Soaking Seeds

Some seeds need some help germinating. So we soak them. (Some, we also freeze first, but that depends on the seeds.)

I did this last fall with Gala Apple seeds. It took longer than I expected, but it certainly worked!

It's really complicated: put 'em in a sealed bag with wet paper towels. Forget about 'em for a few weeks. Come back later and see what germinated. (Don't take them out until - rule of thumb - the starts have their first set of real leaves: more than just a sprouted seed.)

We have two more batches going, as of the first weekend in March.

On the left are some lemon seeds ("pips"). These actually came from Germany, though I don't know where the actual lemons were grown. I also don't know how old the seeds are; at least a year or two. I've got half of them starting to soak. Lemon trees are kind of a bear, but they sure smell great. So we'll soak the seeds for a good long while. 

The second set is dated 1992. That's 11 years ago. But they come from my mother-in-law's greenhouse (she had a wonderful green thumb!). They're labeled (best I can tell) "Oelock." Don't know what that means. And I'm not sure that 11 year old seeds will sprout. But we're going to try.