Are my seeds doomed?

[Janu]

Hi,
I planted cauliflower, tomatoes, okra and zucchini seeds 8 days ago and they haven't germinated yet.
I watered them a little more than usual yesterday. Today morning, I noticed a layer of fungus on the soil.
Should I get rid of these seeds and start over?

 

[Judith Ayers]

Give them a no longer

 

[Judith Ayers]

I mean a bit longer

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Some seeds can take 14 to 28 days! And BTW, I personally hate those compressed peat seed containers. They are supposed to magically disintegrate after you plant them out, but they never do and they tend to restrict the roots too even if you tear them like they tell you too. At the end of the season they are still intact in the ground. I recommend removing the seedlings from them when you plant them out.

 

[NigelJ]

14 to 28 days if only; some of the seeds I plant take 90days some over a year.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Well, yes, some do, but you can usually do something to speed them up, like freezing (fake winter!), using acidic solutions to soften the husk, etc.

 

[headfullofbees]

I burn some wood in the greenhouse (which is where I sow my seeds) and, using a little solar pond aerator, bubble the smoke through a bucket of water.
This smoke-water contains captured karrikins, which are plant hormones which aid germination.
They are especially effective on onions, lettuce, tomatoes etc.
Karrikin is from the Australian Aboriginal word for smoke.
Some seeds can wait decades for a forest fire prior to germinating.