My nasturtium seeds refuse to come up!

[tenderloingardener]

By my search query obviously I am the only one with this problem-except for one, these seeds aren't germinating. The first one I just dropped into a 3" pot of soil and 3-4 days later I had an huge seedling. Nothing else was coming up, so I decided to read the instructions (when all else fails ) and I dutifully filed and soaked the seeds, and planted them deep enough to keep them from light, which supposedly retards germination.
At this point I have some outside in the pot that I had planned to grow these in, with my lone baby plant, and then a few in my "hot house" which is a converted fish tank. I have those at various levels of mousture-all moist but some more so.
None of these seeds are doing anything after 3 weeks+.

Maybe I'm just being my usual impatient self combined with the speed with which the first one came up, but it seems that something is amiss here. Maybe I should cover the ones outside too? I couldn't get the Italian parsley to come up until I did that.

I have 2 or 3 more seeds that have not been molested if anyone has a different thing to try. Otherwise, as much as I like the peppery taste of nasturtium I may have to get a morning glory, maybe even a moonflower. I wanted something "viney."

Thanks! You guys are really patient and good sports about my novice issues. You'll make of me an urban farmer yet!

[imafan26]

Nasturtiums seeds sprout in their own good time. They like cool but relatively dry conditions. I don't plant them anymore, the seeds sprout by themselves when they are ready.

They seem to do better in a poorer mix. They don't like too much fertilizer and I have not soaked the seeds. I use a fast drying mix anyway, but you can use a mix that has more sand and less peat or compost. Water regularly but don't over water. Most of my nasturtiums will sprout in 7-10 days. If they haven't I would see if the seed rotted. If it did, then make the mix even drier and water less.

[rainbowgardener]

I agree, if they haven't sprouted in 3 wks, they aren't going to and have probably rotted out. As imafan said, you can check by trying to dig some up. If you find them and they are still OK, not mushy or anything, you can try planting them back. But I'm guessing you won't even be able to find them any more.

If that is true, that they rotted out, it suggests that the soil was too cold and wet. They need soil that is damp, not wet, and 70 degrees. They do benefit from being soaked, but only for a few hours, no more than over night. If you let them soak too long, they will be starting to rot already.

[tenderloingardener]

Thanks you guys. I swear that some fool web site or other said to keep them in a warm place and moist, so I put some in the tank. The nicking and soaking I got from the seed packet. I'll have to check the pot outdoors-we had several days of much needed rain, but I only brought the pot in when it was really pouring.


The Internet is but a vast toilet stall wall anyone can write on. You try to pick sources that seem legitimate, but this one is where I come when the going gets tough.

[tenderloingardener]

I found one that had put a root out-I put that one back like it was but I removed the water bowl from beneath the pot. I found 3 rotten oozy ones, but 4 that seemed fine. I don't have any peat or sand so I put them in soil, but wet it very little. I put that outside.

I really like the idea of edible flowers, and I like the peppery flavor of these, especially a vine which takes up less pot space, but Nasturtiums do attract varmints and if I can't get anything to come up I may need to give that space to someone else. I have a lot of stuff going this summer and no time for messing about!

I was looking for Viola odorata but could only find one seed source in Italy-expensive, especially the shipping. It seems as though a flower which has been cultivated for so long would be more readily available. Nope, not a vine but the scent and flavor make up for that!

Thanks again, I'll let you know if I get any Nasturtiums this summer! This may be my first and last attempt with them.

[applestar]

Try here https://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=788

Check and verify that it has good sweet scent. I have two patches in my garden in separate areas, and one patch is utterly scentless while the other is to die for. Unfortunately, the good one was victim of "neighborly" weed kill death swath, which I won't get into but have posted about before, and has been severely diminished.