Results of an experiment to see correlations between various vegetable seeds number of days to sprout appearance and the temperature at which they are kept.
| Crop | Minimum | Optimum Range | Optimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asparagus | 50 | 60 - 85 | 75 | 95 |
| Bean | 60 | 60 - 85 | 80 | 95 |
| Beet | 40 | 50 - 85 | 85 | 95 |
| Cabbage | 40 | 45 - 95 | 85 | 100 |
| Carrot | 40 | 45 - 85 | 80 | 95 |
| Cauliflower | 40 | 45 - 85 | 80 | 100 |
| Chard, Swiss | 40 | 50 - 85 | 85 | 95 |
| Corn | 50 | 60 - 95 | 95 | 105 |
| Cucumber | 60 | 60 - 95 | 95 | 105 |
| Eggplant | 60 | 75 - 90 | 85 | 95 |
| Lettuce | 35 | 40 - 80 | 75 | 95 |
| Muskmelon | 60 | 75 - 95 | 90 | 100 |
| Onion | 35 | 50 - 95 | 75 | 95 |
| Parsley | 40 | 50 - 85 | 75 | 90 |
| Parsnip | 35 | 50 - 70 | 65 | 85 |
| Pea | 40 | 40 -75 | 75 | 85 |
| Pepper | 60 | 65 - 95 | 85 | 95 |
| Pumpkin | 60 | 70 - 90 | 95 | 100 |
| Radish | 40 | 45 - 90 | 85 | 95 |
| Spinach | 35 | 45 - 75 | 70 | 85 |
| Squash | 60 | 70 - 95 | 95 | 100 |
| Tomato | 50 | 60 - 85 | 85 | 95 |
| Turnip | 40 | 60 - 105 | 85 | 105 |
| Watermelon | 60 | 70 - 95 | 95 | 105 |
| Crop | 32 | 41 | 50 | 59 | 68 | 77 | 86 | 95 | 104 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asparagus | little or no germination | little or no germination | 53 | 24 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 19 | 28 |
| Bean | little or no germination | little or no germination | little or no germination | 16 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 6 | little or no germination |
| Beet | not tested | 42 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | not tested |
| Cabbage | not tested | not tested | 15 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | not tested | not tested |
| Carrot | little or no germination | 51 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | little or no germination |
| Cauliflower | not tested | not tested | 19 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 | not tested | not tested |
| Corn | little or no germination | little or no germination | 22 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | little or no germination |
| Cucumber | little or no germination | little or no germination | little or no germination | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | not tested |
| Eggplant | not tested | not tested | not tested | 13 | 8 | 5 | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| Lettuce | 49 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | little or no germination | little or no germination |
| Muskmelon | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 8 | 4 | 3 | not tested | not tested |
| Onion | 135 | 31 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 12 | little or no germination |
| Parsley | not tested | not tested | 29 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 12 | not tested | not tested |
| Parsnip | 171 | 57 | 27 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 32 | little or no germination | little or no germination |
| Pea | not tested | 36 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | not tested | not tested |
| Pepper | little or no germination | little or no germination | little or no germination | 25 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 9 | little or no germination |
| Radish | not tested | 29 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | not tested | not tested |
| Spinach | 62 | 22 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | little or no germination | little or no germination |
| Tomato | little or no germination | little or no germination | 43 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 9 | little or no germination |
| Turnip | little or no germination | little or no germination | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Watermelon | not tested | little or no germination | not tested | not tested | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | not tested |
- 1Daily fluctuation to 60F or lower at night is essential.
This piece is part of the collection
Central Oregon Vegetable Gardening, Central Oregon Garden Publications
