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Friday, May 25, 2007

Starting Out...

These are the smallest, most fragile seeds I've worked with so far. Next to this one is a toothpick for size comparison. I'm not expecting stellar germination rate from these little guys, but who knows.

To start them off, I soaked them overnight in aerated spring water. The next morning, I placed all one hundred of my seeds in damp, unbleached coffee filters in airtight baggies with just a little bit of air inside. This is known as the 'baggie method', and has worked well for me with my giant sequoias and coast redwoods so far.

I will keep them in the dark, checking them once a week for germination. Once they sprout their embryonic root, or radicle, I'll plant them in moist seed-starting soil in covered cel-packs. When they sprout, I'll remove them from the mini-greenhouse, giving them only indirect sunlight.