Fermenting Rose Seeds
Formerly RBEHS Z10A/S17
last year
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Comments (6)
Formerly RBEHS Z10A/S17
last yearRelated Discussions
Fermenting Seeds
Comments (6)BigVegNut - Yes sir, and you've been doing that in your zone 5 environment. Further south, the temperatures are much higher and the process accelerates dramatically. The beneficial fungi that appear are much more aggressive in higher mean temperatures. Take a look at the link I posted (it's free). In it, I explain that the ambient temperature present while the fermentation is in progress is the key to the time line. LoveTo - I hope YOU take a look. It will explain so many things and you can adapt YOUR environment to the process and have success every time. Ted...See MoreHave I fermented my seeds too long
Comments (37)Left to dry for 30-60 days, then placed in either glass vials or plastic prescription drug sealed bags. No problem whatsoever. In future years, they have ALWAYS come up as well as ever. Sometimes the KISS principal can be your best friend Yea John, I agree that over-engineering and unnecessarily complicating things is not very productive and is, in fact, usually a waste of resources. Now my buddy in OH has done it both ways and now does not ferment any seeds for saving. And has had no problems either. I ferment primarily because the process "cleans" the seeds and no repeated rinsings are needed to remove unwanted detritus. If some nasties are dispatched in the process, fine. Below are about 42 gms of fermented and dried seed of one variety, saved in 3 ferments and dumps. These are now in equilibrium (constant weight... ñ 0.1% weight change on successive weighings), with ambient conditions. Reggie...See MoreProblems with fermentation of tomato seeds
Comments (6)Kudzu, I noticed that you said you rinse the seeds and then put them in a glass of water to ferment, but that isn't going to work. You need to squeeze out the contents of whole tomatoes, with the juice, seeds and all, b'c fermentation is dependent on having something to ferment, which are all the organic compounds present in the tomato innards, if you will. If you just put rinsed seeds in a glass of water they will germinate, but that's not fermentation which is a biological process that uses the carbohydrates and more present in the fermentation container to produce the organic acids and other fermentation products that help to remove the gel capsules from the seeds as well as remove many of the tomato pathogens from the seed coat. So do process several fruits of a specific variety at one time, if you can, and squeeze out the innards to your container first, and then let the normal fungi in the air form that fungal mat. And when you see gas bubbles along the sides of the container you know that the fermentation is working. Hope that helps. Carolyn...See MoreSaving Tomato Seeds without Fermentation
Comments (42)I use fermentation regardless of batch size. On the drying table right now are 30 little seeds from a variety I found growing by the road. It was one 2 inch round bright red globe - nearly perfectly round. I also just finished packing over 800 Cherokee Purple seeds from one batch. (Trudi!!!?? :>) -) I cut the larger tomatoes into thick slices and using the point of a very sharp knife, carefully cut the seed gel masses away from the meat of the fruit and into a strainer. The strainer is above a container which catches the juice. This allows me to put the remainder of the tomato into the dehydrator. The seeds which are still in the gel mass are then gently scrubbed against the screen of the strainer enough to break up the globs and catch more juice. Breaking up the globs like this, I feel gives the little "microbe critters" a head start, a thinner gel to dissolve, and a much better chance of getting their job done. I also think we have to stir the mixture often during fermentation to further help break up gel around the seeds. Several tap water rinses get rid of all the debris and a 4 to 1 water/bleach rinse followed by more rinsing until I don't smell the bleach finishes the chemistry part. I spread them on a paper plate (cheapest, flimsiest) and after 2 to 3 days take a credit card size piece of plastic and gently loosen the seeds that are still gently stuck to the plate. 2 more days and into small ziplocks and a coin envelope marked with the variety and the date saved. I don't think I care for the TSP or AJAX or Comet or other scouring cleaners. It's because I just don't like even the "possibility" of damaging the seed coat. Having said that, I DON'T KNOW that the grit WILL damage the seed coat, but until time proves differently, I choose to think the possibility is there. Good tomatoes are hard enough to grow. For me, damaged seed coats would be like starting the race with an unnecessary, self-imposed handicap....See Moreroseseek
last yearlast modified: last yearSeniorBalloon
last yearroseseek
last yearFormerly RBEHS Z10A/S17
10 months ago
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