Do You Feel Lucky?

As I've stated in the past, I'm serial seed buyer.  I need a good 12-step program just to walk past a seed rack without picking out a few packages.  I think getting something to sprout for me (you sprouted for me!?  Lowly ol' me!?) is what a gambler must feel like when he (or she?) gets on a roll. 

A few weeks ago, I began my mass pepper plantings.  Normally, I seed between 12-18 seeds per variety.  I hope for (and am getting) about 75% germination, which gives me 9-15 plants with which to plant and/or sell.  One of the varieties I seeded was Early Jalapeno.  It's basic, but beloved by many.  I thought I would start a few more than normal, and I put 29 seeds into a flat. 

I should also note that I'm a stats freak.  I love Excel, and I've designed a highly nuanced spreadsheet that tracks my germination rates of each pepper by each day for the first 3 weeks.  I know that in my current setup, I cross the 50% germination threshold on day 9 from seeding. 

For the Early Jalapenos on Day 9, I was already at 91%!  It's named Early Jalapeno for a reason; still, that 27 of the 29 had already sprouted was far above expectations.  Having destroyed the average already, the only question would be:  Will it get to 100% germination?

I didn't have to wait long, as it was just the next day - Day 10 - where I got to the vaunted 100%.  I did have to count them a couple times just to make sure - that's a lot of seedlings in a 2" x 3" space.  This was confirmed when I 'celled' them over the weekend.

Seven 4-packs and one I put into a 2" pot makes 29.  Amazing...now I want to see if I can get 50 out of 50 to germinate. 

Anyone got the number to planters anonymous?

Enjoy the sun, folks!
Cheers,
Zach