Is it possible to germinate seed from dried chiles, such as ancho, pasilla, guajillo, etc - or would the ripe, fresh chile have the best seed?
I know that the plant will grow the fresh version of the chiles, which then need to be dried, but I was just wondering if the seeds of dried chiles were still useful.
- thepassionatecook
- Full Member
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- Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2009 9:58 am
- Location: NJ
- thepassionatecook
- Full Member
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2009 9:58 am
- Location: NJ
- applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30514
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
I believe dehydrators generallly use temps of 135~150ºF, and it seems to me those are the temps we're trying to achieve when hot composting to kill weed seeds.... Maybe next time, remove/collect the seeds before dehydrating?
But you can always do the moistened paper towel test to check for viability of the seeds -- sandwich some seeds between moist~wet paper towels (not sopping wet), roll and put in a labeled zip bag. Put on top of the fridge and check daily. Add some more water if necessary. You should see radicle (root sprout) growth within a week~10 days, 2 weeks at most for peppers, I should think.
If they DO sprout, and you're ready to plant, then you can cut the paper towel around the sprouted seed and plant them, paper towel and all, at normal depth for the seeds. If not, you'll at least know they are viable. Calculate the % that sprouted so you'll know how many seeds to plant per pot when you're ready.
But you can always do the moistened paper towel test to check for viability of the seeds -- sandwich some seeds between moist~wet paper towels (not sopping wet), roll and put in a labeled zip bag. Put on top of the fridge and check daily. Add some more water if necessary. You should see radicle (root sprout) growth within a week~10 days, 2 weeks at most for peppers, I should think.
If they DO sprout, and you're ready to plant, then you can cut the paper towel around the sprouted seed and plant them, paper towel and all, at normal depth for the seeds. If not, you'll at least know they are viable. Calculate the % that sprouted so you'll know how many seeds to plant per pot when you're ready.