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cricket
Lord Cricket


Registered: 08/29/03
Posts: 960
Loc: in my house, in front of ...
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hard shelled seeds
#5376834 - 03/08/06 08:30 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Many seeds like Mimosa, Maidens wattle, and many others are hard to germinate because of a hard seed coat. It is often suggested that you sand or nick the seed and/or soak in hot water. This can kill the seed if you go to deep, pointless if you don't go deep enough. It seems little is known about what temps cause thermal death in what seeds. In the wild many seeds won't germinate untill they pass through the digestive tract of some animal, This got me wondering if it might not be better to soak some of the harder seeds in an acid solution before germination. I have found little info on the natural distibution of seeds.
Has anyone here tried this before? Does anyone here know where I can find more info on what animals might consume the fruit or seeds of common ethnos in the wild?
I can also see how this might also apply to seeds that are more prone to fungal contamination. An acidic shell could keep many contams at bay long enough to give the seed a better chance then one right off the plant.
Again. Anyone have any info? or know where I should look?
-------------------- I tried to leave my signature but it didn't work... By the way... Does anybody know how to get sharpie markers off of a computer screen?
Edited by cricket (03/08/06 03:36 PM)
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YESSUP
In The Thick Of It


Registered: 06/26/05
Posts: 2,774
Loc: SE Tex
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Re: hard shelled seeds [Re: cricket]
#5378092 - 03/08/06 04:25 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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A lot of hard shell seeds need a cold winter. The cold weather makes the pith inside the seed expand and contract cracking the shell and making germination passable for a greater number of seeds. I learned this dealing with the Blue Bonnets here in Texas. They need a cold cold winter to be more productive. This year the Blue Bonnets have just started to pop but if we would have had a much colder winter we would have had a Mass Mass bloom..
I would rather stick the seeds in the freezer for 24 hours to get them to split rather than using some sort of acid..
-------------------- Gut Feeling leads to anxiety, Anxiety leads to fear, Fear leads to anger,And anger leads to regret.
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peruvian spark
Stranger

Registered: 02/03/03
Posts: 678
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Re: hard shelled seeds [Re: cricket]
#5378129 - 03/08/06 04:34 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Here's a link to some seed treatments. I'm not sure if it'll help or not. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8704.html
Hey, if all else fails you can always try to pass the seeds through your own digestive tract!
-------------------- "The only unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain and everything is changeable."
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YESSUP
In The Thick Of It


Registered: 06/26/05
Posts: 2,774
Loc: SE Tex
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-------------------- Gut Feeling leads to anxiety, Anxiety leads to fear, Fear leads to anger,And anger leads to regret.
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Tinkal
Green Thumb



Registered: 06/01/05
Posts: 257
Loc: Europe
Last seen: 2 years, 9 months
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Re: hard shelled seeds [Re: YESSUP]
#5380250 - 03/09/06 04:43 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Well it's easy.
Go buy some GA-3 (Gibberelic acid) tablets, ask how to use them and do your job. Here is some info about it :
http://www.crfg.org/tidbits/gibberellic.html http://www.biology-online.org/3/6_gibberellin.htm
The water that you will use to soak them will be 10:1 in clear water and H2O2. let's say in a littre of clear water, put 100ml of H2O2. This will make it something like rainwater. Very helpful and it will solve your problem.
-------------------- Ask me about my seed collection and trading! "Of all the things I love the most, my mind is what I miss the most"
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Una
controlleddemolition

Registered: 03/01/01
Posts: 970
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Re: hard shelled seeds [Re: Tinkal]
#5385316 - 03/10/06 12:10 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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It might help to soak the seeds in hot water. When i sprout Ipomoea seeds i throw them in a glass, turn on the hot water tap en soak them in that for 12 hours before planting. The temperature does nothing to those seeds and they sprout in 1-2 days!
-------------------- www.911blogger.com
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Maverick
Lover of Earwigs!



Registered: 12/18/05
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Loc: Valleys of Willamette
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Re: hard shelled seeds [Re: Una]
#5385405 - 03/10/06 12:35 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Give it a shot both ways, try freezing and heating, two seperate packs, see which works better.
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cricket
Lord Cricket


Registered: 08/29/03
Posts: 960
Loc: in my house, in front of ...
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Re: hard shelled seeds [Re: Maverick]
#5391551 - 03/12/06 10:43 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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I WILL NOT use growth hormones!!!! (I have a personal grudge against hormone manipulation.) Thank you again U.S.A.F. ASSHOLES!! Many of the seeds I'm going to plant come from tropical areas that never see freezing temps. Some seeds are known to die if frozen. Warm water works but many caresheets still suggest sanding or nicking the seed. Keeping it too hot for too long can sterilize seeds also. H2O2 works great on fungus, but it can also kill other organisms that maybe benificial to the growing plant. I also remember reading somewhere that H2O2 treatments can stunt root growth in some plants.
I am going to try an acid wash on some of my hardest seeds. I plan to try 3 or 4 solutions with increased concentration, using both plain vinagar and sulfuric acid.
Is anyone aware of other research in this area?
-------------------- I tried to leave my signature but it didn't work... By the way... Does anybody know how to get sharpie markers off of a computer screen?
Edited by cricket (03/12/06 10:51 AM)
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