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You are overthinking. They are both the same thing. Are you thinking about trying to cut corners?
1 - Select your seeds.
2 - Let them dry for a few weeks.
3 - Put into cool dry storage mode or into cool damp stratification mode for up to 3 months. Your choice.
4 - Plant seeds in the ground to germinate in spring.
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do you recommend a plastic box with peat/sand in it or a polyethylene bag with peat/sand
do you recommend a plastic box with peat/sand in it or a polyethylene bag with peat/sand
A plastic box is more practical, safer, less likelihood of splitting or being accidentally punctured, and can be made more air tight with a well sealing lid.
A plastic box is more practical, safer, less likelihood of splitting or being accidentally punctured, and can be made more airtight with a well sealing lid.
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so to dry the seeds after picking, I just put it on a table or something?
so to dry the seeds after picking, I just put it on a table or something?
When I'm drying seeds or most other loose plant material I spread them out evenly on sheets of newspaper or paper towelling placed on cookie baking trays. Then I put the cookie trays in a dark room at normal room temperature with a small oscillating fan turned on low to ensure the air in the room is lightly circulating. With small loose seeds (yours are small) I'll leave them there for a couple of weeks to dry and then pack them up to put them into storage in a cool, dry, dark place.
Very large seeds generally take longer to dry (like nuts or big scarlet runner beans for example) and other types of plant material might take less time or more time depending on the weight, water content and density of the material at the time of harvesting.
No, you can't. You need to cut the seed balls off the twigs, discard the twigs entirely, and spread the seed balls on trays to dry as described above. It's important you dry them as described otherwise you can end up having a problem with them all going moldy and destroying the whole darned lot of them. After a couple of weeks drying on the trays you'll find the individual seeds are easier to pull apart from the seed balls. After you pull the seeds off the balls spread the seeds out evenly on the trays again and the individual seeds will complete their drying more quickly, another 3 or 4 days, and then they should be dry enough you can safely package them up and store them away.
No, you can't. You need to cut the seed balls off the twigs, discard the twigs entirely, and spread the seed balls on trays to dry as described above. It's important you dry them as described otherwise you can end up having a problem with them all going moldy and destroying the whole darned lot of them. After a couple of weeks drying on the trays you'll find the individual seeds are easier to pull apart from the seed balls. After you pull the seeds off the balls spread the seeds out evenly on the trays again and the individual seeds will complete their drying more quickly, another 3 or 4 days, and then they should be dry enough you can safely package them up and store them away.
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I have an air conditioner but no fan. Plus I live in an apartment, so can I spread the seed balls on some flat paper towel on a table , and just leave like that?
I have an air conditioner but no fan. Plus I live in an apartment, so can I spread the seed balls on some flat paper towel on a table , and just leave like that?
Well you have to work with what you have, right, so if that's the set up you have then that's what you do. So yes, you can set them on a table but don't direct cold air on them from the conditioner. Just let them sit at room temperature, and I'll still suggest you put the paper on a baking tray that has a rim around the edges to prevent the seed balls or seeds from rolling or slipping off the paper. Having it on a firm bottomed tray of some kind makes it easier to pick it all up if you need to move it around.
At a Dollar Store you can get the really cheap cookie baking trays that are made out of stiff aluminum foil. Those are what I use for drying things flat. Or else look in the kitchen ware section in a thrift store for old baking trays. Or use paper towelling to line the bottom of a largish cardboard box with the sides cut down to within an inch of the bottom so you have a short rim all around the sides. Improvise.
Good luck, I hope you will get a good selection of seedlings growing.
Well you have to work with what you have, right, so if that's the set up you have then that's what you do. So yes, you can set them on a table but don't direct cold air on them from the conditioner. Just let them sit at room temperature, and I'll still suggest you put the paper on a baking tray that has a rim around the edges to prevent the seed balls or seeds from rolling or slipping off the paper. Having it on a firm bottomed tray of some kind makes it easier to pick it all up if you need to move it around.
At a Dollar Store you can get the really cheap cookie baking trays that are made out of stiff aluminum foil. Those are what I use for drying things flat. Or else look in the kitchen ware section in a thrift store for old baking trays. Or use paper towelling to line the bottom of a largish cardboard box with the sides cut down to within an inch of the bottom so you have a short rim all around the sides. Improvise.
Good luck, I hope you will get a good selection of seedlings growing.
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Thank you for the help. Now I can actually grow these things. Just one more question, I’m sorry, can I use a smallish plastic airtight box with sandy potting soil to stratify these guys? Something like a sandwich box but slightly larger. Or does it have to be a large box?
i just started drying them with the ac on, this is how they look like. should I remove the achenes from the seed balls or should I leave them just like that?
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seeds
