6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
Thanks for all the helpful advice gang, I appreciate it. I feel a little sheepish saying this but, after examining a few more pods just to learn a little about them, I realized I was looking for seeds in pods that weren't fully developed. I discovered this by actually finding a full pod and seeing what they look like by comparison. I thought the pod was the seed, lol. But I did find some greens seeds too and wondered about using those, thanks Al. And Ornata, I was thinking about sowing some right away just to see what would happen...worth experimenting I think.
If I recall correctly...
Technically since they're a "true" berry they will always produce fruit true to form from it's ancestor, however since they have four sexes***, it's really hard to do unless you have a lot of them growing nearby and happen upon the luck of the draw. or you could buy a graft and know ahead of time which type of sex you already have.
Additionally, to the best of my knowledge if the tree ever experiences a frost it tends to sterilize the plant from that point forward.
*** as for the sexes thing, it's a bit of a misnomer. There are only two sexes but there are also two blooming cycles.
1. Morning Blooming Male Flowering Plant
2. Morning Blooming Female Flowering Plant
3. Evening Blooming Male Flowering Plant
4. Evening Blooming Female Flowering Plant
You need one of each sex to bloom during the same time to get a fruit, I think... :shrug:
I was just growing them because the wifey and my little dude (son) has taken to eating a lot of avocados and the plants are both beautiful as well toxic to cats... and I have two cats that love to eat my damn bonsai plants. ;-p
I once had a surplus of fish tanks and did some rather fancy experiments in them.
In the controlled environment it is fairly easy to propagate tomatoes from cuttings, some just do cuttings in the garden, so if your tank is large enough you could take one seed, grow one plant, chop it into a dozen plants and get several dozen fruits all from one seed.
I would inquire on the tomato forum about need to pollinate in the tank. I've usually transplanted the propagated cuttings outside and let nature take it from there.
Yes, what albert said was pretty much it, any seed not frozen in nature probably does not withstand freezing during storage, however that does not mean they cannot receive cold weather for longer storage. Any tropical plant seed could still be cooled to certain temperatures for better storage, but freezing temperatures may rupture the cells when frozen.
I don't think they need to be frozen anyhow. Just keep them cool(or just room temperature) and dry and they will last a long time. Moisture is the biggest enemy. I regularly germinate seed 4 or 5 years old. How long do you really want to keep them?? Most seeds are good for a couple of years easily.
JMO,
Tom
My native oaks plant themselves all over this place. If I don't see them before they get 6 inches tall I cannot pull them up and have to dig them out. They survive by growing a tap root FIRST so that by the time our dry summer arrives(it does not rain from May to November most years)they have established a root that will carry them through. Al
You are right. They are crocus seeds. I gathered some this morning. I had noticed the crocus seed pod when it was green and today there were a few left all withered and white. I have never tried them before either so I have no idea how they will do. Oh, I do know that they are from the dutch crocus though.
I have never collected the seed BUT store the see at 65F for 3 months (aafter ripe) then nick the seed & soak in water for 24 hours then store at 40F for 3 months..... THEN lightly cover the seed soil temp 55-65F & takes 30-365 days to germinate.
trancegemini_wa thank you for your long and very informative post. It clears up much of the mystery for me.
I wish I'd have known about this before buying seed, as it is likely I'd have bought only heirloom seeds. The idea of growing heirloom varieties appeals to me since I'd be growing something I probably can't get in the store. Also, I'm gardening partly to get the freshest and best tasting vegetable flavors possible, and it sounds like heirloom varieties might be best for that.
In some cases I'll get to compare, as I have heirloom and hybrid varieties of a couple of different vegetables.
I'm looking forward to learning all that I can about gardening. Thank you again.
no problem yrdling :)
"The idea of growing heirloom varieties appeals to me since I'd be growing something I probably can't get in the store."
absolutely, there are literally hundreds of heirloom tomato varieties out there for instance you could spend a lifetime just trying them all out, and you realise that not all tomatoes even taste the same, the different heirlooms varieties have different flavour characteristics to each other. when you next buy seeds do some searching online for heirloom vegetable seeds and you'll see just how much variety is out there that you wont find on the shelf at the shops. good luck with your garden :)
Yes it will but use a waterfroof cover to prevint a shocking experience.