Beginning the germination process!

[lucky1]

Stubborn even after de-lidding, Pritchardia hillebrandii, cut in half because I couldn't find ANY white area inside:

I don't think there should be a gap between the white part and the outside (it didn't rattle yet).

<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/543 ... e2834c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04459" />

And since I read on Cameron's link about somebody sawing a coconut in half and then taping it back together AND IT GERMINATED, thought I would too:

<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5018/543 ... b1036d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04461" />

Would the seed have made it if I: de-lidded a little deeper? waited longer?

Barb

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Barb, hopefully that Pritchardia will germinate!

Here's a Jubaea seed that was de-lidded around 3 days ago:




I knew if I wanted to de-lid the rest, I would have a bit of work to do, mainly cracking the outer shells:


I seperated around 200 for trades, etc. After a few hours (and with a sprained finger ), here was the result:


Now the sanding begins...

[lucky1]

Good examples Cameron.

My de-lidding is working on some, but none of the 3 hr or 24 hr responses you and others report.
As always, fresh seed is the trick so mine are obviously older than the hills.

A sprained finger
I'm sure you'll come up with a sanding contraption yet...

I bought more sandpaper yesterday; the clerk asked "renovating?"
Feeling he wouldn't understand the real answer, I just said "yes".

Barb

[Dean W.]

Wow, that's a lot of seeds, Cameron. What kind are they?

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Yeah, when I was buying a bunch of rubbermaid storage trays for the seeds yesterday, someone behind me in line said "you're going to have a very organized house!", and I just agreed

Dean, those are all Jubaea seeds!

[lucky1]

Been thinking about a "sanding contraption".

Anybody's grandmothers do needlepoint?
Utilizes a wooden frame, shaped like a circle, that can be expanded to any size with the turn of a screw.
Wonder if seeds could be placed tightly (so they don't roll around) into one of those, and then a belt sander run across the top...hmmmm.

If it worked it'd be super quick.
But the time spent to line up all the seeds...maybe not so good.

Need something like a tiny egg carton.

Barb

[Dean W.]

I used a pair of pliers to hold the seed then sanded.

[lucky1]

Yup that works, Dean.
I was thinking of Cameron sanding hundreds of seeds...

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

I'm sure that by the 1000th seed, I'll have found a more efficient way to do it

[hardyjim]

Here's how I germinated my spores,I like this method.

You can just buy this stuff yourself,it's a little work to sift the peatmoss-

whayagonnado?


http://www.fernfactory.com/frontend/pro ... o=10000397

[gpenny]

Cameron
Have you tried a Dremel Tool. They come with an assortment of sanding bits. I use one of the metal ones at low RPM and it works great! I had some concerns about it overheating but I can't detect any heat when sanding. Very quick!!!

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Jim, that's a great link! I wish we had some more places like that in Canada.

gpenny, I'll have to check one out!

[hardyjim]

Yea,it is a great way to sprout your little sporelings,esp
considering that losing them after the have some character leaves
is a very common problem-

the larger container allows them
to get some size before they are moved-

they are so delicate
when small that they actually need to be hardened off to drier air
outside their chamber!

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

I finally had a bit of free time this evening, so I decided to set up the heat tape.

Empty space:


Heat tape down:


Hopefully within a few days I should have everything planted!

[lucky1]

Cameron, not concerned the "trapped heat" will damage your wood floor?

Next, the downside of OLD seeds, they pop, soon fall over and die.
Wagnerianus

<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5097/544 ... 849111.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04441" />


Barb

[Dean W.]

Cameron, good luck with the seeds. The heat tape looks great.

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

I'm not too concerned about the heat, but I'll keep an eye on it. The temps aren't really going to get over 30 C anyways.

Thanks, Dean!

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

After a couple more hours of work, all of the Jubaea seeds are sanded, and are going to be soaking for a few days:

[BILL MA]

Holy Jubaea seeds Cameron, that's awesome!!! Must have been a lot of work sanding all of those guys I hope they reward you by all sprouting!

warmer weather on the way

Bill

[hardyjim]

So,will you be starting a Jubaea forest then!

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Thanks guys! I know this might sound hard to believe, but a couple of seeds within that group started to pop within 1 hour of being sanded and placed in warm water!

[lucky1]

a couple of seeds within that group started to pop within 1 hour of being sanded

Incredible!
This will become THE only way to germinate seeds.

You'll have to scramble to get your growing media ready

Congrats Cameron...fine work.
Barb

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Thanks Barb!

Here's a seed after about 14 hours (sorry it's a bit blurry):

[lucky1]

Man, that is exciting...

Just your heart pounding = camera blur
Barb

[Dean W.]

That was.....fast.

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

I haven't really had time lately to take the skin off of my t. fortunei "Hayes Stiffie" seeds:


But when I opened the bag of seeds, I saw that some of them decided to germinate anyways :

[CTPalm]

Hi Cameron

Shut the front door! You just soaked these and they sprouted? How long . . . I tried growing T. Fortunei and it took 4+ months with the ziplock bag method.

Looks like I'm going to have to learn your Jubaea chilensis trick too!

Paul

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Hi Paul,

Those seeds were already sprouted without me soaking them! I think the reason was because they were very fresh, Hayes shipped them to me the day after he harvested them.

Cameron.

[lucky1]

haven't really had time lately to take the skin off of my t. fortunei

There's spare time between 2 and 3 a.m.

Do you have a link for Hayes seeds?

I discovered a trick, but only for those NOT YET SPROUTED.
If you've got seeds that are hard to clean, i.e. a bunch of fruit still stuck to every seed, this'll work as it did for me.

Take an old (very old) pillowcase, place seeds inside, tie very tightly twice, then run in washing machine, heavy duty cycle, hot water.
Worked like a charm for my 50 big Wodyetia seeds.

Oh...and throw pillowcase away.

Paul, that baggie method is rendered useless with the de-lidding technique.

Barb

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Thanks for the tip!

[CTPalm]

Barb I really need to learn more about this de-lidding, wow i'm so new to all of this.

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

I spent around an hour tonight arranging all of the containers by how much heat the seeds will need:


I've used up all of the room! And I still haven't set aside any space for the many euc seeds

[TimMAz6]

Hi Cameron,

keep the updates coming.....very interesting reading. I haven't started any seeds yet. I tend to start seeds indoors in late April so when they sprout I can keep them outside.

[BILL MA]

Looks like you'll need some more heat tape

[canadianplant]

Thats a MUCH better use of that critter cage ( very bottom of last pic). People put gold fish and reptiles in them, and they are way to small for most ( except a betta)........ They would work great for germinating seeds ( FYI, most stores pay a dollar cost on them)

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Thanks guys

Canadianplant, I always knew that their cost on them was low, but I didnt know it was $1 !! At least pet stores provide them as an option, because in many cases I've seen betas confined to spaces slightly larger than a shot glass...

[canadianplant]

Ive always thought that cruel.... untill i realized betta live in shallow rice paddies, or small pools of water, with less then an inch of water But I agree, the fish wouldnt thrive, which is mean to the fish.. Man did I ever sell alot of those fish LOL

Too bad they charge us to much for them (at retail), they are very useful things to have..

You can buy little lights for them too..

[lucky1]

need some more heat tape

And a sky hook so you can get around in there to tend them.

So where are the potted-up ones going to go?

I like the organized pre-labelling!
Good to see someone else who's "anal".

Great work, Cameron!

Paul, we're all pretty amazed at what de-lidding can produce timewise.
If I recall, it started on a European Palm site by somebody trying it with very old seeds that had been expensive.
They were reluctant to throw them out and thought it couldn't hurt to try opening the seed coat a bit to allow water in.
And Cameron took it a step further with fresh seeds...why wait? And it worked.

Barb

[Cameron_z6a_N.S.]

Barb, I'm going to have to put all of the potted plants on the rest of the floor! Once this room is completely full, I'll have to move on to the basement! If I have many cold-hardy plants left over by the time next winter rolls around, I'll keep them under my deck, and cover them with leaves etc.

[lucky1]

Wonderful dilemma Cameron!