seeds Seed Germination speed..?

[acs1]

Just started some Sugar Rush Peach seeds from a pod sample from Nomad Nurseries from about a month ago.
 
 Let the pod dry out for a few weeks then cut it open, spreading the seeds out in some old discarded soil on top of a strip of new organic seed stater mix spread down the middle of the planter. Then covered the seeds with some more seed starter mix. Watered in heavy, put on the bottom shelf out of direct sun,  then forgot about it. 6 days later got these guys...
 
 Some seeds take forever to sprout, some are fast. Seems to me, the ones I get right out of a nice pod seem to work best. The ones that take forever to sprout seem to be the weakest plants. The fastest sprouting most healthy looking sprouts seem to go on to be the best strongest pepper plants,,, yes?
 
Went from having 1 SugarRushPeach plant to having a dozen or more seedlings now, no room for all of them. And hopefully the AJI Limo seeds will sprout soon. No clue where I'm going to put them all... already got 4 dozens plants now...lol
 
How long will a dried out pod's seeds be 100% viable for. Should they be kept in the pod, or taken out of the pod for storage..?
 
jmo

 

[solid7]

The ones fresh from pods will always sprout fastest, because you don't have to rehydrate the hull or the germ.  You can speed up the germination by soaking in either distilled water, or a mild seaweed solution.
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I don't like using rockwool, because it's wasteful, an extra expense, and just not a great use of energy and resources to make them.  However...  There's no denying that they work really great.  I actually think they work better than just about any method.  I'll start them in an uncovered bowl, under room temperature in the air conditioned house, and they'll do ~100% almost every time.  The only catch is, because of my qualms with using them, I only use this method when I have a very limited amount of seeds, and I want the best chance at success with a limited seed stock.  Most of the time, I just throw seed in solo cups out in the shadiest part of my back porch, and they come up just fine.

 

[CaneDog]

Good stuff on the sprouts ACS!  Seed won't get better over time, so yeah, I'd totally agree that the fresher the seed the better, but older seeds can be perfectly fine too if treated correctly.  As far as 'the faster to germinate is better,' for a given variety I think that's generally true, though not in every situation.
 
Plus, there are plenty of varieties that simply take longer to sprout, so correlating germination speed to vigor among different varieties probably won't hold true - an annuum that sprouts in 12 days isn't necessarily healthier than a bird pepper that spouts in 20 days.  That said, the longer the seed is in the soil the more challenging it is to maintain optimal conditions, so the more likely it is something will go wrong - simply taking longer probably means statistically more issues affecting vigor, like over-watering, fungus, etc. It's simply harder to get good starts from a variety that averages a few weeks versus one that pops in 5-6 days and that's where good techniques make a big difference.
 
My experience is a proper germination environment is hugely important in getting a plant off to a good start and even to long-term vigor in the plant.  Looks like yours are killing it. Plus now you can cull and keep only the best of the best!  I'e never grown any of the 'sugar rush' peppers.  Hope they do great for you.

 

[acs1]

Thanks for the reply guys. This place is a wealth of information. Helps out us pepper rookies.
 
Any locals want to pick up a Sugar Rush Peach seedling, let me know, will put them in small containers in another week or so when they get stronger/bigger. I'll give away at least half of them. Don't want to start shipping.