It depends on what you started. Parsley can take up to 3 weeks. Mine is just peeking out of the pots now. I never sprouted in bags. Have you done this before? I know it's popular, but not the way I would do it. Tomatoes and peppers should be sprouting in about a week.

Since you have posted this in Hot Peppers forum, I assume that you are talking about peppers.

My recent experience:
I started/sowed 8 varieties on Dec. 29. One of the sprouted in 5 days. 3 sprouted in 7 days another 2 took 8 days. Remaining 2 seem not germinating. Generally pepper take from one to two weeks, depending on the temperature, freshness and variety. Optimum temperature is 85F. At lower temps it will take longer

Seysonn

The hotter the pepper, the longer it will take to germinate as well, in my experience.

Nuclears can take 3-4 weeks to germinate.

Reapers, MOA Scotch bonnet, choc hab, Aji limon, and choc bhut. I've hd them on a heating pad but nothing so far. Soaked them in water/peroxide 1cup water/tsp peroxide.

According to my records I had my first sprouts in 6 days (caramel bhut, orange bhut, red bhut, brainstrain, trinidad congo, yellow hab,aji limon) and my slowest to sprout I'm still waiting on (black pearl and yellow scotch bonnet)

Of the 10 varieties seeded Dec. 26th in MG Seed Starting Mix, only Aji Lemon Drop has failed to appear. If they don't pop by this weekend I'll start a few in damp paper towels to see if they're even viable.

PS Some popped up in 6 days, the 9th one just appeared yesterday, a total of 13 days. I've had some superhots take 3 weeks or so.

This post was edited by mecdave on Thu, Jan 8, 15 at 7:57

I put 21 different variety's on damp paper towels in zip lock bags on Dec 25 and 26. Then put the bags on a bath towel on a heating pad for starting seeds, as of yesterday none have emerged. This is my second attempt at germinating pepper seeds this way. The first time didn't work either. I'm very disappointed and I don't think I will try again with the paper towels and bags.
Randal

Here is a link that might be useful: GardenWeb

Randal,
I think there is something wrong with your set up.
Do you have a kitchen thermometer? (digital or analog ) ?
I would check the temperature right at the zip bags. If it is too hot (100F +) you might have cooked the seeds. If it is 70F or lower then I'll give them few more days and replace the bath towel with a dish towel.

As I mentioned before, mine started as early as 5 days and most at 8-9 days. 3 out of 8 did not germinate and I forget about those. I sow 2 seeds of each variety. Three varieties only germinated just ONE out of two. So this tells me that not all the seeds are viable.

Seysonn

I haven't checked the temp its warm but I don't believe it to be to hot. I put a kitchen towel on top of them because our home doesn't have central heat and it tends to be cool in there unless I'm cooking, or have the oven on. The first time I tried it I know I cooked them. I put them directly on the heating pad.I'm going to check them again when I get home to see if some have made it. The top baggies are just barely warm so just maybe some will be OK. Kinda annoying because I got some really good variety's in the holiday seed exchange.
Randal

Below is a useful link from when I was having germination problems.

As far as the paper towel method, while it works for me (usually), I don't really care for it as it seems to add another week before seeing the green seedlings sprout after transferring them to potting mix, and improves the odds of something going wrong until then. Fine for determining if the seeds are actually viable, but not the usual plan for me.

Edit rephrase: In toolstack's case, I would guess maybe too much heat the first time, then not enough heat and/or a cleanliness issue the second time. Did you reuse the bags without sterilizing them? That's what tripped me up in the link below...

Here is a link that might be useful: Germinating issues

This post was edited by mecdave on Fri, Jan 9, 15 at 7:36

Make sure you keep them (the seeds) moist. The moisture can leave the paper towel and bead up on the plastic. Dry or not moist enough seeds will not sprout effectively.

after a week you should see something happening... if you see nothing by now then there is definitely a problem.
The only things i think you could screw up are: too hot, or too dry.

This post was edited by JonOklahoma on Fri, Jan 9, 15 at 10:37

I don't know what Pam does to her seed, but White Naga's and White Fatali she sent me popped up in 4 days. Thats the fastest i have ever seen.

I'm planting my seeds in two rounds this year, in the first round the quickest variety to hook took 10 days and the slowest took 19. First one to hook was a chinense, I had also sowed anuums, baccatums and pubescens.

Second round was only sown 5 days ago, no hooks yet.

My notes from last year tell me that the quickest variety took just 4 days and the slowest was 26 days.

I find almost any pepper seed will pop within 7 days. Most a couple days before that. Super hots do take a bit longer but I have yet to wait more than 14 days for any seed to germinate and pop. I have had Ghost, Butch-T, Reaper all pop in under a week. I usually use the 1 to 1.5" cell seed starting trays and plant 2-4 seeds in each one. Then I just cull out the weaker/smaller ones after a while. I also plant at least one extra cell for each variety. If a single cell doesn't produce anything within 10-14 days, it gets tossed. Using heat, if applied properly will help a lot. But it has to be controlled and monitored.
I don't do bags, but if done right, they are a great way to see what is going on. But that has to be done right as well or you will have poor results. Leave the bag open or you will get mold. Keep the paper towel moist but not soaked. Heat is tricky because if you set it on something warm, it might cook due to direct contact. Always put something like a rag between the bag and the heat source.
If seeds don't pop in ten to 14 days, you should start a new batch immediately or risk falling behind.
Bruce