Dwarf Cherry Tomato Seeds not sprouting

[thofue]

Hi addicts

I signed up a while ago but with covid and everything I didn't really spend a lot of time with my AG.

I have the 6 pod slim and have had decent success with the herbs kids included.

Few weeks ago I cleaned my AG and decided to start fresh. I got the grow everything kit and ordered some mini bell pepper and dwarf cherry tomato seeds.

Two tomato pods, two pepper - keeping one gap in between them.

Few weeks later: the peppers sprouted and I'm very happy with how they grow.

Tomatoes? Nothing. 3-4 seeds per pod. Nothing sprouted. I ended up with greenish algae pods. Threw them out and tried again. 3-4 seeds in two new pods but the same again, has started to turn greenish again.

What do you think? Did I just get a batch of "dead seeds"? Do you have any hints or tricks how to make them grow.

Thanks for help!

[Shawn]

Welcome thofue


Congrats on the Aerogarden.  These are wonderful machines aren't they?


The green algae has been a topic of conversation for some time now.  However one of our members found the solution to that.  You can read about it here.  I do not think it is bad seeds but more the algae over took and "smothered" them.

[thofue]

Thanks Shawn for your response.

I honestly would have thought of everything but not nutes.

Now just to clarify, does it mean there is too much of it in the water?

So I just fill it up with water to dilute and try again?

When I started new, I cleaned the whole AG until it looked like new.

For 6 pods the manual says two caps of nutrients. Since I use 4, I only poured 1 - 1 1/2 caps, which obviously was still too much then?

[ERR0R1755]

Welcome, thofue!

The issue isn't the amount of nutrients, but rather, the nutrients being present at all. It's better to not follow the directions - and instead wait to add nutrients. The seeds will germinate fine without nutrients, so you can add nutrients after they've poked their heads out of their pods

[Shawn]

I have been following the rule of not adding nutes with my current gardens.  So far all my herbs are up and fine and I just added half the nutrients.  My peppers take longer to germinate.

If I may suggest, but you do not have to follow.  I use a syringe to add nutes.  I find it much more accurate.  And I never add the amount AG recommends.  Depending on what is planted I add less the right amount or more.  For example.  No matter if it is a Harvest or Bounty, if I plant lettuce I never add more then 4ml.  For peppers I have gone as high as 12.  For herbs I stay around 6ml.  This works for ME!  I use my tap water and my plants love it however some people had have or soft water, some use distilled and others use something else so that can effect it.

Aerogardens are pretty plug and play.  Do not think too much about it (as I have learned from @cornne).  Plant, wait, watch and enjoy.  Of course ask questions as you are to learn as you go.  that is the way I learned   

We will get you thru this and you will be growing beautiful gardens very soon

Another nute-it-later fan here now..it does work to keep algae from latching on.

Also, I have a Slim  and it will only take 2 plants of either the peppers or the toms unless you are going to plant the seedlings in soil..the tank isn't large enough for all those roots and the deck is not wide enough....the machine is too small for 4 plants all at once. My taller machines can only take 2 plants at maturity.

Just a tip for next time around.

[hakaku]

If it's your own seeds, another thing you could try is putting a few seeds in a moist paper towel and then leaving that in a plastic bag / ziplock bag. You could easily leave it on your countertop for a few days or directly on top of the AG hood to benefit from some heat. Check every day to make sure no mold has formed (more likely if you overwet the paper towel).

After a few days you should hopefully see some germination, after which you can carefully take the seedlings and transplant them into a custom sponge/pod into your AeroGarden. (Be careful, they're delicate at this stage)

This method ensures that the seedlings are growing healthily before putting them in the AeroGarden and gives the plants a chance to set their roots in the sponge before algae has a chance to overtake it.

[Shawn]

Jul 13, 2020 8:33:04 GMT -5 hakaku said:

If it's your own seeds, another thing you could try is putting a few seeds in a moist paper towel and then leaving that in a plastic bag / ziplock bag. You could easily leave it on your countertop for a few days or directly on top of the AG hood to benefit from some heat. Check every day to make sure no mold has formed (more likely if you overwet the paper towel).

After a few days you should hopefully see some germination, after which you can carefully take the seedlings and transplant them into a custom sponge/pod into your AeroGarden. (Be careful, they're delicate at this stage)

This method ensures that the seedlings are growing healthily before putting them in the AeroGarden and gives the plants a chance to set their roots in the sponge before algae has a chance to overtake it.

I have been doing the paper towels with my peas and cilantro for a few years now.

[thofue]

Jul 13, 2020 5:09:05 GMT -5 Shawn said:

I have been following the rule of not adding nutes with my current gardens.  So far all my herbs are up and fine and I just added half the nutrients.  My peppers take longer to germinate.

If I may suggest, but you do not have to follow.  I use a syringe to add nutes.  I find it much more accurate.  And I never add the amount AG recommends.  Depending on what is planted I add less the right amount or more.  For example.  No matter if it is a Harvest or Bounty, if I plant lettuce I never add more then 4ml.  For peppers I have gone as high as 12.  For herbs I stay around 6ml.  This works for ME!  I use my tap water and my plants love it however some people had have or soft water, some use distilled and others use something else so that can effect it.

Aerogardens are pretty plug and play.  Do not think too much about it (as I have learned from @cornne ).  Plant, wait, watch and enjoy.  Of course ask questions as you are to learn as you go.  that is the way I learned   

We will get you thru this and you will be growing beautiful gardens very soon

I did exactly that -> "plug and play - don't think about it..." and it worked perfectly fine so far with the herbs and peppers, just not with the tomatoes. I will definitely follow the no nutes procedure next time.

[thofue]

Jul 13, 2020 7:55:34 GMT -5 @cornne said:

Another nute-it-later fan here now..it does work to keep algae from latching on.

Also, I have a Slim  and it will only take 2 plants of either the peppers or the toms unless you are going to plant the seedlings in soil..the tank isn't large enough for all those roots and the deck is not wide enough....the machine is too small for 4 plants all at once. My taller machines can only take 2 plants at maturity.

Just a tip for next time around.

Thanks Corinne. Yes indeed I noticed the root monster of my basil when I "tried" to remove all those tentacles. 

I followed your advice and took out the tomatoes and try again later. For now I will enjoy my two peppers, they grow like crazy.

[thofue]

Jul 13, 2020 8:33:04 GMT -5 hakaku said:

If it's your own seeds, another thing you could try is putting a few seeds in a moist paper towel and then leaving that in a plastic bag / ziplock bag. You could easily leave it on your countertop for a few days or directly on top of the AG hood to benefit from some heat. Check every day to make sure no mold has formed (more likely if you overwet the paper towel).

After a few days you should hopefully see some germination, after which you can carefully take the seedlings and transplant them into a custom sponge/pod into your AeroGarden. (Be careful, they're delicate at this stage)

This method ensures that the seedlings are growing healthily before putting them in the AeroGarden and gives the plants a chance to set their roots in the sponge before algae has a chance to overtake it.

I will try that independently of the AG because firstly I'm in the mood for homegrown tomatoes, and secondly I want to know if the seeds are good (which I believe they are). I will just plant them later in a pot. Thank you!