will these seeds germinate?

I bought a jar of jalapenos, being ever thrifty I noticed some seeds at the bottom of the jar. Now a couple of them looked to have started to germinate in the actual jar. Will they actually grow? Similarly I have some pepperdew seeds which I got from a jar.

Lastly, has anyone had any success growing plants from the seeds of a butternut brought in a supermarket?

Thanks!

 

Two years ago I planted a few seeds from a Butternut squash from a Supermarket. Three out of five germinated. One died off but I planted out the other two in unprepared ground and they grew pretty well. I only got small fruits and they tended to rot off easily (despite being a very hot summer). Maybe the variety wasn't suited to a UK climate? I reckon that given a fair chance (ie a decent prepared bed and a bit of glass cover) they would have been OK.

 

Hi Tracy.

One of the first things that gave me the gardening bug several years ago was putting some seeds from jalapenos from the local market in a pot to see what happened. Sweet peppers and cayennes have followed. ( I just love 'em.... ) the greenhouse is overrun each year with them, and if they're brought inside before frost hits them, they will keep for quite a long time on a windowsill. I picked some fresh yellow peppers and cayennes around Xmas day this year. The greenhouse is probably the best place for them. They *will* grow outside, but produce fewer, later, and smaller fruits. The main problems seem to be lower temperatures causing very slow ripening, and wind blowing the fragile flowers and buds off before they have a chance to turn into fruit.
I've got some old single glazed windows a neighbour gave me - I might try making a very simple greenhouse thing from them up against a solid sunny fence, and see what happens. The tallest chilli or pepper plant I ever got was around 3 feet high.

Last year I tried butternut squash from supermarket saved seeds, but like at least one other person on GC, mine grew, but didn't produce flowers or fruit. Maybe last year was too wet. (was round 'ere anyway....)

Prastio has a good point - if it was a hot climate variety, then it wouldn't do so well, or maybe even do anything useful at all. Garlic I've grown from saved sprouted bulbs has been not brilliant, maybe for the same reason. Mind you, if you grow lots of them, small size is not always a waste - green garlic leaves and shoots are delicious in potato curries!

I'm relatively new to this gardening lark, and always willing to learn, but I'd say go ahead and see what will grow - you learn lots, lose nothing, and there are always surprises!
The chillies that have germinated, put them in small pots, 3/4 full with compost, and keep them moist on a warm windowsill. They need sun and warmth, but too little light will make them tall and spindly.

Planting leftover seeds and saving seeds from the plants that grow from them is always satisfying.

cheers,
Dave

 

I have a thriving chilli plant grown from seed that came from a friends parrot food. I planted it last year and kept it in the house all winter. It has just got it's first chillies on. A few weeks ago I planted about 10 different types of chillies because I had bought the seed as a job lot on eBay just before Christmas 'cos I love chillies. A couple of weeks after buying I was diagnosed with IBS and spicy food can cause great discomfort. All 10 types have germinated in profusion so I guess all the family will be getting chilli plants for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries etc. Wonder what my youngest grandson will do with his? Knowing him he'll sell them at school as sweets. :D

 

Why did that double post?

 

Hi Ethansmum

Just a quick thought: You say the seeds are from a jar, are they from pickled/preserved peppers?
If so I don't think they'll germinate.

Butternuts are not the easiest of squashes to grow anyway, and the ones you get in supermarkets this time of year are usually imported from hot countries so will grow better in similar climates. You never know 'til you try though!
Next time you go shopping look for other squashes like 'kabocha' or 'crown prince' (I've seen them both in Tesco fairly recently). I reckon you'll get much better result from these, and in my opinion they're much tastier too.

Good luck.
Nick.