We say this a lot around here, germinating and growing plants is not as easy as some people think. There are a lot of problems that can present. Also, the potential problems in the garden are different than those when growing from seed.
Though experienced gardeners make this stuff look easy, there’s a number of reasons germination and early plant growth can go awry. That’s why we have an article on this subject, which you’ll find linked down in the comments.
But, sometimes, you can get “bad seeds” that just don’t do not germinate. For our example, we’re seeing zero germination of a new type of tomato plant we’re trying out this season. Clearly, the environment is fine as all our other tomatoes germinated.
This can be frustrating, especially since you paid good money for those seeds. But, this also goes to show that growing and working with plant biology is complex for everyone. Even expert growers, confident enough in their skills to operate a seed shop, can have problems.
We’ve seen this issue many times. It’s not necessarily an issue with the vendor, even the most reputable vendors out there occasionally have issues like this. This problem can affect even brand new seeds, packed for that season.
Just like the problems in growing and germination, seed collection and preparation also have a litany of potential problems. These issues can evade shops that test germination, since these problems can affect a relatively small number of seeds in their entire batch.
When evaluating seed vendors, we find it important to give some grace. If you consistently have problems across many of their seed types, there is likely a problem with their practices. But, when you only see it in one or two, it’s probably just bad luck of the draw.
