North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Dean Kreutzer" <deankreutzer@hotmail.com>]

Hi all,

Just to add my 2 cents, I'll share my method.  Once the stone fruit seed is 
removed from the fruit, I wash and air dry.  I then store in the 
refridgerator dry, with the shell on, until I am ready to have them 
germinate.  I take the pits out of the refridgerator, add some moist peat 
moss, and place back in the refridgerator, in packages of 25.  Usually, in 2 
or 3 weeks, I have germination; although not all germinate at once and some 
seeds do not germinate for 5-6 weeks.  After this time, I remove all the 
shells, as sometimes this helps with germination.  I check every weekend for 
germination and for penicillin mold.  Ones that have the mold, I clean and 
put in a separate package so as to not infect the others, which is another 
reason why I don't have 1 package of 200 seeds.

I have successfully germinated about 33%-50% of moldy seeds that others 
would have thrown away.  Even though this method is far from perfect, there 
is a lot less contamination than if I had the pits in moist peat most for 3 
months or more.

Dean Kreutzer
Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
USDA zone 3
www.overthehillorchards.ca