Paul M. Cook wrote:
I am having some bad luck with my yellow cucumber seeds. About 20%
is the best germination rate I am getting. I am germinating them in
moist tissues then planting in pots. Does the weak germination rate
point to weak plants?

Not necessarily. It could be that the whole lot is genetically superior and
will grow good plants but some seeds have been damaged (say) by fungus
because one corner of the packet got wet. In any case it is wise to select
the stronger seedlings to plant out, as long as you have enough, because you
are then dealing with both heredity (selecting the best genes) and
environment (selecting those that have a head start as they happen to have
grown in the best conditions).

Can I expect the seeds that do sprout to be
healthy and vigorous or is this whole batch of seeds inferior?

It depends on how you selected the seeds that you planted from the batch.
If they are a random selection and you have selected a fair number (at least
10) it is an indication that the whole batch is poor. It is a statisical
argument of the probability that the selection is representative of the
whole lot.

David