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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] apple seed starting 2 more cents

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  • From: "Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] apple seed starting 2 more cents
  • Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:22:55 -0700

An alternative to Clorox is to soak the seeds in water several times, but replace one soak with a 5-10% solution of hydrogen peroxide. That is, use commercial bathroom-type peroxide diluted to about 10%. The peroxide not only sterilizes the seed, it enhances germination.
Several members of the Grapebreeders list have had excellent results with peroxide. It really does ensure that you'll have more white roots. :-)
-Lon Rombough
NEW grape pruning video: http://www.bunchgrapes.com/dvd.html View a short, low resolution clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q58zFY0B1M
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.
For all other things grape, http://www.vitisearch.com
A video about The Grape Grower : http://cookingupastory.com/index.php/2008/04/18/the-grape-grower/
On Mar 14, 2009, at 4:17 PM, tanis cuff wrote:


Compare this fairly successful method:

As you work with apples for processing, keep seeds aside in plastic container. When you have as many as you want to work with (about 100 per seedling tray), rinse until water looks clean then place in the refrig in slightly moist stratification medium (fine peat moss, fine sawdust, etc.)

Inspect occasionally, more frequently in late winter. When outdoor temp allows last year's potting media to thaw out, prep trays & plant seeds. Keep moist AND OUT OF WARM TEMPERATURES. Protect germinating seeds from mice.

---------


And an FYI: the germinating seeds described below are very delicate. The root is easy to damage. Handle carefully.


________________________________
From: murphman
To: nafex
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 07:24:21 -0700
Subject: [NAFEX] apple seed starting 2 cents

Hello Friends;

Here's my apple seed starting experience; good / bad.

Apple seed germination. 14MAR09 R. Murphy

I am fascinated by Tim Inman's apple seed starting method. I am (like him)
convinced the seed coating contains an enzyme that inhibits germination. The contact time the seed has with moisture is far shorter than the traditional stratification that I do, and the results Tim gets seem better than mine. That would suggest that the culprit is not a waterproof seed coat.

I now have a bunch of apple seeds, each variety isolated from the next. They all were baptized in a 5% Clorox / water bath for 5 minutes, then rinsed off. They are in small plastic bags with a very small piece of wet paper towel, and have been in the fridge for 65 days as of today. Their status: ...

The 'sprouting' ones have a 1/4" little white tail coming out of them, and
will be planted today, in pots in the house. The rest will go back into the fridge until they sprout. As you can see, they do not all sprout at once, so it may not be possible to declare a 'standard stratification period' for all apple seeds. This results matches last year's planting, where I did a 65 day strat and just planted all the varieties at once. About half of them did nothing. A few Cortlands sprouted, a Wolf River (1/10) but ALL the YELLOW DELICIOUS came up strong!
I will definitely try Tim's method on another sample population of seed this fall, for it sounds much easier than traditional stratification.

Murph



PS Here's Tim's method again:
(snipped from his posting Vol 74, issue 35)
Looks real easy, and the results fit the theory.

Here's my trick: After researching several sources, I read that there is a
chemical in the seed hull which retards sprouting and germination. It must be washed away before the seed can sprout. Although stratification is certainly appropriate, I find that I no longer have to do that. I collect apple seeds all winter long as I enjoy an evening apple, and pop them into a little glass in the cupboard over the sink. No cover, no care. When I'm ready for the seeds to sprout, I begin a 'washing' process. I simply take the little glass out of the cupboard, fill it with cold water, and put it back into the dark cupboard. I rinse and repeat every day for about one week. (The books say 3 days, but I just keep rinsing until the water clears.) If your luck runs like mine, after about 4 days - when the water begins to stay clear - you'll begin to see the little roots start peeking out. Plant the seeds immediately.




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