damaging the seeds', I'm happy to take the risk with conventional sowing in heated propagator.

Okay I think I'll put the sealed bag in the heated propagator from today.

[Paulottie]

I think that your over complicating things here. Take 4" pot, nice light compost (a bit of vermiculite in the mix if you have it) put in two seeds on edge place in propagator. Don't water again till they are up ..a week to ten days. They like to get into a nice warm bed and don't like waterlogged soil.

[veg4681]

I think that your over complicating things here. Take 4" pot, nice light compost (a bit of vermiculite in the mix if you have it) put in two seeds on edge place in propagator. Don't water again till they are up ..a week to ten days. They like to get into a nice warm bed and don't like waterlogged soil.

I've had frustrating and disasterous results from 3" pot in heated propagator so that's a 'no go' area for me. I'll sow the same squash seeds in 2" cell tray to go in heated propagator. That's another problem, can't afford 2 seeds per pot sowing. Pre-chitting squash seeds approach has been abandoned in my rule book but I still support this method for parsnips though.