The Thompson & Morgan laboratory carries out approximately 15,000 germination tests per year. When seed is bought, a small selection is passed to the seed laboratory for testing before packing. Seeds are tested in various ways depending on variety. A germination test can take anything from 7 days to 30 days depending on variety.
Quality control testing in the labs
Seeds are tested on filter papers in petri dishes in incubators or on a Copenhagen Bath.
All vegetable seeds have to meet the ministry standard of germination. All flower seeds have a standard germination that we set, this varies per variety but for most annuals this would be a minimum of 70%. This is done to ensure that only the best quality seed is used.