The Joy of Seed Collecting The Joy of Seed Collecting and Startingand Starting

Presented by Sheryl WilliamsDelta Montrose Technical

College

Miracle of growing a whole Miracle of growing a whole plant from a tiny seedplant from a tiny seed Learn to collect, germinate and start

seedlingsExpand your palette of plant materialJust plain fun

AgendaAgenda

Plant Sex – Flower and Seed Anatomy

Harvesting, cleaning, storageGermination information

– DormancyPaper Towel techniqueOutdoors for Winter techniqueTiming

VocabularyVocabulary

ScarificationScarification – Scratch, nick, chip or notch a seed coat to

allow water to penetrate more quickly and speed up germination

StratifyStratify– Artificial cold period to break dormancy

Dormant Dormant – Alive but in a state of suspended animation

until all conditions are right for growth

VocabularyVocabulary

GerminationGermination – The moment when a plant’s embryo breaks its

dormancy and begins to grow Hardening OffHardening Off

– Gradually toughen up plant for transition to the garden

Damping offDamping off – Fungal disease that rots seeds as they germinate or

seedlings once they emerge from the soil

Flower AnatomyFlower Anatomy

Viva la difference!Viva la difference!

Male – Stamen Female - Pistil

Stamen - Anther and FilamentStamen - Anther and Filament

Stamen - make pollen available

Two parts – anther and filament

On top of the filament is the anther

Sack containing pollen

Filaments can force contact

Pollen GrainsPollen Grains

Each plant’s pollen has a distinct shape and chemical make up

Wrong pollen is not acceptedPollen contains protein, necessary for bee

larvaeBee larvae is fed pollen and saliva ‘bee

bread’

Pollen GrainsPollen GrainsSunflower Basil Chicory

Dandelion, Eucalyptus Sunflower petal & pollen

Pistil - Stigma, Style, OvaryPistil - Stigma, Style, Ovary

Physical and chemical characteristics of pollen MUST match the female plant

Pollen grain grows a pollen tube Down to the ovary Fertilization of the ovule One pollen grain to one ovule Unfertilized ovules will not make

seeds

StigmasStigmas

Changes shape during the reproductive cycle

• Stigma catches pollen grains

• Often hairy or sticky

Pollen TubePollen Tube

Pollen match Pollen tube grows down the style to the ovary

Fertilization takes place

Sunflower – Multiple flowers Sunflower – Multiple flowers

Snapdragon FlowerSnapdragon Flower

Lab 1 – Explore FlowersLab 1 – Explore Flowers

Cut open flowers and find the ovaries, pistil and stamen

What’s in a SeedWhat’s in a Seed

Starch storageSeed Leaves (Cotyledon)Embryonic plant - embryoEmbryonic Root

Corn SeedCorn Seed3) Starch storage -

energy source for the germinating seed and seedling

4) Seed Leaf8) Embryonic root –

first to emerge9) Embryonic plant

Bean SeedBean Seed

Epicotyl becomes stem leaves and flowers

Radicle becomes the root

Hypocotyl becomes the portion between the root and stem

Lab 2 – Seed Germination Lab 2 – Seed Germination StagesStagesSoaked corn and bean seeds

Cut or pry each in half and find root, shoot, seed leaf (leaves) and starch storage.

Carefully dab with Iodine Iodine will blacken the starch areas.

Harvesting, Cleaning, StorageHarvesting, Cleaning, Storage

Harvest when dryPlace on a newspaper for a weekPut upside down in a paper bag until the

seeds releaseUse a sieve to separate the seeds from the

chaffStore in sealed and labeled paper packetsKeep 35 - 50 degrees

Lab 3 – Cleaning seedsLab 3 – Cleaning seeds

Take bag of flower stalks

Clean seed from chaff

Place in seed envelopes

Lab 4 - Finding Germination Lab 4 - Finding Germination Information Information Look up Latin nameTake Seed catalogue or database and look

up your seedRead codes to see how to germinateAdd germination information to your seed

packages

Where to find Germination Where to find Germination InformationInformationCatalogues

– Park, Stokes– Thompson & Morgan– J.L. Hudson

Books– Seed Germination Theory and Practice by

Norman DenoInternet Databases

Breaking Seed DormancyBreaking Seed Dormancy

Dormancy is nature’s way of preventing germination until conditions are favorable for survival– Temperature– Water – Oxygen– Light

Internal or External– Internal chemical or external hard coat

Breaking Seed DormancyBreaking Seed Dormancy

Scarification– Hard seed coat won’t let in water or gases– Any breaking, scratching, nicking will open

the hard seed coat– In nature seed out in fall and winter freeze and

thaw will break down the seed coat

Scarification TechniquesScarification Techniques

Sand paperBoiling water – soak until water is room

temperatureMetal fileNick with nail clippers

– Don’t damage the embryo– Sow immediately, won’t store

Lab 5 -Scarification Lab 5 -Scarification

Use a nail file to file some of the seed coat away.

Be sure to file until you can see the white starch in the seed.

Use a nail clipper to chip a bit of the seed coat away.

Clip the starch not the embryo.Look for the embryo

StratificationStratification

Need a period of moist-pre chilling or moist-warm periods

Cold stratification (moist pre chilling) mix seeds with a volume of a moist medium– Sand or perlite– Closed container– Store in refrigerator 40 degrees– Check for moist but not wet– Amount of time varies

Stratification – Moist warmStratification – Moist warm

Similar to “moist – pre chill” except temperatures are kept at 68 to 86 degrees

Depends on the speciesA few species even need to be scarified

and pre chilled

Paper Towel Germination Paper Towel Germination Technique Lab 6Technique Lab 6Cheap paper towelsSmall plastic bagsWaterLabelsBasil seeds

Germination Lab – Paper Towel Germination Lab – Paper Towel TechniqueTechniquePaper towel

folded in half three times 1

32

Soak Paper TowelSoak Paper Towel

Soak paper towel and squeeze out the excess water

1 2

Place SeedsPlace Seeds

If “Light” is required place the seeds on top of the still folded towel

If “Light” is not required, open the towel once and place the seeds inside

If you are not sure, put a few inside and a few outside

BagBagPlace label with seed name and date on the

plastic bagPlace towel with seeds into the bagLightly close plastic bag – do not seal

Germination Lab At HomeGermination Lab At Home

Basil should germinate 3-7 days at 70 degrees with light or dark

Nicked seeds should germinate 7-14 days at 70 degrees

Add a small amount of water if towel is dry

Open bag to ventilate if moisture insideIf you need to pre chill or stratify, put in

the refrigerator

Tools and Equipment – Tools and Equipment – SeedlingsSeedlingsHeating cableSandContainersSterile potting soilPlant labelsWatering can with a fine roseOverhead lighting

When Seeds GerminateWhen Seeds Germinate

Plant in soil when seeds leaves are visible

Be careful not to break off the root when taking the seedling out of the paper towel

Plant into SoilPlant into Soil

Be sure the crown is at the soil surface

Overhead lightOverhead lightGive the seedlings 12 – 16 hours of

artificial light4-6 inches above the seedlings

Seed Starting RackSeed Starting Rack

http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/j29/8750/

Winter Sow Outdoors Winter Sow Outdoors Technique – Trudi DavidoffTechnique – Trudi DavidoffGood candidates – look for these terms

– Pre chilling– Stratification– Self Sows– Sow outdoors in Early Autumn– Sow outdoors in early Spring – Hardy seeds– Can be direct sown early

Winter Sow Outdoors Winter Sow Outdoors TechniqueTechniqueMake slits in the top

and bottom of the container for air and drainage

Add SoilAdd Soil

Fill with soil to about half inch from the top

Secure the lidWater well and let drain

Sow seeds and pat them downSow seeds and pat them down

If “light” is not required, add soil to get the correct germination depth

Label Label Put a label on the

bottom so the label won’t bleach out from the sun– Freezer tape– Laundry marker or

sharpie

Winter Sow OutdoorsWinter Sow Outdoors

Put the flat out somewhere safeThe freeze and thawing helps break

dormancyIn early spring when the seedlings emerge,

check the moisture in the flatsAs they grow widen the slits in the covers

getting bigger and biggerTransplant to the garden and they are

hardened off

TimingTiming

Seeds will take different amounts of time to germinate and to grow to a size to plant out

Our last spring frost are in early MayDon’t start too soon or your plants

– will be leggy– Take up too much room in the house or

greenhouse– Take a lot of babysitting time in the

winter/early spring

Where to Get More InformationWhere to Get More Information

Seed Sowing and Saving– Carole B. Turner 1998

American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation– Alan Toogood Editor in Chief

The Seed Site – great pictures of seeds and cotyledons

http://www.theseedsite.co.uk/index.html

Where to Get More InformationWhere to Get More Information

A Basic Guide to Savings Seeds for Home Gardeners –

http://www.virtualseeds.com/seedsaving.html

Collecting seeds from Oregon State:

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/fs/fs220/

Internet Seed Germination Internet Seed Germination DatabasesDatabasesTom Clothier – intense databases

http://tomclothier.hort.net/Thompson and Morgan –genus only

http://www.backyardgardener.com/tm.html

General Gardening info: http://davesgarden.com/

Internet Seed ExchangesInternet Seed Exchanges

North American Rock Garden Society– http://www.nargs.org/seed/exchange.html

Gardenweb.com– http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exchind/

International Seed Saving Institute– http://www.seedsave.org

SummarySummary

Observe your flowers

Look for seedsShare with friendsPay attention to the

timing to know when to start new plants from seed

Have fun