I was given some 'Samba' eggplant (Solanum melongena) seed last week. I thought I'd plant some, just to have some material to try grafting on, as I'm new to the whole process. And, well, on a slight tangent, I decided to test a second idea. According to the American Horticultural Society's Plant Propagation, the rate of eggplant germination improves with 24 hours soaking prior to sowing.
Question: Does soaking eggplant seed for 24 hours increase germination rate?
100 seeds were soaked in warm tapwater for approximately 24 hours.
Seeds were then sown in two 48 cell trays with SunShine Potting Mix#1. Tray 1 contained seeds that had been soaked for 24 hours. Tray 2 was sown with seeds that had not been soaked.
Tray 1 (left): 48 soaked seeds. Tray 2 (right): 48 seeds that have not been soaked.
As the greenhouse has been averaging nighttime temps of 55F, too cold for heat-loving eggplants, a heating mat was placed beneath the flats to provide bottom heat.
I hear these are slow to germinate, so now, I wait and, in the meantime, make sure the soil doesn't dry out.
