The seed coating (white) will not slow germination. soak seed in water for 24 hours then lightly cover the seed with soil. soil temp 55-65F & takes 30-120 days to germinate.

You're in luck... I just ordered the Brugmansia and Datura book by Ulrike and Hans-Georg Preissel. It just arrived today. According to the book, "D. inoxia grows upright into a shrub about 1 1/2'-7' in height. The young shoots of the green plants are covered thickly with numerous glandular hairs that become fewer on older sections. The soft leaves are a broad oval shape. The leaf edges are whole, but occasionally undulate and toothed in the lower section. The flowers are about 4" accross and shaped like a funnel. They are 4 1/2-7 1/2 inches long and pure white in color. The greenish veins end in five longer peaks. The interacuminal peak that lie between are noticeably wider and longer than D. wrightii." "D. wrightii grows into a bush either upright or low lying up to a height of 5 foot. The green shoots of the plant often look as if they are covered with a thin violet layer. All the young leaves are noticeably furry but they become less so as they age. The soft leaves are ovate to broadly ovate. The edge of the leaf is coarsely toothed or gently undulate. The funnel shaped flower corollas are 5-9" long and attain a diameter of 5". The upper section is usually violet to pale violet. Pure white examples are rare." As far as starting them from seed, they mention 2 inparticular that are contrary to start, neither of these are the ones I've described. It does say that the seeds should germinate at temps around 68*F. Last year, I soaked some seeds, probably for a couple, 3 or 4 days before I sowed them in my greenhouse this past early spring. A good many of them sprouted and I transplanted them into pots until the weather warmed up. I planted several around the property and was fortunate enough to enjoy their sweet perfume. Were the seeds aquired from a trade? Maybe they are older seed, maybe harvested too early, not kept in ideal conditions. At any rate, I've got a ton of seeds that I've been harvesting from my D. inoxia that I'd be happy to share with you for SASE. Hope this info helps. Nancy Here is a link that might be useful: Brugmansia and Datura book

I do not advise you to try starting peanuts indoors. They have a relatively shallow root system and do not like to be transplanted, nor do they like their roots disturbed. Plant them when the soil really warms up and count 110 days or so to harvest. This is one of my favorite plants to grow because they make "pegs", unlike any other plant, except Goober Peas from Africa (I got some seeds for them to try this year!). You need a lot of room for them and the soil has to be fluffy all around so that the pegs aren't inhibited. This is very hard to do given that they don't like soil disturbance so rototilling is out. The growing area must be weed free. I'm trying shredded newspaper this year but a fluffy mulch should work too, but probably not leaves that mat down. Sesame takes 90 days of true hot tropical weather and full days of baking sun. The seeds will rot in cool or wet soils. I have not had success growing them. Our weather is too variable. But it may be fun to try again and will plant them in June. Let us know how you fared. You also might want to post this question on the Vegetable Forum. I'd be interested in what the guru's over there had as answers. And, please post when you've finished your experiments! Nancy the nancedar

Suzie, I bet this method developed from the fact that agar sometimes is used to grow some life forms in labs. Or, possibly it was a method "developed" and promoted by a gelatin company to boost sales. It has been around awhile because people on either the seed-starting forum and/or garden experiments forum here at GW have tried it and have written about it sporadically over the years. Most people who have tried it have had good results in terms of seeds sprouting and growing but have had to deal with mold. Being allergic to mold and fungi, I wouldn't try it. Who needs to create more allergy problems for themselves? Several years ago there were plant gels on the market you could buy and in which you could grow houseplants. They even came in different colors. I tried one and it worked OK but it wasn't anything special once you got over the novelty of it. I haven't seen those growing gels in stores or gardening catalogs in some time, so guess that for some reason people didn't like them. I know that in recent years I have seen some methods of growing cuttings that involve using a gel medium too. I guess my question would be why bother? Most seeds sprout and grow easily in any sterile soil-less mix, and most seeds sprout just fine in good garden soil when direct-sown, as long as you aren't trying to sprout some perennial seeds that have special scarification needs. Those can be harder and often require some refrigeration in order to mimic outdoor temps. (You can get around that by winter sowing them back in the winter to get them the cold exposure they need.) You'll find lots of interesting techniques on the internet but a lot of the time these ideas sound better than they actually work. I tend to be a traditionalist and stick with tried and true methods. If you try this, be sure to sterilize everything first--your containers, your seeds, etc. because it might help slow down how quickly you start seeing mold growing on your gelatin. Dawn